The original Oddfellows hall, built around 1905, when the Oddfellows lodge moved across the road from their regular meeting place at The Spread Eagle Public House.
The gentleman at the gate is William Alfred Rumball, born in 1847 so around 55 years of age probably a past Grand Master of the Barton Bendish Lodge.
The fanlight above the door contains the letters O F H indicating it as the Oddfellows Hall.
1909 and the wedding of 22 year old Hannah Louise Rumball, spinster of this parish, and Alec Stephen Holmes a 24 year old bricklayer, also of this parish. They were married on 16th October at the nearby St Andrews parish church by the Rev Stephen Gooch Read.
This could well be the first wedding breakfast held in the new hall.
The likely looking bunch above are the oddfellows on their annual parade, photographed in the grounds of Score House, which then served as the rectory for the Reverend Stephen Gooch Read, who can be seen on the far left of the picture.
The photograph below, taken a little later, probably in the 1920’s shows a young lady with children standing outside of the hall, where it has had the addition of a thin porch. The picket gate seems to have survived this far at least.
The O F H seems to have been lost from the fanlight, although the lodge was still very active at this time.
Into the 1920’s and this postcard taken outside of the former shop shows a likely group of customers, with the Village Hall in the background.
Is the lady 2nd from left also the subject of the photo on the left?
Probably taken at the same time by Mr Raby, this postcard shows the view looking the other way, with a group of parishioners including a horse and cart and a new fangled motor vehicle.
The substantial tree in the churchyard is no longer there and the brick wall, gate and barn have long gone, but otherwise, not a lot different to today!
Moving into the 1950’s now for a rapt audience for the May Day pageant, where all the children used to parade in fancy dress. The studious lady on the left is Miss Tripp, the schoolmistress.
And here is a may day parade with an interesting range of fancy dress, including a disrespectful ‘Stars and Stripes’ in the distress position!
The presence of the Rev Ellaby indicates this picture of the annual ‘Old Folks’ dinner was somewhere betwen 1950 and 1954
Toilets were added to the rear of the building in the 1990’s about the same time as the old pot bellied stove was removed. Many villagers even now recall the heat given off and the need for protective railings around it. There are scars on the rear wall, covered over now by the toilet extension, which indicate there may have been an earlier lean too building in that location, although all records seem lost.
And our final 1950’s picture is of this delightful Advent scene of Mary, Joseph and all the little angels, shepherds and wise men. This seems to show a stage at the southern end of the hall. The door to the toilets is just visible on the left hand side.
Barton Bendish Village Hall - Some Odd Fellows
I have been looking into the history of our village hall, inspired perhaps by the new lease of life the current hall refurbishment project will impart.
The story really begins in the late C18th as reformers begin to grapple with the issue of social welfare and the rise of Friendly Societies. These societies were often local village organisations and consisted of members who paid a small regular contribution for membership and as a consequence were entitled to receive aid in the event of sickness, and even funeral costs. Often, they included an element of social gathering as well, and were frequently based around the local public house.
Initially discouraged by government, the position changed in the early C19th as poor law reform began to be considered, culminating in The New Poor Law of 1834. This is the law which required villages to enter into local unions and build a workhouse, in our case at Downham Market, into which the destitute were destined. The harshness of this solution encouraged and fostered Friendly Societies as an alternative and Barton Bendish appears to have been no exception, having a small independent farmers benefit society.
However, such village societies were often financially unstable, and this led many, Barton Bendish included, to affiliate with larger national organisations such as the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows, which had been founded in 1810. As a consequence, The Oddfellows ‘Loyal Duke of Norfolk Lodge’ No. 2617 was founded on 27th January 1841, with 21 members meeting every Wednesday in The Spread Eagle Public House, (now The Berney Arms), hosted by the publican, Thomas Gee. I love the fact that the address is given as ‘High Street’, imparting a sense of grandeur that our village might struggle to live up to today.
The Grand Master of this Lodge seems to have been a young man of 20, William Fuller Lock, the eldest son of a local farmer. By 1858 the lodge had grown to 34 members and meetings were now every 4th Wednesday at The Spread Eagle. Lodge meetings were good business for publicans, with members often staying on for socialising involving toasts where members were encouraged to ‘take something for the good of the house’, i.e. buy plenty of beer, which most members were happy to do! Apparently, there were fines for proposing indecent toasts.
