Wyndham Hall
In 1921 the Wyndham Trust was
formed by the generosity of the late William Wyndham to deliver lectures on
archaeology and anthropology to schools in Taunton. In 1927 the Wyndham Lecture Hall was erected in the Castle
grounds. It was added to the Society's property portfolio and used not only for these
lectures but also by the SANHS and other bodies.
It measures 36’6” x 24’ and on
average is 15’ high with steel-framed windows on each side. An old carved doorway of the Tudor period,
which originally formed the entrance to the Spread Eagle Inn in North Street,
Taunton and was subsequently removed when the inn was pulled down to make way
for the Post-office, was used to form the
entrance of the new hall. There
was also a fire-proof room over the entrance for the electric lantern to enable
slides to be shown in the hall. The
floor of the hall is sloping to enable an unobstructed view of the stage and
screen and there are tip-up seats for 108 people. The total cost of the new building was about
£1,400, funded by William Wyndham. The architects were Messrs. Roberts &
Willman and the builders Messrs Wm.Potter & Sons under the supervision of
Mr. H. F. Potter.
Since then the Hall has been used for numerous events including a General Meeting of the Taunton Operatic Society 1945, the Overseas Club Public Meeting 1948, Morris Son and Peard Property Auction 1950; Taunton Rugby Club AGM 1945; Somerset and Dorset Land Agents meeting 1945; Arthur W. Parker Property Auction 1950, to name but a few.
In 1958 SANHS leased Wyndham Hall as an integral part of the Taunton Castle estate to Somerset County Council on a full repairing lease for the purpose of supporting the County Museum housed in the Castle itself. Whilst the Council has quiet enjoyment of the hall, SANHS has used it for presentations and meetings free of charge. The Council lease was renewed in 2008, and the state of Wyndham Hall has been maintained over those 56 years without significant improvement. In 2011 as part of a license to undertake works to develop Castle Green and the new glass bridge, SANHS secured a 5 year option to take Wyndham Hall out of the Castle headlease starting when the work on the glass bridge works was complete.
As at June 2014 the glass bridge works are incomplete and SANHS has not decided whether to exercise its option. Trustees have been considering the future of Wyndham Hall for more than 3 years under advice of its Estate Working Group who made presentations to a General Meeting on 3 Dec 2013 and to an open meeting of SANHS Members on 17 June. Its recommendation about the future of the hall was to retain the option until a viable and sustainable options appraisal was available.
