William Booth Memorial Halls

William Booth Memorial Halls

This building was constructed in 1914-15 to designs by Oswald Archer. It is built of red brick laid in English bond with stone detailing and a slate roof covering. The plan is sub-rectangular with an apsidal northern end.

The eclectic neo-classical design is most clearly expressed at the northern end, around the principal entrance. The entrance comprises an almost double-height, double-leaf multi-panelled timber door with a domed over-light subdivided with timber glazing bars and leaded lights. The deeply channelled rusticated stone door surround has an elliptical arch above and an enlarged key block which extends into a plaque. The embossed memorial plaque reads "THE SALVATION ARMY / WILLIAM BOOTH / MEMORIAL HALLS". The plaque is surmounted by a shallow segmental pediment, and above that a partially balustraded parapet, behind which stands a squat domed tower. Each of the four faces of the square plan tower has a window with a moulded stone surround, a segmented pediment above, and pairs of miniature Ionic columns either side.

Giant engaged Ionic columns on brick plinths with moulded stone cornice and dentiled detailing flank the central door and smaller doors either side. The columns, cornice and balustraded parapet continue along the east side of the building, with each of the eight bays defined by a column. Full-height windows with moulded stone surrounds and leaded glazing occupy five of the bays; a door and shortened window occupy another; a small window at first-floor level occupies another; and the eighth bay is blind but carries the Salvation Army emblem. Foundation stone plaques in the first and eighth bays record names including William Booth's son Bramwell, the Mayor of Nottingham Councillor Frederick Ball, Frank Bowden JP and Councillor Edwin Mellor JP, positioned during the building's construction on 7 July 1914.

The principal entrance leads into a small vestibule with doors on either side labelled LADIES and GENTS, each with pedimented moulded timber architraves, though the doors themselves have been replaced with 20th-century fire doors. These provide access to water closets and staircases leading to the gallery above the main hall. External doors either side of the principal entrance originally provided separate access for male and female members to the same stairs and gallery. A 20th-century glazed partition with sliding door creates an inner vestibule, separated from the meeting hall by another similarly dated partition wall. Within this inner vestibule, a moulded cornice and decorative detailing creates a modest but elegant space, with timber panelling across the sloping ceiling reflecting the raked seating of the gallery above.

The main meeting hall features a shallow vaulted ceiling with symmetrical moulded cornice and moulded plaster panels between tall windows. The stage was extended slightly in the early 21st century for greater accessibility and additional seating, though the form and layout of the original platform remain clearly readable. Behind the stage hangs a portrait of William Booth by William J Carroll, presented to the hall by Alderman Sir John Turney.

The gallery at the northern end is elegantly detailed with moulded plaster panels similar to the main hall body but with added rosette decoration within each panel. The original tiered floor survives. A glass screen erected at the gallery front (a 21st-century addition) heightens safety. Access to the gallery is provided by a pair of double-leaf fire doors (20th-century) positioned slightly off-centre in the rear wall of the gallery.

The rear block to the south-west and small extension to the east, both added in the late 1980s, are excluded from the listing.