Drill Halls in the Forest of Dean - Forest of Dean FHT Forum

I am looking for information on drill halls in the forest of dean area and was wondering if anyone has any photographs (old or new) and/or historical information on drill halls. I believe there were drill halls in Cinderford,Coleford & Newnham. Thanks

My husband, brought up in Coleford, says that he was told that the Coleford Drill Hall was on the site of the present day cinema, or very close.

Eugene

Thank you very much for the information.

Hi again,

do you, or your husband, think there may be old photos of the drill hall?

thanks

norman

The building which housed the drill hall in Newnham on Severn still exists. It is at "The Wharf" and is currently used as an office and is in private ownership. Previously it was used as a venue for the game of badminton.

Cinderford had a drill hall on the site that is now the Telephone Exchange in Station street.
It was situated at the bottom of a field behind my parents place.
Dave

Thanks Lefram,

I have an address for the office at Newnham but have not contacted them yet. Do you know if there are any photos, new or old, of the drill hall?

Norman

I found a booklet of old photos, entitled 'A glance back at Coleford' by Keith and June Webb, (a Black Dwarf Publication, 47-49 High Street Lydney,Gl15 5DD, Publ. 2000). On p. 15 there is a photograph taken by John Porter around 1910 of territorials parading beside Coleford Town Hall. The accompanying text confirms that the original Drill Hall in Coleford later housed the Studio Cinema.

I'm sorry but I have not seen a photo of the actual Drill Hall. I'm sure one must exist. There are collectors of old postcards and photos who sometimes publish photos in the local Forest papers. It might be possible to contact them and find out if they have anything.

Regards

Eugene

I am a partner/collaborator in a project which is recording drill halls throughout the UK and we have a vast amount of data. Can I point you in the direction of our project website at http://www.drillhalls.org ? It is a work in progress, so we have a lot of material which is not yet online, but it may give you a flavour of what we have. Our focus is on the drill halls used by the Territorials prior to the Great War.

There is a contact facility on the website. I'm sure we would be pleased to hear from you if you have questions or needed specific information.

May I ask why you're particularly interested in drill halls?

(As an aside, we would be really pleased to hear any information to add to our project; photos are particularly hard to come by.)

Gwyn

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