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The hall was built by Messrs Holloways of London at a cost of £53,000. The design was the result of a competition between Old Marlburian architects, the adjudicator being Sir John Simpson, President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The winning design was that of William Newton.
The hall itself comprises a semi-circular auditorium of stepped seats with an ambulatory at the rear to allow inspection of the 749 names carved in alphabetical order and without reference to rank around the inside of the back of the hall.
The large hanging curtains at the back of the hall, together with the cork floor of the ambulatory, serve to deaden noise and to encourage an atmosphere of thoughtfulness. At the back of the building, there is a separate entrance giving access to a series of music practice rooms located under the ambulatory.
The stone-paved terrace immediately in front of the Hall is in York stone, with a single square of green Connemara marble in front of each of the two entrances.
The façade of the hall towards the forecourt consists of two large entrance lobbies linked together by eight massive stone columns which screen the back wall of the stage and give a monumental character to the whole building.
In the centre of the hall's forecourt there is a hexagonal flower bed surrounded on each side by a large flower pot. The six flower pots represent the six years (1914-1919 inc.) during which the 749 men died. Originally, the flower bed was a pool of remembrance, paved with blue and gold mosaic. It was converted in the 1980s after serious leaks developed. |