Over the centuries, Basingstoke has gained – and lost – a multitude of halls and meeting places where the populace have assembled for all sorts of functions and events.
As far back as the 16th century there was a Mote Hall in the centre of the town, where the townsfolk could meet to sort out their various problems, and the officials sat to govern over the town.
Built in 1511, the Mote Hall (Mote is an Anglo-Saxon word for “to meet”) was burned down in 1656 during a conflagration through that part of Basingstoke. Another building was constructed the following year.
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This new building was supported on columns with an open space underneath, which was used by-traders at the weekly market. The Town Council would meet there, it hosted meetings, suppers and balls, and official proclamations were read to the people of Basingstoke from its windows.
In 1829, a Parliamentary Act was passed to enlarge Market Place, which included the purchase and demolition of properties in Wote Street and Church Street. The purpose of this was to enable a new town hall to be built in their place.
Lewis Wyatt was appointed as the architect and Messrs Howard and Dixon from London were awarded the building contract. Work began in May 1831 and the first stone was laid by the mayor at a ceremony on 8 July. The hall, which still exists today as the Willis Museum, has undergone several changes over the years.
As with the hall built in the 17th century, the new building was open on the ground floor, however this was enclosed in 1865 to create more rooms. In 1887, to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, the original clock tower was removed and replaced with one provided by John May, which was demolished in 1961 for health and safety reasons. One of the clock faces is on display in the museum.
In 1964, the hall hosted the first gig of the town’s Galaxy Club, but from 1981, the building was no longer in use, as the town’s new Civic Offices had been built. The building was sold to a property developer and plans were drawn up to turn it into offices. When this proved unsuccessful, the council acquired the building for use as a museum and the Willis Museum moved in in 1984.
Halls come in various forms, such as drill halls used by military groups. Of the three known ones are one in Goat Lane (built in 1913), one in Penrith Road (built in 1914) and a third one erected at the top of Sarum Hill in 1884. The latter was converted into a dance hall in 1925, then the Plaza cinema in 1931.
It closed down in 1954, was converted into a furniture store, then demolished in 1981. A neighbouring Masonic hall, built in 1885, was also pulled down at the same time.
Meeting halls and rooms have always been associated with churches, and the two Methodist Church buildings – at Church Street, and Sarum Hill, in the 1960s and 1970s – are two of those which have been lost.
The original Moose Hall, or Baptist Hall as it was earlier known, stood in upper Church Street with the hall having been built in 1867. It was demolished in 1979, and a new Moose Hall was built just off the Churchill Way.
Another church hall was the Eastrop Parochial Hall in Goat Lane, which belonged to St Mary’s Church. The hall was built in 1907 and demolished in the 1960s.
May Place Hall, belonging to the United Reformed Church in London Street, was built in 1906. In 1977, its function as a church meeting place ceased, and it was used as offices.
Two mission halls have also gone – one in May Street, which belonged to St Michael’s Church, and the Methodist meeting place on the corner of George Street and Deep Lane.
In Winchester Road, near Winton Square, was Brinkletts Hall, where the Basingstoke Youth Club took place from 1940 until its closure and demolition in the 1980s.
Political groups also needed meeting rooms, and the Conservative Club originally had its building in lower Church Street, while the Liberal Club was above two shops in upper Wote Street. Both were demolished in the mid-1960s’ mass clearance of the area.
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The Labour Club had a wooden hall at the rear of Essex Road, and in the era of rock-and-roll it was often used to hold dances, until 1961, when a fire destroyed the building.
The present meeting places in town are now a mixture of old and new. The most ancient must be Church Cottage, dating back to the 16th century, which is next to St Michael’s Church, while All Saints Church Hall is just over a century old.
Halls come and go, but the public will always need them. People like to gather to converse and participate in various functions. Remove that opportunity and the public will protest.
(This column was originally published in The Gazette in April 2003)
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