PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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The Plymouth Temperance Society was formed in about 1832 by a Mr George Carr, from New Ross, Ireland. [1] That was followed in the autumn of 1838 by the formation of the Plymouth Teetotal Society. [2] The Devonport Teetotal Society was formed on June 7th 1838, when a meeting was held in the Wesleyan Association Chapel, Cannon Street, to elect a committee. In September 1838 they moved to a spacious room in Cherry Garden Street, where they held weekly meetings. They held their first Tea Festival on September 14th 1838, by when the Society had some 50 members. Weekly meetings were also being held in Morice Town. In October 1840 the Society promoted a public meeting in the Devonport Town Hall. [3] Theirs was the first Temperance Hall in the area and was located at number 6 Fore Street, Devonport. The foundation stone of their building was laid by Mr J Beer junior, Mayor of Devonport, soon after 4pm on Wednesday September 5th 1849. The building was expected to cost £1,500 and the shares of £2 each had already been fully subscribed. The secretary of the Devonport movement was Mr E Aunger, 12 Saint Aubyn Street. [4] It was opened by 1852, when the manager of the Hall and Hotel was Mr William Parsons. [5] The Devonport temperance hall was designed by Mr J Piers Saint Aubyn and was 65 feet in length, 33 feet wide and stood about 24 feet high. It had accommodation for some 700 people. [6] The second Temperance Hall and Hotel to be opened was at Lower Buckingham Place, Millbay Road, East Stonehouse. The East Stonehouse Temperance Society, which had been founded in 1847, were fortunate to be able to acquire from the Great Western Railway the only piece of freehold ground available in East Stonehouse, the site formerly occupied by limekilns belonging to Mr Peter Symons, next door to the Millbay Gas Works. (Lord Mount Edgcumbe was Lord of the Manor and owned all the land in East Stonehouse.) On Monday March 31st 1851 the foundation stone was laid by Mr E S Codd, of Plymouth, who was standing in for M T Gill, who ha been called away to London on business. Also present was the chairman of the Building Committee, Mr Joseph Murch. [7] A coffee room and a reading room for the "working classes" was to be on the ground floor of the new Hall, along with 'a large and commodious Reading and News Room', where a subscription of 2d per week would give the reader access to London and local newspapers and various journals. Above those rooms was to be a lecture hall capable of accommodating about 500 people where events would be held that would be 'calculated to advance the moral and social improvement of the people'. [7] Mr John Freeman gave the foundation stone and a large quantity of granite towards the building, Mr Langman paid for the plans and specifications and Mr Ambrose provided the plan of the elevation. Mr Thomas Gill donated £25 to the venture. [7] It was open by 1852, when the manager was Mr James Oliver. The secretary of the East Stonehouse movement was Mr E C Cross. [5] The Plymouth Temperance Association was formed in 1857 and met in the Hope Methodist Chapel, Ebrington Street. After that they met in the Lyceum until it was pulled won, when they were allowed to use the schoolroom at Saint Andrew's National School. They were in the process of purchasing the former Trigg's Chapel (Trinity Chapel) in York Street when the congregation decided to purchase it themselves. [8] Finally, in 1864 the opportunity presented itself to purchase the Providence Chapel in Raleigh Street, for which they paid £735. The Plymouth Brethren congregation were allowed to continue using it. It was formally opened as a Temperance Hall at Midday on Wednesday March 16th 1864, the ceremony being followed by tea for 300 supporters at 5pm. [8] A further Temperance Hall was opened at Ford On Tuesday December 17th 1867. Until then the teetotallers of that area had met in a small chapel that had been loaned to them but the numbers of people attending was steadily increasing so a new venue had to be found. A Mr Hammond offered to build them their own hall and his offer was gratefully accepted. The cost of the land and building was £360, which was to be recovered by issuing members with shares of £1 6s each. members were invited to pay for their share by putting aside 3d per week for two years. Only 86 people took up the offer. [9] The Ford Hall was 45 feet long by 23 feet wide and 20 feet in height, with a gallery on the eastern side. Mrs Hammond and several other ladies hosted a tea and Mr Samuel Elliott presided over the evening meeting that always followed such an event [9] In 1877 the Devonport Temperance Hall and Hall in Fore Street, of which Mr J Murch was the manager, was purchased by the Good Templars and re-opened on Wednesday October 10th 1877 as the Devonport Temperance Hall and People's Institute. The newly formed library contained 700 books, and a reading room and a recreation room had also been fitted up. Entry was by subscription of one shilling per quarter. [10] Sources:
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