York Road Centre (Former Drill Hall)

Details

GREAT YARMOUTH

TG5207SE YORK ROAD 839-1/0/10014 (North side) 23-FEB-10 York Road Centre (Former Drill Hall)

II A drill hall designed by J T Bottle comprising a front residential range and adjoining hall of 1867 and a former admininistration block at the rear of c 1880s. Some C20 alterations.

MATERIALS: The front range is in the Gothic Revival style, constructed with uncoursed knapped flint with polychromatic brick dressings. The hall and rear block are in red brick laid in Flemish bond with slate-covered gable roofs.

PLAN: The symmetrical front range, accommodation for the drill inspector, is of two storeys with two projecting gables. To the rear is a drill hall of rectangular plan with the former administrative block joining to the north.

EXTERIOR: The two projecting gables of the front range are connected by a first-floor linking bay with a gablet, over a porch with a wide elliptical-arched entrance of moulded brick, which once contained gates. Also constructed with flint and brick dressings is the crow-stepped gable wall of the hall, with central occulus, which rises behind this central bay. Early-C20 sash windows of 20 small-paned lights-over-two large, are at ground and first floors, the former with radiating brick above, the latter with decorative herringbone brickwork. Some single-light windows with cusped heads and pierced spandrels indicate the nature of the 1860s fenestration. On the side elevations of each gable are single-storey blocks, originally rooms, surrounding a small yard accessing the hall, but now infilled.

The hall is 10 bays long. The side elevations are constructed in red brick laid in Flemish bond, in a pier and panel arrangement on a brick plinth, with no openings apart from a doorway in the central bay of the east elevation. The rear block was constructed in a number of phases, with C20 brick patching. The first floor to the north jetties, supported by joists connected to columns on the recessed ground floor wall. There are five sash windows on the ground floor, and four above with two central gablets each with a narrow window opening.

INTERIOR: The front range has single rooms on the ground and first floors of the projecting gables. A few plain fireplaces remain: the first-floor room to the west accesses the gallery above the hall. The roof of the hall has arches in a single span across its width. It is supported on curved timber braces set within a simple frame with small king posts. Diagonal braces rise from the collar to support the modern ridge beam; lightweight metal tie beams and timber finials project from the trusses. The wooden floor appears original and is laid on concrete to minimise the noise from drill marches. Along the south wall at first floor are the remains of six timber supports for a viewing gallery, which has been removed. Central heating in the form of substantial hot water pipes, heated by the boiler located in the rear block, runs around the room at floor and head height and is probably an original feature. At the north end, doorways from the hall on the west, centre and east access the stairs to the first floor, former offices and the boiler room in the rear block. One ground-floor room had barred windows suggesting that it was a secure store and the single long room at first floor has an Edwardian fireplace and original joinery. Many original doors remain.

HISTORY: Once commonplace in towns across the country, drill halls were first built for the Rifle Volunteers corps established in 1859-60 to defend Britain against the perceived threat of invasion from France. The York Road Centre was built as the base for the 2nd Volunteer Battalion Norfolk Regiment at a cost of £1,400. The drill hall and front residential block for the drill instructor were both built in 1867, the construction being commemorated in a foundation stone laid by the mayor (and Captain of the A Company), Captain Youell, on May 24 1867. The rear block was added later, but had been built by 1885, and appears to have replaced an earlier structure. Kelly's Directory of 1912 describes the building as '65 feet wide, a large hall roofed in one span with elliptic ribs and is lighted chiefly by a skylight at the apex of the roof'. The roof trusses are identical to those used in the 1862 International Exhibition building in South Kensington and were designed by Capt. Francis Fowke of the Royal Engineers. Most of the glazing has been replaced in the early C20, and the central ridge lantern of the hall has been replaced with a skylight. The viewing galleries at the north and south ends of the hall have been removed. The rear block has been remodelled in the C20. The hall is now a sports centre.

SOURCES Dishon D 'South Kensington's Forgotten Palace: The 1862 International Exhibition Building' unpublished PhD thesis. 2005 English Heritage 'The York Road Centre, (Former Drill Hall), York Road, Great Yarmouth' Unpublished Architectural Investigation Report, (2009). Harrod and Co, 'Directory of Norfolk and Lowestoft' (1877), 770 Kelly's Directory of Norfolk, (1904), 562 Kelly's Directory of Norfolk, (1912), 589 Osborne M 'Always Ready: The Drill Halls of Britain's Volunteer Forces' (2006), 27, 87 & 110. Palmer 'The Perlustration of great Yarmouth' (1872) Post Office Directory of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, Part 2: Norfolk, (1869), 507 Pevsner N and Wilson B 'The Buildings of England: Norfolk 1 Norwich and the North-East' 2nd ed. (1997), 488-529 White, W 'History, Gazetteer and Directory of Norfolk,' (1890), 1126

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: The York Road Centre (former drill hall), York Road, Great Yarmouth of 1867 is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Architectural Interest: It has an accomplished and lively façade executed with a skilful design employing the contrasting use of flint and polychromatic brickwork. * Intactness: Although there has been some remodelling to the rear administration block, the three components of the drill hall and some interior fixtures and fittings remain. * Rarity: It is an example of an early volunteer drill hall, an increasingly rare building type in England. * Interiors: The hall has an unusual roof truss, representative of the C19 development of single span trusses in buildings.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

506054

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.