Summary
A community hall of 1925, formerly late-C19 sanatorium buildings, serving Whiteway Colony.
Description
A village hall, formerly sanatorium buildings, of about 1900, re-sited and modified to form a community hall and school in 1925.
MATERIALS: timber framed with timber cladding and some later cladding in modern materials. Both ranges have corrugated-iron roofs with timber bargeboards and finials.
PLAN: rectangular on plan, the community hall is of five bays facing south east and is single-storey with lit roofspace. A cross range (the former school room) is of two bays, of lower height and attached to the north east flank. A verandah is attached to the front elevation of the community hall and extends slightly beyond the eastern and western ends.
EXTERIOR: the principal elevation of the main hall stands under the steeply-pitched roof and attached verandah, which is supported on turned timber posts that stand on concrete pad stones and are joined by timber arches with keystones. Cast-iron brackets support the roof. The front wall has late-C19 and later replacement weather-boarding and a double-width central door with formerly opening lights to each side. There are two pairs of tall late-C19 two-light timber casements with upper four-pane opening lights to each side of the door. The side and rear elevations also have weather-boarding. The lower half of the western gable end was rebuilt in 2017 and there is a late-C19 three-light window in the gable above. The gable retains its late-C19 vertical cladding set between raised moulded stiles. The east gable end also retains late C19 timberwork and a three-light window. The north elevation was re-clad in shiplap in the C21 and had new windows inserted. A mid-C20 store, with a lean-to roof, is attached to the eastern end of this elevation.
The front and rear gable ends of the cross range line up with the front and rear elevations of the main hall range. Its south end was rebuilt in the mid-C20 with new weatherboarding, otherwise the fabric is of late-C19 date except for some re-cladding and a replaced window unit.
INTERIOR: the hall is lined by vertical, beaded cladding of early-C20 date. The inserted ceiling is of mid-C20 date and covers the original scissor-braced roof. The bases of the trusses on the north side of the hall rest on ogee-shaped corbels.
The former school room has late-C19 six-panelled doors and fitted cupboards and shelving of 1925 date. The roof is supported by a late-C19 king-post truss with struts. There is a cellar under the schoolroom range.
This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 21/02/2018
History
Whiteway Colony was founded in 1898 by Samuel Bracher, a Quaker journalist, as part of a social movement based on the philosophical and religious views of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910). Their vision was to create a self-sufficient society based on Tolstoyan principles such as equality, pacifism and vegetarianism. Also, colony principles included the rejection of private property and once the 41 acres of land at Whiteway were purchased the deeds were burnt to emphasise the collaborative nature of the newly-formed village. The rules of the community were established by a board of trustees and colonists gradually built their own dwellings on the land with their agreement. The colony rose in number from eight to the current number of over 60 households, although internal disagreements saw the original founding members and their families leave the community quite early on in the life of the settlement. A committee of residents is still the governing body of the village, and any residents that leave must hand over the land to a new resident who is chosen by the committee. A High Court case in 1955 settled the fact that the land at Whiteway is held in common by the colonists. The colony has been associated with a number of groups and individuals of national and international links with political causes and Gandhi is thought to have visited in 1909. During the First World War a number of colonists were registered as conscientious objectors and in some cases are thought to have fled the country in order avoid arrest and imprisonment.
The Colony Hall at Whiteway is a shared use building that forms the focal point of the village. The hall comprises two re-sited buildings dating from approximately 1900, that were moved from their original location at The Cotswold Sanatorium near Cranham, Gloucestershire (a tuberculosis hospital whose patients included the poet James Elroy Flecker, 1884-1915) in 1925 and erected at Whiteway to form their new purpose as community hall and school. Since that time the buildings have had repairs and some alterations to their internal layout, cladding and some window units in the mid-C20 and early C21.
Reasons for Listing
Whiteway Colony Hall, Whiteway, Gloucestershire, late-C19 sanatorium buildings relocated and converted to a community hall in 1925, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest
* As very good examples of early tuberculosis sanatorium buildings put to an imaginative and successful reuse as a community hall;
* The buildings retain original features of note, such as a verandah with timber front, and complete roof structures. As such its original appearance has been retained and it represents a rare surviving example of its type;
* Some features of 1925 date, principally the school room cupboard fittings, are of note for their craftsmanship and the manner in which they have contributed to the successful adaption of the building for their new use;
* The later alterations that have taken place to the building are minor and have not harmed the overall legibility of the original function of the buildings.
Historic interest:
* As the Colony Hall since 1925 of one of the only Tolstoyan anarchist communities to have been established in this country, and one of the only communal-living schemes of late-C19 or early-C20 date at all to remain active;
* Whiteway Colony is a rare example of an idealistic community that has survived into the modern age.
External Links
External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.
Recommended Books
Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)