The Lodge changed its name in 1860 to ‘The Loyal Berney Lodge’, although it retained the number 2617. It was not unusual for lodges to adopt the name of a significant benefactor, and many will know that Barton Bendish was the seat of the 8th Baronet Sir Hanson Berney at this time. It was common for a local Squire to be supportive of the work of the Oddfellows, either from altruism or an appreciation that membership by the working population reduced the chances of people entering the Workhouse and thus reduced the Poor Rate charged on landowners in each parish.
The lodge appears to go from strength to strength, and within 10 years membership had increased to 90 members by 1870. William Fuller is now the host at The Spread Eagle, presumably enjoying a monthly bonus on every 4th Weds as participants continue to ‘take something for the house’.
Not only was the membership increasing, but by 1896 funds of £1,783 were secured against a membership of 151, with an average age of members at 36 years old. Barton Bendish had around 450 inhabitants at that time so probably every family had representation within the membership.
That amount of money would today equate to around £230,000 which would provide the equivalent of £1500 benefit to each and every member. Of course, by now, membership covers sickness and death benefits, widows & orphan’s pensions, savings, annuities, financial help for members in need, and medical treatment for members and their families.
By 1901 membership has risen to 182 members with funds of £2039. The secretary is now William Alfred Rumball, a very well-known Barton Bendish name. He is succeeded by his son, William George Rumball, see the extract from a 1954 Oddfellows magazine.
In 1902 they are still meeting in The Spread Eagle on every 4th Wednesday. However the most important change around this time, which may be connected with a growing temperance movement, the Lodge decides to move away from The Spread Eagle and consider the construction of a new and purpose-built Odd Fellows Hall.
Interest free loans from the Oddfellow’s Manchester Head Office may have funded the construction, or maybe the 9th Baronet, Sir Henry Hanson Berney also contributed. He certainly provided the land, and it wasn’t too far from The Spread Eagle for those members who still wished to ‘take something for the house’, after the formal meeting ended.
It is unclear when the new hall was actually completed but it is first reported as the meeting place of the lodge in the 1906 Oddfellows directory, which confirms my view that it was completed between 1902 and 1905.
The photograph of around 1910 reveals the initials O.F.H. in the fanlight above the door, decrying its provenance to the world. I believe that is William Alfred Rumball standing proudly by the gate.
Membership also peaked at about this time with 215 members in 1907. During the early years of the C20th one of the great events in the village calendar appears to have been the anniversary of the lodge.
One former rector for the area was an honorary member and recounted the following story of such an event to an Oddfellows conference in 1927. “With banners, the members marched round the village and came to church where I preached to them, and afterwards dined with them. Afterwards they had sports, a very healthy proceeding. The Odd Fellows bound that community together as brothers, looked after the sick and acted generally as a wise and tender mother acts towards her children. Whenever the banner of the order reposed in the church, I was very much struck by the three great words Amicitia, amor, veritas, and saw those words (Friendship, Love, Truth) carried out in the work of the lodge.”
Prior to the establishment of the Welfare State the Oddfellows was the largest friendly society in the world. It was the forerunner of, and blueprint for, the Welfare State, but run on a voluntary basis. Between 1912 and 1948 they also undertook National Insurance contributions and benefits on behalf of the government.
Village halls are a relatively recent development, following the end of the first world war and largely driven by a government wanting to build social cohesion as a bulwark against threats of communism and civil unrest. The demise of the Oddfellows coincided with the need for a community hall alongside the establishment of a Welfare State which removed the underlying need for Friendly Societies. The Berney Lodge No. 2617 was wound up in 1980.
I am unsure of the mechanism which allowed our hall to transfer from Oddfellows to community function, although I assume it is through the estate of Barton Hall and its subsequent owners. More research is needed here, and I would welcome any further information from readers. However, I think we can all agree that Barton Bendish Village Hall is well used, and hopefully, with the refurbishment and extension currently underway, will continue to be so for many years to come.
Chris Parsons
Trustee – Barton Bendish Village Hall Trust
January 2021
