St Georges Church Hall

St George’s Church Hall, built in 1928-29, was designed by Cyril Arthur Farey. It is constructed primarily of red brick in English bond, with stretcher bond detailing to the entrance block. The first floor is rendered and finished with a clay tile roof.

The building is principally two storeys, with a mezzanine level leading to a balcony, and a third storey within the rear roof space. The plan features a central corridor leading to classrooms on either side, a small hall at the rear, and a large hall on the first floor. A caretaker's flat is located at the rear. Attached to the north side is a small extension housing a secondary staircase and entrance to the flat.

The architectural style is eclectic, showing neo-Georgian influences with Art Deco details. The front elevation is symmetrical, featuring a projecting two-storey entrance block with stepped brickwork to the parapets. The recessed entrance area is defined by rebated piers, with glazed timber panelled doors and a rectangular fanlight. Sash windows are set within flat gauged-brick arches. A recessed balcony on the upper floor is accessed by French windows and includes a wrought-iron guard-rail with a central panel of intersecting circles. The gable is finished with a broken pediment and features a central segmental-headed tripartite window with Art Deco mullions projecting above the arch. Side elevations feature 12-over-12 pane sash windows in round-headed openings with pointed gauged-brick arches and keystones on the ground floor. A string course runs below the cill level of the first-floor windows, continuing around the rear of the building, above which the walls are rendered. Casement windows on the upper floor are arranged to resemble a clerestory, with pivoting central sections. The rear elevation has round-headed sash windows alternating with narrow rectangular sash windows on the ground floor, and metal casement windows on the upper floors. The roof is pitched with deep eaves.

The interior ground floor contains original panelled doors with rectangular fanlights. A large classroom on the south side is divided by a folding timber partition. The staircases have solid concrete balustrades. The main hall on the first floor is supported by segmental curved steel trusses, which are encased. A raised stage features a shouldered surround to the proscenium arch, and the soffit of the roof is close boarded with sliding ventilation panels.

Cyril Farey (1888-1954) was known as a skilled architectural perspectivist and watercolourist, often commissioned to create sketches and watercolours of designs by prominent architects.

The hall is a well-preserved and distinctive example of an inter-war parish hall, designed by a renowned architectural perspectivist.