Jubilee Souvenir Booklet - History of Watton, Norfolk

www.historyofwatton.org.uk
QUEEN’S HALL, WATTON
In October 1952 Watton Parish Council called a meeting to
consider what would form a suitable commemoration of the
Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. A large majority
favoured the erection of a Public Hall as there was a long standing
need for such an amenity in Watton. A committee was appointed
and quickly embarked on their formidable task of providing a
Public Hall and the subsidiary task of organising Coronation
Festivities in the town.
Within a year a suitable site had been purchased and the idea of
using an existing steel hangar frame as the mainstay of the
building was adopted and negotiations for such a frame
commenced, A hangar was purchased on December 29th 1953
and in three weeks was dismantled and brought to Watton for
cleaning and painting. Plans for the Hall having been approved
by all the authorities concerned, the boundary wall, fronting Norwich
Road, was breached and an entrance cut to the site on
April 5th 1954.
Work on felling 18 trees, bulldozing out roots and excavating for
building foundations preceded rapidly and by August 1954 the
hangar frame was erected. Having complied with the necessary
con ditions for obtaining a Ministry of Education grant, notification
was received from the Ministry during September that a grant of
£ 1,762 would be paid by instalments, providing that the work
was done by voluntary labour.
Electricity was installed and work proceeded under floodlights
during the winter of 1954-55 and by June 1955 the walls were up
to window level and in July the building was roofed. Work was
carried out inside the hall during the next winter and by January
the concrete roof over the entrance hall and balcony was
completed and the stage and ceiling joists fixed. A month later
the ceiling was finished, the walls plastered and plans made to
open the Hall on November 1st 1956.
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