Dunlop Public Hall : Where is Dunlop? : More photos of Dunlop.
by Martin J. Galloway Editor.
The Dunlop Public Hall was procured thanks to a Bazaar at Dunlop House in 1890. The doors opened on December 8th 1891 almost a year after the first plans were approved. It contained two large halls which could be combined for grand occasions. They say 400 folk once attended a concert here, difficult to imagine given it's original size. To date I have not managed to ascertain who designed the building, but it is definately a smorgasborg of sloping lines. There is a hint of Jacobean influence with an octagonal tower standiing about 35 feet. Other than that it is of a simple yet robust L-shape design, bearing large windows.
The Public Hall was well received and frequently over subscribed. In 1924 a large addition was built onto the North side effectively doubling it's size. Unfortunately the addition was built of a light coloured fire brick and does not match the original stone. The Hall has held many interesting events from pet shows, concerts, painting competitions and bingo to name only some. It is an interesting focal point in the village yet lay unused for several years. At one time the Hall played host to the village Christmas tree. Such was the interest in the coloured bulbs by some, that the following year the tree appeared on a pedestal 15 feet up the south wall!
Dunlop Public Hall has pretty much stayed the same since the extension was added in 1924. A door on the south east corner has been covered up with stone, and the tower (which was a viewing pod originally) was covered in with slate. I cannot find any records indicating when nor why those two things happened. Sometime during the 1980's after a huge storm the weather vane was removed temporarily "for safety reasons". Well in 2005 the temporary removal is obviously still in effect, for 20 years later nobody has seen nor heard of the vane since. |
