Early 20th century drill hall at Victoria Street (EHER 82472)

Braintree Drill Hall, later Braintree Community Centre was built by W. Chambers in 1911. The building was originally home to F Company 5th Battalion of Essex Regiment. The drill hall was sold to Essex County Council in 1961 and in the early 1970s the building was bought by the Urban District Council for use as a community centre. An American 'memorial' hall was constructed in 1973 adjoining the former rifle hall The former drill hall is a two storey red brick building with a pitched tiled roof and sash windows. It has a decorative Dutch gable to the south.

NRHE data transfer: August 2011. Non-designation case. The Braintree Drill Hall, later Braintree Community Centre, was built by W. Chambers of Colchester, and was completed in 1911. The building was home to F Company 5th battalion of the Essex Regiment, successors of Braintree and Bocking Volunteer Corps of Infantry, raised in 1803 in response to the Napoleonic threat. Numbers 18 & 20 Victoria Street (directly opposite the centre, and now residential properties) housed the recruiting office and drill sergeant. By 1914 the building also contained B Squadron, Essex Yeomanry and G Company, 8th (Cyclist) Battalion Essex Regiment, many local men from these TA units served and died in the First World War. During the Second World War the building contained Braintree Home Guard F (Braintree) Company 11th Essex Battalion Home Guard. By 1961 the TA had moved to a new site at Coggeshall Road and the drill hall was sold to Essex County Council. In the early 1970s the Urban District Council bought the building as a community centre, Essex people were asked for contributions towards a permanent memorial to the Americans who served locally during and after the Second World War. The appeal was backed by Lord Lieutenant Sir John Ruggles-Brise who felt Braintree was the most suitable place. The United States Air Force also occupied the building from 1952-1970 with interests from Wethersfield Airbase. An "American Hall" was proposed, a place returning ex-servicemen and their families could visit and a tribute to the war and the uneasy peace that followed it. Most of the money to build the hall came from grants, but local people contributed £5,000. The hall was opened in 1973 by Sir John Ruggles-Brise. The former Braintree Drill Hall, now used as Braintree Community Centre, is a two-storey red brick building, with a pitched, tiled roof and sash windows. It has a decorative Dutch gable to the south. Interior photos show cornices and wainscoting in some rooms. The interior of the 1973 American Hall is plain, with a timber floor and panelled end wall. The Drill Hall is marked on the 1922 Ordnance Survey map, with the red brick building present to the south of the site, and a larger building to the north. It would appear that this building to the north was demolished at some time prior to the building of the American Hall, which has been built adjoining the former rifle hall. <1>