Hall Restoration - Moor Pool History

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Hall Restoration

The Hall is a listed building and therefore all work has to be carried out with the approval of the Conservation Officer to a standard which reflects this. This inevitably requires additional expenditure compared to what would be necessary for ordinary buildings. An example has to be set for conservation values if ordinary residents are expected to comply with the Article 4(2) Direction.

Key work needed is:-

Restoration of the hall rooflights which have leaked on occasion and could, if properly restored, be made to open and provide additional ventilation.

Roof repairs, including replacement of the cast iron guttering.

Replacement of the parquet floor in the lower hall.

Making good failing brickwork and render.

Rebuilding failing walls and pathways.

Sorting out the extensive damp problem on the North Gate side of the hall resulting from the filling in of the bank and the bricking up of the external windows to the skittle alley.

The skittle alley no longer has any natural light since the windows were bricked up and the bank filled in. Now there is persistent damp in the alley and staircase leading to the lower rooms in the hall. A ramp would provide disabled access to the alley and its own entrance without the need to traverse several sets of steps and pass through the lower hall which might be in use. There would be significant expenditure involved but other features that could be considered would be WC facilities for the alley itself.

Underneath the temporary floor of the lower hall is the original parquet floor. This had become unstable and to enable increased use of the hall by user groups, a temporary floor was laid. This has a limited life and will need replacing. Damp and flooding in the past are again an issue so that along with the cost of properly relaying the floor, these other problems will need investigation and cure. The floor is about the lowest point in the building. The failing brick pathway outside means water may not be properly running off. Since the picture was taken the Trust have repainted the lower hall and kitchen area, substantially improving it from the condition left by the previous owner, Grainger plc.

It would be easy in the rush to put things right after years of neglect to throw out many items of historic interest even if they have little value. Shabby curtains put up many years ago which need replacing with something in keeping with the art deco interior can nontheless have some historic value whether its the patterning or a throwback to the committee which perhaps provided them.

Pictures of the hall in 1977 show the gas light fittings were still in place then and on the walls the connection points still remain. Thought needs to be given to reinstating appropriate wall lights which would provide ambient lighting for evening events.

Improvements to the WC facilities are well overdue but gutting the rooms without consideration between achieving a balance between contemporary requirements and the listed requirements of the building requires thought and consultation.

The whicker chairs in the gents are interesting. Where did these come from? What year are they?

The last remaining gas mantle and the empty connection points along the hall walls. What can be found to replace them? The houses also had gas lighting. What style of lights were fitted? Its unlikely they were the same as the Hall.

The issue of damp in the basement of the hall is illustrated in the pictures with the skittle alley windows bricked up requiring an extraction fan to be almost constantly running and further along the building the walls adjacent to the access stairs exhibit extensive damp with paint peeling.