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In 1921, the year our unique War Memorial was
dedicated to the men of the village lost in World War I, plans were drawn up
for Mr. W.H. Gittins of Hall Farm at The Cross to build a small hall as a
further memorial to the fallen of Ruyton XI Towns.
The site had been used as a hardware shop and then a
photographic studio by Frances James (Frank) Cocks, who lived across the road
at Riversdale. Frank took most of the
portraits and weddings in the village, but he was also an inventor and patented
fairground amusements.
Unfortunately, it took 15 years for the new hall to
come to fruition. When Mr. Gittins` Memorial
Institute opened in 1936 between the three village pubs, the Talbot, Powis Arms
and Admiral Benbow, it would not serve alcohol, was for men only and had a
billiard table.
In a newspaper cutting sent to me by Ruth Corfield,
now proprietor of Café Eleven, the British Legion had the use of a room for
some years past, presumably sharing Mr. Cocks` studio. The trustees of the new Institute represented
the village and the Legion who would still be able to use it, as long as the
branch was in existence. The trustees
were Chairman, Major Threlfall from the Manor at Shotatton, Mr. W.H. Gittins
Vice Chairman, Mr. W.A. Riddlesworth, village school master and secretary of
the British Legion, and Mr. Cocks was Secretary. The Memorial Institute was opened by Col E.G.
Jones of Ruyton Hall and dedicated to the memory of King George V who had died
on 20th January that year.
As it was not
attached to the church, the hall probably attracted both drinkers and
abstainers. The story in the Gittins
family is that the men used to let Mr. Gittins win at billiards so that he
would keep putting money in the electric meter!
By 1974, all the original trustees had died, leaving
the hall with no management. Hence a
public meeting was held in the Village Hall, which was, and still is, a
charity, and the Parish Council became Custodian Trustees owning the
freehold.
The Women`s Institute
The first meeting of the WI in the Memorial Hall was
in April 1952. I remember in the 1970s
one of us had to go down after lunch to light the fire, which I think Jean
Rolfe would top up until 7pm when we hoped it had taken the chill off the room.
Some interesting facts have emerged about the Memorial
Institute, starting with the handover to Ruyton XI Towns Parish Council.
In 1974, when the original trustees of the Memorial
Hall had died and Rev. Crewes of the Independent Chapel at Park Gates was left
with various legal documents for the building.
In March, Mr. Crewes told the Parish Council that Shropshire
Congregational Union were putting together a document transferring the
management of the hall to Ruyton XI Towns Parish Council. When this was approved, Mr. Tom Roberts of
Bridge End, Brownhill and Mr. John Gittins of Hall Farm were appointed
trustees. At the same meeting the Parish
Council approved plans to build toilets in the hall.
The first job was connecting water to the Memorial
Hall and the installing toilets, estimated cost, £300, with the Women`s
Institute, as main users of the hall, making a reasonable contribution. In February 1975, a copy of the new Deed of
Trusteeship was deposited in the Parish Chest in the church. In April 1975 Mrs. M. Lycett, treasurer of
the Memorial Hall, purchased two portable gas heaters for £110.00
In 1977, the Queen and Prince Philip`s Silver Jubilee
year, the Parish Council and a group of volunteers put on an exhibition of
Ruyton XI Towns village history in the Memorial Hall. I remember the church silver was brought out
of the bank and put on show. May Roberts
lent her Girl Guide Uniform and was very cross that it went missing, never to
be seen again.
The Jubilee was a big event in Ruyton, with a carnival
and a Children`s Decorated Hat competition.
Over the next 4 years there were several improvements
made to the hall and greater use was being made by various organisations.
Parish Review 1989
This was a initiative, started by Rev. Robin Bradbury
after the shock of the Lockerbie air disaster the previous year. How would Ruyton XI Towns cope if we were
visited by some disaster? A committee
was formed and the attached poster send out via the Parish Newsletter plus
posters and flyers round the village.
On Friday 6th October 1989 a meeting was
held in the Village Hall and presentations given to point out the importance of
recording our village at this time.
Chrissie Niddrie-Davies,
teacher at The Corbet school:
The Future of our
Village: Amenities, Housing, the Environment
Garry Capstick, Manager
of Express Dairies:-
Our Emergency
Services, Could we cope with a Lockerbie on our doorstep?
Yoland Brown:- resident
and local historian:-
Your part in creating
Ruyton`s Village Archive
The following day, the Memorial Hall was open for
people to bring in their memorabilia and other useful information which was
then recorded. Some of what Chrissy was
talking about was subsequently ignored, such as new building on the Brownhill. Gary made a list of useful contacts in case
of a `Lockerbie`, such as residents with medical knowledge and available
tractors.
Chrissie was able to borrow a scanner from the Corbet
School, so we could copy the many items people brought in and these were stored
on my computer and are frequently referred to when writing articles for my
history website https://www.eleventowns.uk/history.html
More improvements to the toilets in 1995 but the (Old)
Ruytonians did not think they needed a ramp at the entrance, they were
obviously fit enough.
In April 1999, an interesting dilemma was expressed at
the Village Hall committee meeting “If a public meeting was required, it
would be difficult to arrange as the Memorial Hall has a capacity of 35 (sic)
and the Village Hall cannot be used as it does not have disabled access” Interestingly, this did not worry anyone
when we had the Taste of the 1960s and the Taste of the Victorian events in
2005 & 2006, when you could not squeeze another body in the Village
hall. One lady who had danced to Livin`
History in the 1970s was carried up the stairs in her wheelchair to see &
hear her favourite Ruyton band.
