Period shame

[vicky whitworth]

Just back from Suffolk. Mother-in-law's 80th party held in Darsham village hall. Wonderful setting for a 1930/40s themed afternoon tea. Wooden hall, with great charm.
Soon to be no more as a developer has approached the parish to buy the plot, knock down the hall, build 19 houses and a swish new hall down the road. We have one of those swish new halls in Chardstock. It looks like a public convenience.

Come on East Anglians: can you fight this? Buy the hall, erect it in your garden. I fancied the Weald and Downland museum having it but they only do South-East stuff.

Vicky

 

[Flyfisher]

At the risk of being controversial, it is just a wooden hut and people do need places to live.
http://darsham.onesuffolk.net/village-hall/

If there's one thing that defines us it must surely be change. Without change, we wouldn't have all the wonderful period buildings we do have in the first place and without change we'll be denying future generations the opportunity to create their own period properties for their future generations to enjoy.

Change is a good thing, or should be. What upsets me is the unimaginative, bland and downright ugly buildings that are often thrown up as quickly and cheaply as possible these days - though I suppose that has always happened and the 'chaeap and nasty' buildings are the ones that, by and large, have not survived for centuries. So perhaps there's a sort of 'natural selection' of fine quality buildings and we reap the rewards. Hopefully, future generaltions will reap the same rewards . . . assuming we can still create fine buildings today.

 

[vicky whitworth]

Ah, that bit in the picture is just a wooden hut - possibly 1970s - but the wing at the back is 1920s - 1940s and still has its original stuff inside. Once stuff like this is lost people wonder why everywhere has no character. My brother-in-law is going to approach the developers if it gets sold and see if we could buy the wing at the back. Goodness knows what we'd do with it. Re-erect it somewhere where it would be appreciated!

 

[Flyfisher]

If the development proposal is successful then I'd be surprised if the developers wouldn't entertain an offer for the existing hut. In fact, I'd try asking for it for nothing at first because I doubt they would have given it any value in their grand plan and it would probably just be reduced to firewood in the initial site clearance.

But I reckon you'd have to be pretty swift with dismantling and removing it because once the developers get going they won't want any delays and their JCBs will clear the site much faster than a careful dismantling.

But perhaps I'm being unfair on developers and they would welcome the opportunity for a bit of positive PR and 'doing their thing' for conservation, even though it might be better for them to not develop the site in the first place!