Drill Hall
In 1859/60 large numbers of rifle and volunteer groups were formed and numerous drill halls were constructed to facilitate training and for the storage of weapons. The York Road drill hall in Great Yarmouth was designed in 1867 by JT Bottle as the base for the 2nd Volunteer Battalion Norfolk Regiment. It consists of three blocks: the 120ft x 64ft main hall in the middle, a residential front block providing accommodation for the sergeant and a later rear block addition containing offices and store rooms.
Grade 11 listed, the southern façade of the building is a polychromatic brick and flint crow stepped gable Gothic Revival celebration with a central porch now welcoming the visitors to the repurposed building. Out There Arts, a charity dedicated to delivering outstanding circus events, were the clients for the project with a brief to provide performance and rehearsal space, a bar, kitchen, offices, meeting rooms, showers and changing rooms. The adjacent yard and outbuildings that abut the remains of the town wall are converted and used for overnight accommodation for visiting companies and workshops.
The principal structural intervention in the historic fabric was to remove the bottom tie bars to the trusses as these prevented overhead space for aerial work. This was resolved by the addition of substantial perimeter vertical cantilevers that restrained the trusses and the long flanking walls. In addition and to provide even more opportunity for the trapeze arc, a pit was excavated with a removable covering. A substantial folding screen enables the space to be divided in two which makes the space more flexible.
Decorative external gates by Jo Chapman artist
