History of the Hall
The new hall has been 83 years in the making...
The idea for a hall and recreation facilities in the
village came from local men who had fought and survived
World War One. Some 150 men from the village had gone to
war, with some 15 'Brindlers' making the ultimate sacrifice.
Minutes of Brindle Parish Council for the 26th January
1920 recorded that...
"At 8.30 p.m. a deputation was received forming a
Committee of Messrs. Grime, Moss, Hindle and Stott asking
for support for a proposed Recreation Room for Brindle.
This support was granted four voting in favour and two either
against it or neutral"
Parish Institute Opening Ceremony, 1923
Things moved on when on Saturday, 18th August 1923 the
Parish Institute was officially opened by Lord Chesham.
His Lordship, who was a member of the Cavendish family and
related to the Duke of Devonshire, had land in the village
and donated the site for a recreation room with a bowling
green and tennis court; a football pitch was created sometime
later on an adjacent farmer's field.
Click here for the report
from the 'Preston Guardian' about the opening ceremony.
The original hall, 1923
The original buildings were former Army huts from Salisbury
Plain and the whole project cost £900. The community played
its part in transporting the huts from Hoghton railway station
nearby, as well as preparing the site and erecting the buildings.
Original Constitution, 1923
The original constitution of the Institute recorded that...
"The Institute or any part thereof shall be open to
each of the inhabitants of Brindle without distinction of
sex of the age of fourteen years and upwards, who shall
be sober and industrious and of good character".
and...
"No gambling or playing games for money shall be permitted
in the Institute or any part of the premises hereby assured"
and that "No intoxicating liquor shall at any time be sold
or consumed in the Institute or on any part of the premises
hereby assured".
Today, the current hall has no restriction on the sale
of alcohol and a licensed bar is available for all events.
Tennis outside the Institute between the Wars
The Institute thrived between the Wars; membership being
set at five shillings (25p) per year, and entrance to the
weekly Whist Drive and Dance was just a shilling (5p). The
facilities were well used, with the hall being open six
nights of the week (closed on Sundays).
After some hard times during the Second World War, the
Institute tried in vain to regain its original popularity
and struggled on until closure in 1958. The original wooden
buildings, which had served the village for 35 years, were
pulled down and the fixtures and fittings were sold.
A more detailed account of the original Institute and
Brindle between the Wars can be found in an excellent book
'Brindle as I remember it' by Harold Baxendale;
click here for extracts about
the Institute.
Despite the field being used occasionally for field days
and sports days, the site (like the village) lay dormant
for many years until interest was rekindled in the mid-1970's,
around the time a new housing development in the centre
of the village.
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