Gwyn these photos were taken of the 6th H.L.I. Drill Hall before it was transformed into luxury flats about 8 years ago. The Great War Memorial to the 6th Battalion which was inside was removed to the Territorial Unit of the RHF in Maryhill.

Hello GK

That's a lovely clear picture of the plaque, which is still there, isn't it? I like the bastion-style porch in which it's set. (I've seen pictures; I haven't been there.) The picture Graeme took a couple of years ago has a rather unattractive modern building with green-ish windows behind it, which does nothing to improve the drill hall. It looks much nicer in your picture, alone in its setting.

It's a fine building; I'm glad they reused it.

Thanks for sharing your photos.

Gwyn

Gwyn

don't know what you have about Hampton Drill Hall in Middlesex but found this

In November 1913 a site behind the Drill Hall (now the site of J&P Motors) was identified and a plan was approved by the council to construct an open air bath.

the important part is in italics.

John

Territorial Drill hall
22 Lochburn Rd
Maryhill
Glasgow
Scotland

Hi there Gwyn,

Whilst trawling another site i came across this,Reserve Force & Cadets Association.
Drill Hall,
Station Road,
Bethesda.
Gwynedd.

have you got it on your list.

Cheers Roger.

All that remains of the drillhall of the 1st 5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment at Barton upon Humber.
It served as a TAVR post War but declined very quickly thru lack of interest in all things military. Very few men carried on after the War, of those that came back. Like many I suppose the heart was ripped out of it by the losses. I t was used during WW2 I think by the HG, then was a dancehall in the 60s where Mods and Rockers use to battle it out in the drillsquare just beyond the gates. Then it was an engineering shed before being pulled down (it was built on a boggy area and nothing could be done to save it. The side of the building was held up by giant wooden props for years. The council told me yrs ago now that they would put an appropriate name to it if they built on the land.

Roger - thanks, yes. I visited it in spring, 2005. Despite an exchange of several letters with the RWF, I found no-one who knows its age. My opinion is that there is possibly an older part remaining.

I wrote to the current users but they had no information and suggested various avenues, which I tried, unsuccessfully. I also talked to local residents. It's on my 'must follow up' list. I do have photos.

Thank you for keeping a look out for us.

JPG: I replied by email. Thank you!

TFFTO: Many thanks for that information to add to the database. Lots of local information about its community use brings it to life. I think we'll add Yorkshire soon, so the insights are timely.

Gwyn

Hi there Gwyn,

I have found another Drill hall for you in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, it is no longer in use by the military but some kind of Rest home, so I will be around there at the weekend to take pici's.

There is a published photo of some dignitaries laying the foundation stone and also an article on the brief history of the units using the 2 forms of Drill Halls in Mirfield.

At this present time I am trying to get in touch with the copyright owner of the photo and article to see if we can use them.

cheers Roger.

Thank you, Roger. That's great news. Looking forward to seeing it. Graeme's database lists Nettleton Road, Mirfield.

Gwyn

Hi Graeme,

I hope I have managed to upload my photo of Haworth Drill Hall (Haworth is in the West Riding of Yorkshire).

The Drill Hall is on Drill Street - now there's a surprise!

I have some detail to upload which will follow.

Stormin

Click to view attachment

Graeme,

Haworth Drill Hall detail:

I believe the hall was used by G company 6th batt Duke of Wellington Regiment

Click to view attachment

Graeme,

last detail:

probably a flag pole holder below crest?

Click to view attachment

Great pics, Stormin!

Lovely detail.
Thanks

Graeme

Hi there Graeme,

I am just waiting for the builders to take the scaffolding and what not away from Mirfield Drill Hall then I shall take a few pics for you.

An interesting note about this Drill Hall a time capsul was buried and uncovered during some renovations I have to ring a sergeant at Huddersfirld TA centre as he knows about it.

What have you got regarding A Drill Hall in Huddersfield, I noticed that one of the streets that run down one side of the TA Centre is called Rifle Street.

Cheers Roger.

Hello Roger

You're right about Rifle street; it does indeed run down the side of the drill hall that faces onto St Paul's street.

I also have reference to a drill hall in Fitzwilliam street for the Yorkshire Dragoons, and headquarters for the same at 9 Queen street.

There's also mention of a Riding School opposite St Paul's church, which became a theatre, a drill hall and eventually a pub.

