Pre 1938 there were several
halls in Tillicoultry available for use by the community for dances,
meetings etc. There was the Hamilton Street Hall, now known as the Centenary
Hall, the Masonic Hall in Upper Mill Street and the largest of
the halls the Town Hall at the top of Ochil Street. The Town Hall was
used as a cinema and underwent renovation in 1933 when a telephone
was installed for advance bookings and permanent tip up seats were
also installed. The Town Hall used to have a capacity of 75 couples
for dancing prior to getting the new seating and with the Hamilton
Street Hall only holding 40 couples and the Masonic Hall 30 couples
there was no venue for larger functions.
In 1938 Sydney Platfoot announced
that a new larger hall would be built by Samuel Jones (Devonvale) Ltd.,
the papercoating firm who were one of the main employers in the town.
The firm would have first call on the premises then it would be available
to local groups for functions requiring a larger meeting place. The
hall would have a seating capacity of 800.
The opening ceremony took place
on 11th May 1940 and the first concert was by Orlando and his Orchestra.
The dance floor was large enough for 200.
In later years Devonvale Hall
was run by the local Council and used for dances, wedding receptions,
concerts, badminton etc. However in 2004 Clackmannanshire Council decided
that the Hall was no longer economically viable to run and announced
it's closure. When the Council announced that the hall might be sold
off a local action group was set up - Tillicoultry Community Action
Group - to fight the closure and campaign to have the hall handed back
to the community.
On 5th May 2005 Councillors
agreed that they would lease the Hall to the Tillicoultry Community
Action Group who had presented a business plan with proposals for the
development of the hall.
Under the business plan a new
company Devonvale Hall Ltd will be set up, charitable status will be
sought and grants applied for to allow the building to be brought up
to standard and available for hire to community groups.
The committee hope that after
refurbishment the Hall will once again be used for concerts and wedding
receptions, for leisure activities and educational courses.
If you would like to join the
committee or help in any way please visit the Devonvale
website for contact details.
The Devonvale Hall Company decided
at a meeting on 18th August 2005 to sign a 25 year lease for the hall
on the understanding that the Council will do the work to bring the
Hall up to a reasonable working condition and replace the 40 tables
which were removed. Bookings have already been made for the hall -the
first in late September 2005. Hopefully this will be the first of many!
Visit the Devonvale
website for more details - the hall is refurbished and open for business!
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