Former Drill Hall And Adjoining House

The former drill hall and adjoining house, now serving as club premises and a residence, was built in 1890, possibly designed by William Watkins and funded by Joseph Ruston. It is constructed of red brick with stone dressings and features a crenellated Gothic style. The building has a battered plinth, a moulded sill band, machicolations, and a crenellated parapet.

At the center, there is a three-storey tower with round corner turrets, flanked by two-storey wings that are set back and consist of three bays, each with square corner turrets. The main entrance is a central Tudor arched doorway, complete with a hoodmould and cross-beamed doors. Above the doorway is a canted stone oriel window with three lights and transoms, displaying the Royal arms and regimental badges. Above this, two pointed windows are flanked by crosslets in the turrets. Each wing features a series of pointed windows with cast-iron octagonal glazing bars.

Inside, the hall is supported by piers with zigzag capitals and has segmental pointed arches all around. The roof is a well-crafted arch-braced rolled steel structure with traceried spandrels that include the City arms. An arch at the west end houses a wreathed and corniced war memorial tablet from around 1920. There is also a dogleg stone stair with ringed iron balusters. The datestone indicates the year of construction as 1890.