Any enlightenment here would be a big help

Cheers

Graeme

Hi Graeme,

Photo of Keighley Drill Hall as promised (months ago )

Lawcolme Lane
Keighley
West Yorkshire

Click to view attachment


As you can see it is still in use by C coy, 4th Batt, Yorkshire Regiment. (Close up to follow)

Regards

Norman


Close up of Keighley Drill Hall:

Click to view attachment

Norman

Further to my previous post on Haworth Drill Hall I was luck enough to come across this photo of the Haworth Rifle Volunteers taken cica 1873. Thought you might like to see it.
N.B. The photo I sent you of the drill hall is looking in the oposite direstion i.e. the Drill Hall is the building on the near left of this photo. Hope that is clear.
I am still trying to trace the owner to acknowledge copyright. Until then can anyone who copies it please let me know.

Thanks

NormanClick to view attachment

Once again, you've done me proud, Norman

Ta

Graeme

Hi there Graeme,

If you remember the Old Drill Hall at Wakefield, now derelict, its come to my attention that all the surrounding area is to be cleared and redevolped, I don't know any time scale, I will see if I can find anything out.

Cheers Roger.

Hi there Graeme,

If you remember the Old Drill Hall at Wakefield, now derelict, its come to my attention that all the surrounding area is to be cleared and redevolped, I don't know any time scale, I will see if I can find anything out.

Cheers Roger.

Click to view attachmentHi there Pals,

Here are some sample photo's that I managed to take over the summer of West Yorkshire Drill Halls,
The Old Drill Hall, Wakefield.

Cheers Roger

Click to view attachment

Arden Road Halifax, which is now a Social Club.

Cheers Roger.

Click to view attachment

Prescott Street Halifax,now converted into flats and apartments.

Cheers Roger.

Click to view attachment

Ilkley old Drill Hall, now converted into a business park.

Cheers Roger.

Click to view attachment

Scar lane drill Hall Settle, it is now the district scout headquarters.

Cheers Roger.

Click to view attachment

Scar Lane Milnesbridge, Huddersfield, is a private owned museum to the Duke of Wellingtons Regiment, and is open most Saturdays and Sundays between 14.00-16.00, and if the flags out, he is in. Mr Garside owns and runs it, a couple of pearls here, maybe three,

there are the stud marks of the marching men in the original wooden floor, there is a large name board of The Duke of Wellingtons Regiment, and down in the cellar there is still the shooting range.

Cheers Roger.

Hi Pals,

The photo's I have just posted, each one is one of about 5 on each Drill Hall, I didn't want to bore you all, and as of yet I still have Batley,Dewsbury and Morley to downsize and post.

Cheers Roger.

Click to view attachment

Hi Pals, here are some more Drill Halls for you.

The currant one in Batley West Yorkshire

Cheers Roger

Click to view attachment

Here's another one, Dewsbury West Yorkshire.

Roger.

Click to view attachment

Here's Morley Drill Hall West Yorkshire.

Roger.

Click to view attachment

Here's Morley Drill Hall West Yorkshire.

Roger.

Click to view attachment

Another one of Morley Drill Hall, if you click on it and it expands you will see the name of the detchment that was in there.

Cheers Roger,



Click to view attachment

Another one of Morley Drill Hall, if you click on it and it expands you will see the name of the detchment that was in there.

Cheers Roger,

Excellent article in this weeks Spectator by the CEO of English Heritage Wake up: Britain is being demolished....

Although he doesnt mention drill halls specifically, much of what he writes re Victorian schools, pubs etc, applies just as well.

Thank you for sharing your photos, Roger. I know that Graeme and I have already seen them and are grateful for your support.

Charles, an intriguing article. I find it extremely hard to connect the National Trust mentioned in his last paragraph with the National Trust which is selling off part of Erddig for housing development. More

He highlights a problem, but doesn't seem to be able to offer a way forward, though. A lot of preservation happens only because individuals with determination and persistence kick up a fuss which can't be ignored.

Gwyn

Hi there Gwyn,

No problem at all and its a real pleasure, nice to see you about again.

Cheers Roger.

Thanks, Roger. I'm making progress, though it's a long haul.

Hello folks

Just a reminder for you to visit www.drillhalls.org to see the new Cumberland, Westmorland and Dorset pages, uploaded by Gwyn the other day.

Hampshire is being worked on att the moment, and I've discovered mention of an Artillery Drill Hall in Shirley road, Southampton, on the corner of Shirley Avenue.

Does anyone know anything about this? Reference was found in Kelly's 1898 Direcory.

Graeme

Hi Graeme and Gwyn,

Do you have anything about the Handsworth Drill Hall? I have found some basic information from 1914 and did not copy the rest until I was sure

John

Hello John

What I have on Handsworth is on the website, with a reference to Smethwick too (which is also on the website). I don't have the depth of information that Graeme has, so I'll draw his attention to your message. I'm sure that any extra information will be most appreciated; thank you for your support.

Gwyn

Hi John

Apologies for the delay in responding.

