Henley in Arden Memorial Hall – A brief history
In April 1908, a company called the Henley in Arden Public Hall and Institute Limited was formed with a view to building a Working Man's Club. The Loyal Arden Lodge of Oddfellows sold a plot of land behind the High Street to the company for £50. The Great Western Railway agreed to allow access to the plot from its new Station Road for an annual fee of £1.
The original estimate for constructing the hall was £1225 but problems with foundations, and higher than expected costs for furnishing the interior, meant that the final cost was around £1600.
The formal opening of the hall, attended by the local businessmen and dignitaries, was on News Year's Eve 1908.
During the first week of January, the local inhabitants were treated to a performance of “The Taming of the Shrew” from a London based company, “Compromising Martha” a play written by J.Keble Howard the son of the local Rev. G.E. Bell and “Trial by Jury” performed by a local light opera company.
During the Great War, 1914-1918, the hall became an auxiliary hospital. It received men who had been injured fighting for their country. Out of 1576 patients, only 2 died. The hospital closed in April 1919. The hall reverted to its original purpose with the reading room, rifle range, billiards tables and stage well used by the townsfolk.
In 1946, the company was taken over by the Henley in Arden War Memorial Trust to provide a lasting tribute to those who had lost their lives in the 1939-1945 war. The trust still manages the hall for the benefit of the people of Henley in Arden.