A Brief History of The Memorial Hall, Wyke Regis

by Doug Hollings
(using research material provided by Denise Hepburn)

The present Memorial Hall at the junction of All Saints Road and Chaimberlaine Road in Wyke Regis was built on the site of an earlier National School that provided the first formal education for the children of Wyke Regis.

The very early schooling in Wyke Regis was probably carried out in all weathers by the parish priest in the tiny South porch of the nearby All Saints church. By the late 1700s there was a Dame School for young ladies operating in Shrubbery Lane but in 1833 came a change in the national education policy and grants were made available by the government to meet half the cost of new school buildings.

It seems probable, on the basis of research carried out by Wyke resident Denise Hepburn, that the land on which the hall and adjoining properties is built today was originally provided by the Royal Manor of Wyke Regis and Elwell under “copyhold” to Margaret Chaimberlaine of Rodwell - the wife of the Rev George Chaimberlaine incumbent of All Saints Church from 1809 to 1837. Rev Chaimberlaine was responsible for the building of Holy Trinity Church in Weymouth and Chaimberlaine Road is named after him.

In January 1845 Margaret Chaimberlaine conveyed the “copyhold” to herself and the Rev Thomas Payne, incumbent of Holy Trinity Church the Rev John Addison of Rodwell and the Rev George Addison of the County of Gloucester. At that time the records indicate the property consisted of a school building (for education of poor female children of the parish), 1 tenement, 6 cottages and a school for boys.

It is believed that the two school buildings referred to in 1845 were replaced in 1858 by a new National School of two buildings intended for the lowly poor. Each pupil paid 2p per week to attend and the hours were from 9 AM to 4 PM and from 7 to 9 in the evening.

In 1862 Government Act was passed that required each school to keep a daily diary or log book of events. We know from previous research that the first diary for the Wyke Regis National School was commenced on 1 July 1863 but sadly that book is now missing. However, diaries of Wyke schools covering the period from April 9, 1872 right up to the 20 July 1990 do exist and in recent years they have been in the possession of the Wyke Regis infant School in Shrubbery Lane. In 1999 they were placed in the safekeeping of the Dorset County records office at Dorchester.

The old Wyke Diaries tell us that in Victorian times the boys were often absent from school for such things as a foxhunt in the parish, or to help pull the mackerel ashore on Chesil Beach. Many children were often absent on the village “gleaning day” held on 22 September each year. Sickness was rife and in 1881 five children died in just three months because of croup. Other deaths often occurred because of scarlet fever, measles, diphtheria and smallpox.

Mr JG Atkin’s was the head teacher from 1870 until 1889. He was a strict disciplinarian and would administer the cane for filthy language, lateness, fighting, improper words on the slate and one boy received two strokes the spelling “mortally” wrong four times out of six.

On 31 March 1885 the Charity Commissioners approved the retirement of the existing trustees of the “Charity of Mrs Margaret Chaimberlaine” and declared that future trustees should be the Rector of the Parish of Wyke Regis, the vicar of the parish of Holy Trinity, Weymouth and the Churchwarden of the parish of Wyke Regis. At this time some of the properties had been combined and were described as four cottages and two school houses.

In 1896 the school was described by an inspector as unwholesome and overcrowded and in 1897 and new mixed school, the Wyke School, paid for by the Whitehead Torpedo Company, was opened in Victoria Road, Wyke Regis under the headmaster Mr HB Vickery. The old National School was closed and in 1897 and for a time it was used as parish rooms.

On 21st of October 1905 an order was created by The Board of Education to form a scheme to set up “The Margaret Chaimberlaine Foundation”. The scheme allowed the foundation to sell part of the properties so that an endowment could be set up to provide income for the work of the foundation. On 31 August 1906 an order was created by The Board of Education to regulate the scheme of the foundation. It stipulated that the foundation was to be set up into two branches:

The Margaret Chaimberlaine Institute – which held the following land: the parish room, classroom, yard, offices, three cottages to the north-west and ¼ yearly income of the endowment. The property of the Institute was to be used the purposes of a Sunday School. The trustees were also able to admit its use for classes for religious instruction, for classes or lectures of an educational character and for the purposes of physical instruction by means of a gymnasium or otherwise. The trustees were also to permit the use of the premises for other purposes subject to a payment and the income was to be applied to the insurance, repair and improvement of the Institutes premises.

The Margaret Chaimberlaine Educational Fund – the property of the fund to be let (property included that not allocated to the Institute plus the Chaimberlaine Room and Rose Cottage) and the income (subject to quarter already applied to the Institute) to be communicated accumulated pending the establishment of a further scheme of The Board of Education.

On 22nd of October 1907 release was issued (with the authority of The Board of Education) by the trustees of the Margaret Chaimberlaine Foundation (Rev Canon SE Davies, Rev Canon LB Weldon and FW Dodd) to the Rev RF Lynes for 99 years from 29 September 1907. This included the land occupied by 2 & 4 All Saints Road and 18 Chaimberlaine Rd. It is assumed that the land was leased to Rev Lynes by the trust as the trust deeds precludes any of the trustees from holding a personal interest in any other trust land. We have to assume that the Rev Lynes then leased on the land on behalf of the trust.

On fourth of July 1913 Canon SE Davies was admitted to be the tenant of the copyhold land comprising of Rose Cottage, 1,2 &3 Chaimberlaine Cottages and the Wyke Regis All Saints Memorial Hall. This was later confirmed by the Royal Manor of Wyke Regis and Elwell. On 17 July 1913 the Manor of Wyke Regis and Elwell granted freehold of the properties to Canon SE Davies for all those properties previously held under copyhold.

With the new Whitehead School in Victoria Road catering for the education of the children Wyke Regis it was decided in 1907 to pull down the old National School buildings and erect the present red brick and tile Memorial Hall. The new hall was opened in 1908. It was built in memory of Margaret Chaimberlaine and the trust that she set up still administers the hall by way of three trustees appointed by the church.

After the Second World War the Memorial Hall found itself being used as a school – this time on a temporary basis until the Wyke Regis (Rainbow) County Infant School in Shrubbery Lane was opened in 1953.

In recent years the Memorial Hall has been rented out to various community groups. In 1988 the village of Wyke Regis held grand Millennium celebrations to commemorate its 1000 years of recorded history (in a Saxon charter of 988 A.D. signed by King Ethelred II of Wessex). The Memorial Hall played a central role in those celebrations and a plaque on the wall now records that enjoyable historic occasion.

Some 110 years after it was built the hall continues to be managed by the trustees (helped by an administrator) as dictated by the Margaret Chaimberlaine Foundation. It continues to be used as a Sunday School and for educational and physical activities such as guides, dancing, ball room dancing, badminton and ballet classes as well as social gatherings. The income from the hire of the hall is used entirely for the maintenance, repair and insurance of the building in line with the original intentions. With continued good management and the support of the community we hope the Memorial Hall will be continue to be available for the good of the community for many many years to come.