Victor Lukaniuk takes us inside the old Drill Hall, on the High Street …
“One building that probably goes unnoticed in Brandon is 71, High Street – an architectural marvel it is not, but it does have a hidden secret.
Most people know the building as the veterinary surgery and it has served the town well for about twenty years. Previous to this some senior Brandonian’s can remember it as the “dole office”; before that it was the electricity showroom and before that the gas showroom. Previous to World War II it was known as the Drill Hall, especially for army conscripts. There is one glaring clue at the front of the building; high up we have a hefty iron mount set into the brickwork to hold a substantial flag pole.
The Drill Hall, as it was known for several generations, had its heyday during World War One when many young men from the surrounding area would make an appearance for basic drill work and training. Once inside, if you carefully climb the narrow staircase, the secret will be revealed. It is incredible that to this day it still retains the World War One wooden gun racks. In fact the rear gable end still bears the bullet holes of some rather inaccurate rifle practice.
During the 19th century the building was the Quakers meeting place, a religious group which had split from the Anglican Church but previous to this, and possibly as far back as the late 1600’s, it was a wealthy merchants granary. The clues are in the massive first floor timbers and the triangular skirting boards to prevent the grain compacting in the corners. The building, for several centuries, formed part of Grafton House (next door) but in the 1930’s was separated and sold off. It has great age but has had a Victorian front applied and, in the 1950’s, had one of those make-overs which included metal windows and a large picture window at the front to show off all manner of gas appliances.”
Article taken from Brandon Life, photo courtesy of Victor Lukaniuk.