In the early 2000s, once the Victoria Room had been
restored, it was obvious that the WI would move their meetings to this very
congenial venue.
In November 2009, the meeting of the Village Hall
Committee “was working to trace the missing legal documentation relating to the
Memorial Hall” It seems nobody remembered it was minuted in February 1975
“A copy of the new Deed of Trusteeship was deposited in the Parish Chest in the
church”.
2004 Heritage Open Day Exhibition
In 2004, a start was made on preparations for
celebrating the granting of Ruyton`s Borough Charter in 1308. It was decided that a good way to get people
interested in the history of the village where they lived was to have a local
history exhibition. Appeals went out in the Parish newsletter and posters round
the village asking people to offer items and memorabilia, and a very successful
exhibition was held in the Memorial Hall on 11th September 2004 as
part of Oswestry Heritage Open Days.
2005 Village Home Front Exhibition
The following year, 50 years after the end of the war,
it seemed a good idea to organise an exhibition in the Memorial Hall, showing
what life was like for people living in a village like ours during the Second
World War. It was again, very popular
and, of course, there were still people alive in the village who had
experienced those times.
The Youth Club
In February 2011 Colin Case, Chairman of the Parish
Council, started a Youth Club in the Memorial Hall, assisted by his wife Linda
and Ros Slowley. Colin had got to know
all the Ruyton children since he started the Broadplace in 2006. The Club ran
for two years with support and equipment from Shropshire Council, including
twin-deck CD players for music sessions. The club closed when the young people
grew up and moved on.
2014 Café Eleven
By this time the Memorial Hall was far below standards
for a public space and, as the WI had moved to the Victoria Room, it was
costing more than it was earning for the Village Hall Committee. When Karen & David Rooney suggested
starting a café, the Village Hall committee jumped at the idea. First an
electrician had to bring the electrics up to date and install hot water but
Karen and Dave did everything else themselves, including turning a dismantled
garden shed into the two counters and installing a tiny kitchen. An assortment
of chairs, sofas and tables gave the room a comfortable homely feeling.
Café Eleven opened on September 14th 2014,
but it was a slow start, one day Karen only took £7! But it wasn`t long before the daily takings
were averaging £50. During Covid
lockdown, Café Eleven proved a welcome place to visit, within all the rules,
and Karen stocked up on basic groceries to save people going to crowded
supermarkets.
The Café soon became where people met to chat over
coffee and cake or lunch, and where we bought tickets for the RATs pantomime,
there were special charity events and even a funeral tea. With the closure of the village shop, the
Café became the hub of the village and a great place for walkers and cyclists
to stop for a cuppa.
In the summer of 2024, Karen decided to retire and
Ruth Corfield took on the café. She has
always wanted to run an art gallery, so now we have refreshments and culture in
the centre of the village.
The Memorial Hall might have started as a place for
men only to keep them out of the pubs, but now it is a place for everyone to
meet up with friends, have a coffee, even better than Starbucks. It is also a safe place and a `Rite of
Passage` where children can go out for a drink and a slice of cake, without an
adult.
And we still
buy our RATS panto tickets from Café Eleven.
Many thanks for help from Colin Case and David Spicer
and Karen Rooney for their contributions to this article.
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Road closed picnic – when
the road through the village was closed for work to be done on the Platt
Bridge, Colin Case organised a celebration tea party. The chairs and tables from the Memorial Hall
were set out in front of Leaman Garage and everyone brought contributions for
the tea. However, this being England, it
started to rain so we all took chairs, tables and refuge back in the Memorial
Hall.
Ros Slowley –
In 1990 my 3 children held a Blue Peter Bring and Buy Sale in the Memorial Hall
in aid of Romania. The WI kindly supported them by providing
refreshments. I can't remember how much was raised. They wrote to Blue Peter
and each received a coveted Blue Peter badge in return.
Jenny Baker –
Gave slide shows for WI in the Memorial Hall including 3 illustrated talks on
her sponsored walk from Land's End to John O'Groats - this must have been 1996
- 1998. Followed by an exhibition of
Jenny`s photographs of the walk at The Grove, all in aid of St. John the
Baptist church.
Some snippets from Ruyton Remembered
facebook
Fred Jones, founder of Jones Brothers, Weston Rhyn,
was bricklayer and laid the date stone on the front of the building.
In 1961 Maureen Penton`s parents had their wedding
reception in the Memorial Hall.
In 1960s, there was a Church Youth Group.
In 1980s the Mothers and Toddlers met there.
In the 1980s & 90s Florence Hughes held a regular
Charity Bingo and the Old Ruytonians met weekly.
In the 2000s the hall was used as a changing room for
the Football club. On one occasion the whole team were locked in the hall.
The Memorial Hall has been, and still is, used as
Ruyton`s polling station `since time immemorial` however long that is!
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| The World War I Memorial Institute in 2024 |
Charter Celebrations - 2004 Local History Exhibition |
Charter Celebrations - 2005 Village Home Front Exhibition |
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| 2024 popular Cafe Eleven, manager Ruth Corfield |
2024 Cafe Eleven with Ruth`s first Art Exhibition |
