Memorial Institute

Memorial Institute

Built in 1920–21, the Memorial Institute at Esholt was designed by the Bournemouth architects Pearson & Burrill. The building was constructed from local re-used stone (said to have been salvaged from either a local mill or dwellings), rendered with stone dressings, a stone slate roof in diminishing courses, and a stone ashlar entrance porch.

The building forms a single-storey rectangular block with dormers in the roof space, a projecting wing to the left side set at right angles to the main structure, an entrance porch in the angle between the two, and a lean-to toilet block at the right end.

The road-facing elevation features a single large multi-paned window with a concrete cill and wooden mullion and transom at ground floor, with two multi-paned casement dormers above. The projecting left wing has similar windows on its side and gable end, with applied timber work on the gable. The stone ashlar porch stands in the angle between the wings and is approached by five splayed steps. It contains a small window on each side of a panelled door, with a shaped stone parapet above and original small iron and glass lamps either side. Above the door is a memorial stone inscribed IN MEMORIAM followed by the names of four men and the dates 1914–1918. The right end of the main wing contains a lean-to toilet block with a single small multi-paned window.

The rear elevation features two large windows similar to the front elevation towards the left, with two dormers above. To the right, the roof extends downward to cover a verandah supported on wooden posts with splayed capitals and a low picket fence with Arts and Crafts-inspired panels. A central gap has an open gabled roof leading to double doors with small-paned half glazing. The left return shows the projecting wing set back, with three small windows along its side, the gabled end of the main block, and a chimney stack rising from the junction of the two roof sections.

The interior is entered through a small porch area with doors leading to the main hall and kitchen area to the left. The main room occupies the whole of the main block and has a wooden floor, half-height tongue-and-groove panelling, and a suspended ceiling. Above the suspended ceiling is the original roof structure with four trusses supporting a boarded roof, lit by the dormer windows. The left wing contains a kitchen with modern fittings, divided from the main hall by an original folding wooden and glazed screen. To the right of the kitchen is a cupboard housing the boiler; the original boiler is displayed in a cabinet in the kitchen. At the far end of the hall is a door to the toilet block, which was rebuilt from a smaller original. The rear wall carries a framed stone inscribed THIS STONE WAS LAID BY/ THE CHAIRMAN OF THE SEWAGE COMMITTEE/ CITY OF BRADFORD./ (ALDERMAN RICHARD JOHNSON J P)/ 30th JUNE 1920. Also on the rear wall is a metal plaque inscribed PARISH OF ESHOLT/ ROLL OF HONOUR/ EUROPEAN WAR/ 1914–1918, listing 53 names in three columns.

The building was constructed by local inhabitants using salvaged materials. An opening ceremony was held on 12 November 1920. The original architectural drawings, dated 1920, are held at the Institute. The practice of Pearson & Burrill was probably a successor to that of J L Pearson, a noted Bournemouth architect with links to the north of England; his son continued in the same profession.

A small gents toilet block originally at the end of the building was demolished in the late 20th century and replaced with a larger block for both women and men; women previously used a small closet off the kitchen, now a storage space. The building is otherwise substantially unchanged, retaining all original windows, doors, roof structure, and internal folding partition screens. A suspended ceiling is the only other alteration.

The Institute building is set towards the front of a large plot which contains to the rear a crown bowling green, seating areas, and gardens.