St Lawrence’s Hall and other names used for halls in Rode

The sites of Road Hill School, the Temperance Hall, Silcocks’ Hall and the United Counties Institute News and Reading Rooms and Assembly Room are familiar to many people in the village but several other names for meeting or gathering places have appeared in reports of past village events. This article looks at the whereabouts of Ebenezer Congregational Chapel, St. Lawrence’s Hall, Parish Room, Happerfield Hall and Women’s Institute Hall, using information mainly from Harry Hopkins’ (HH) very informative booklets.

Ebenezer Congregational Chapel The 1841 census listed Ebenezer House, in Paviour’s Well Barton (the lane between the Wesleyan School and 6 High Street) with occupants, John and Elizabeth Gullick. Also the label “Cong. Chapel and Sunday school “ is marked on the 1884 OS map in the vicinity of Paviour’s Well Barton. It is thought that Charles Happerfield snr., a shopkeeper at 8 High Street, owned the property. Happerfield snr. died in 1887 and use of the building as a chapel also ended.

St. Lawrence’s Hall This name first appears in reports of a hall being “lent” by the Rev. Crofton (rector of St. Lawrence Church), in 1890, soon after the death of Charles Happerfield snr. This suggests that it was a new name for the Ebenezer Chapel. Perhaps support for the Congregational Chapel had dwindled with the death of Happerfield snr. and the new owner, Charles Happerfield jnr had let it out to the Rev Crofton. The use of this name continued until 1938.

Parish Room A new rector for St. Lawrence, Rev. Henry Washington Davy, was appointed in 1898. The parish magazine of Jan 1899 reported that “the rector now rents the rooms formerly used for the Mechanics Institute.” (Prior to disbanding, the Mechanics Institute had a reading room at 25 High Street, but this was too small for meetings which they had lately held in St. Lawrence’s Hall. Furthermore, the 1904 OS map has “Parish Room” marked in the vicinity of Paviour’s Well Barton. If that hall had been in the control of the previous rector by then, under the name of St Lawrence’s Hall, it is quite likely that the new rector preferred to call it the Parish Room).

Happerfield Hall This name was used in two reports; one of a visit by the bishop in 1902; and the other of use by the Trowbridge Co-op Society in 1928. This name was probably used by locals for a hall which was, or had been, owned by the Happerfield family.

Women’s Institute Hall Rode WI used various places in the village to hold their meetings but never owned their own hall. There is a picture postcard of Christchurch and the Rode Hill School building with the caption “Rode Hill Church & Women’s Institute” which was probably taken before 1926. The booklet on Rode Women’s Institute, by Harry Hopkins, indicates that the WI began to use Rode Hill Schoolroom as a meeting place in 1923, soon after the school closed. In 1927 the WI began to use St. Lawrence’s Hall, but by 1928 they were using the Women’s Institute Hall. Then In 1947 it was reported that the WI had to give up using “their” hall and would start using the Rode Hill schoolroom again. This was just after Ebenezer Hall was bought by a Mr Leach, with the intention of changing it as a private dwelling.

Peter Harris believes that Ebenezer Congregational Chapel, St. Lawrence’s Hall, Parish Room, Happerfield Hall and Women’s Institute Hall were all names used for the same building, located in Paviour’s Well Barton, known as Ebenezer House in 1841 and the Old Ebenezer in 2000.

Ebenezer Hall time line

The table below lists (in chronological order) over 40 separate references to the building – variously named in accordance with the following key:

1 = Wesleyan Reform Chapel, Ebenezer Chapel/Hall, Happerfield’s Hall, Benedictine Chapel
2 = St. Lawrence’s Hall
3 = Parish Room
4 = Women’s Institute Hall