Brook Hill Hall, grand as it sounds, is a single storey red brick building located behind 205 Brook Hill, and like all properties here, belongs to the University of Sheffield.
It was bought in 1963 having been constructed in 1925 and previously known as St George’s Hall.
It was used for exams, student society activities and a small amount of teaching but as it fell into poor condition, was used for storage.
Had it not been for an application in June to demolish it, then we might not have heard about it. Sheffield City Council refused the application, because it is a war memorial registered on the Imperial War Museum’s War Memorials Register.
It was built as St George’s Memorial Hall, attached to St George’s Church at Portobello, lower down Brook Hill, to commemorate those lives lost in World War One.
The war memorial scheme had begun in 1918 and included the purchase of the freehold of St Anne’s Vicarage , Brook Hill, for £1,600. (St Anne’s Church was at Netherthorpe). The house was adapted for social recreation for young people connected with the church, and the Memorial Hall was built in the grounds attached at a cost of £4,000.
It was built by B. Powell and Son, in red brick with an Empire stone entrance, measuring 60ft by 40ft, and a seating capacity for 500. It was fitted with electric lighting, heating, kitchen, and cloakrooms, with a stage at one end which was used for concerts.
Over the years, the hall was used for church meetings, Sunday School purposes, and social gatherings.
There is a memorial plaque above the door which the University of Sheffield had promised to carefully remove during demolition and relocate in a public location on campus. It also promised to salvage other materials from the building to be reused in future projects across the University estate.
For now, St George’s Memorial Hall lives to see another day.
© 2024 David Poole. All Rights Reserved.
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