The Handsworth drill hallis long gone; it stood in Belgrave Terrace off the Soho road. There's a little close of modern houses on the site.

I'd be interested to know what you've found.

Cheers

Graeme

Click to view attachment

I can give you some deatils about the ones used by the 6th Welsh Regt(Swansea) from 1911 -1912.

1 - 128 Neath Road Hafod ( 6th Batt, Welsh Regt, Drill Hall)
2 - 220 Oxford Street, Swansea ( Drill Hall 6th Welsh Regt)
3 - Between 23b & 24 Strathen Place, Swansea ( 6th Batt Welsh Regt, HQ)
These are listed in PURRIERS Directory on 191 - 12, as sort of Thompson Local for the period, as far as I know, none of the building are there.
The main Drill hall of the battalion was at RICHARDSON STREET, in Swansea just off the sea front and was next to the old Vetch football ground, this was used up until the 1980's as used to go there when I was a cadet in the early 1980's.
I may have some newspaper cuttings about the new one being built, as the old stones that are over the door were found by the TA RE Regt, they are red clay and have the name of each unit that used the old Drill Hall - 6th Welsh, 7th Welsh etc. They were found in boxes, and were then put up in the Sgt Mess, and are still there to this day.

Hope this help - Simon

Thanks, Simon, that's excellent info.

I'm not familiar with Purrier's Directory, but it's delivred the goods. Was it local to Swansea or south Wales?

The newspaper cuttings would be excellent if you can find and scan 'em, it all helps. The arch things are quite odd; were they doorways?

Thanks so much for your input

Graeme

Hi there Graeme,

Have you any info on drill halls in the Castleford,Normanton and Pontefract area that you need looking at as I passed a building in Castleford today that looked remarkably like an old drill hall, I will go back at the weekend and have another look.

Cheers Roger.

Hi Chaps,

Has anyone got any info on the Railways drill hall in Swindon ?
It stands on Church Place in the Railways park.
I understand it was used by the Wiltshire Fortress RE (TF).
The present building stands on the site / foundations of the original building having been rebuilt in the 1960's.
Any info appreciated
Cheers
Grant

Hi Grant

There's some information on the Swindon page of drillhalls.org.

Graeme might be able to add something. I think I might have some more that I haven't confirmed to my satisfaction yet. I'll have a look in my files.

If you ever come across a photo, we'd be indebted to you.

Cheers

Gwyn

Hi Roger

Thanks! We have references to the units. I'll let Graeme answer you, as he tells me he's been working on Yorkshire.

Gwyn

Gywn,

Thanks - I had visited the site before I posted (should have said so), even if you have unconfirmed stuff, i'd be intrested to see it.
The building now as I said is a 1960's building (still on the same site) and the other one is sheltered housing, are you still wanting pics as they are now ?

Grant

Hi again

Sorry, I should have made myself clearer. I meant archive pictures. Thanks for the offer, though!

I'll have a look at my material and ask Graeme to check his files too.

Cheers

Gwyn

Hello Graeme,
I am interested to look at the database entries in Yorkshire on the Drill Hall website. But the link is missing. The other counties I have looked at appear to be fine. Perhaps you could check this out?

Mel

Hi Mel

Sorry - Yorkshire isn't there yet! The website is a work in progress, with all my research being converted to something sensible and legible by Gwyn.

I've just sent her Hampshire to work on, I guess Yorkshire will be a little later on....

If you have any specifics just PM me and I'll try to help

Graeme

The pennants against the county names on the database page indicate the counties which have been loaded. Mouse hover also shows the links that are live.


The 'About' page I wrote for the website explains:

The Drill Hall Project encompasses an extensive database of several thousand locations, compiled by Graeme Fisher. Research is an ongoing pleasure and new and interesting information is constantly coming to light as we explore this under-investigated and under-recorded subject.

However, the task is huge and the centralised historical records are sparse and often misleading. Key pieces of information have often been located in the archives of local newspapers, the records held by building owners, local libraries, on-line resources, and other sources typically used by local historians. The project, although national in compass, essentially comprises several thousand local investigations of limited scope.

We decided that it was important that the information gathered to date should be shared as soon as possible, while the website is under development and so much of our material has yet to be uploaded. We have a rolling programme of uploading ...

Therefore, we urge you to keep coming back to see what is new! There is a vast amount of important and intriguing material still to come.

Equally important, we recognise the limits of our own resources and the dispersed nature of the data on this subject. Therefore we hope that the website will also function as a collaborative research tool and we welcome evidence-based contributions that can augment and be added to the body of knowledge on the website about this diverse and overlooked category of buildings.

HTH


Gwyn