{"id":480,"date":"2015-10-01T18:02:59","date_gmt":"2015-10-01T18:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lucashallwaldron.org\/?page_id=480"},"modified":"2025-08-31T10:00:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T10:00:02","slug":"background-alt","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lucashallwaldron.org\/index.php\/background-alt\/","title":{"rendered":"Background"},"content":{"rendered":"

Background<\/h1><\/div>

The Lucas Memorial Hall was built in 1904 by Joseph Lucas as a memorial to his wife. It is situated at the Western end of Waldron village in The Street, beside the Cattam cricket and rugby ground.<\/p>\n

Over the years it has been used for a variety of functions. Once a\u00a0 working men’s club, it was later used for demonstrations of wartime cooking and as a canteen for Canadian troops.\u00a0 It has been a venue for Women\u2019s Institute meetings and a country market for the sale of local produce.\u00a0 Many private and community functions are held here.<\/p>\n

\"\"

A 1960s party for the older residents of Waldron<\/p><\/div>\n

The Hall is a fine building with pleasing features, including a beautiful stained glass window and unusually high\"\" quality brickwork.\u00a0 It is set in its own grounds and adjoins the recreation field which has a children’s play area. The Hall is heated and available for use during the day and in the evening.\u00a0 Certain short sessions can be booked at even more competitive rates.<\/p>\n

Nowadays a great many activities are undertaken in and around the Hall, some regular and some occasional. They include Tai Chi, Tiny Tots music group and the Art Club. The WI meet once a month. The other most popular use is for private and particularly children\u2019s parties, especially young children, as the area is very safe. It has a secure fence and hedge round the lawn which is adjoined to the Hall. It is also a suitable site for a marquee.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0hall is also used as a polling station in local and national elections.<\/p>\n

In September 2004 the Hall was refurbished to a high standard and the internal layout altered to accommodate more people. Disabled access was created and improvements made to the catering and toilet facilities. It was redecorated in 2014. Tables and chairs are available within the building for use in the main room, which is of light and airy aspect and has wooden flooring and curtained windows.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The Hall decorated for the Coronation of King George V, 1911<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Verity Martin (nee Lucas) unveiling the plaque.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

The Hall is owned by a Trust of which the Heathfield and Waldron Parish Council is the sole trustee. Since April 2006, a management committee of Waldron villagers has run the Hall.<\/p>\n

The Management Committee holds regular meetings to discuss the operation of the Hall. Members of the public are welcome to submit in writing any matters of interest or concern, for consideration by the committee which meets several times a year.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Lucas Family<\/h1><\/div>
\"\"

Mr Lucas<\/p><\/div>\n

Joseph Lucas senior was born in Leeds in 1819 and was apprenticed to the building trade before walking to London where he set up a successful building business. His son Joseph Lucas junior (1851-1924) was a builder too, and also a Congregational minister. \u00a0In his late 40s, Joseph junior built\u00a0himself\u00a0a stately home at Foxhunt Manor, Waldron, in 1898. \u00a0His wife died there in 1904, and was buried in Waldron churchyard. In her memory, Joseph built and paid for the Village Hall in Waldron that bears their surname, and also the adjoining recreation ground.<\/p>\n

Twenty or so years later\u00a0Joseph Lucas sold the house and estate to the Oakshott family who lived there until 1935 when it was bought by lay teaching Brothers of the Xaverian Catholic Religious Order who ran it as a boys\u2019 Prep School. \u00a0The school closed in 1959 and the estate became a convent for The Order of the Visitation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-480","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lucashallwaldron.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lucashallwaldron.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lucashallwaldron.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lucashallwaldron.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lucashallwaldron.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/lucashallwaldron.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1350,"href":"https:\/\/lucashallwaldron.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/480\/revisions\/1350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lucashallwaldron.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}