Consett Ambulance Hall

The Old Ambulance Hall- John Street, Consett

The St John Ambulance Association has always had a big presence in our area. Consett Iron Company had its own members of the St John Ambulance Association primarily founded and trained by Dr George Renton who had founded the CIC Infirmary in 1878. First mention of the members of the Association can be found as early as the mid 1880's. However, the Consett & District Division St John Ambulance Brigade was officially registered 6th June 1909. The Brigade dedicated itself to the well-being and training of first aid to the people of the area. With the area being so heavily geared toward industry there was a definite need, especially within the coal mines.

Many of the mine owners encouraged their workers to train for their St John Ambulance certificates and in 1910 the Miners Accidents Act was introduced. This meant that there had to be at least 5 men at every mine who were trained in first aid and the use of breathing apparatus. Consett Iron Company were extremely fast to keep this as a norm and dedicate money and resources to the cause.

A medal given to one of the Consett Iron Company Ambulance League members - L Turner

Meanwhile Consett St John began to grow. There was an almost immediate need for motorised Ambulances and a fund was organised. An initial ambulance was gifted in 1919 from the Iron working communities but the need was considerable and the Ambulance Fund continued. Eventually two more ambulances were purchased by public subscription and local fund raising by both the St John members and the people of Consett. Lloyd Clarence, owner of the Globe Theatre, gave half of the funds raised from his benefit performance in 1922 toward the Consett St John Ambulance Fund, the other half being given to the Consett Nursing Association. The problem now was where to park the Ambulances. Initially they were parked in John Square, under were the Trades was built in 1960, and on Medomsley Road, but it wasn't ideal. A building was needed.

Once again the Consett St John had to raise more funds. The public rallied as did the local industry, specifically Consett Iron Company, along with the St John members and soon the fund was raised to procure a building. The initial building was to be built on Medomsley Road were a plot of land was found, money paid out and architect hired. But Consett Urban District Council dropped a bombshell, the land was due for slum clearance making building impossible. It had been a waste of money and time, although St John did manage to get most of the money back from the council. So another plot was now found on John Street. Owned by the Consett Iron Company they gifted it to Ambulance Hall Fund. Demolition of a number of cottages and the old John Square buildings had to be completed before building could proceed. The Consett & District Ambulance Hall was built between 1932 & 1934, a true testament to the Consett St John and the people of the area who had raised the funds to build it. All the steel which helped form the building was gifted by Consett Iron Company helping to offset the cost.

The members of Consett St John Ambulance Brigade upstairs in the Ambulance Hall in 1952

The Hall became a major part of the local area. Housing the Ambulances in the back with meeting rooms at the front and upstairs a hall with small stage for public events. Thousands of local people had trained as cadets in first aid at the hall since its opening, as well as being the venue for many other community organisation's. With the formation of the Ambulance Service linked to the NHS the need for the ambulances at the hall was no longer required. However, the hall itself was still in great use. When not being used for Consett St John other community groups used it, Consett WI, theatre groups, dance groups, youth groups and so on.

Unfortunately the Consett St John Ambulance Brigade had dwindled over the years, not for the want of the members who were very much still dedicated to actively train new cadets whenever possible. A few years ago it was noted that the Trustees were also getting older and their numbers decreasing, leaving lots of the pressure and stress on only a couple of people. So with a heavy heart the building was handed over to St John Ambulance (National) to the understanding that they would then run the hall. The hall was still used by a number of local groups as well as Consett St John Ambulance Brigade. This included Consett Phoenix Youth theatre group who had made their home there for over 11 years. However, after only a few years of ownership St John Ambulance National came to the conclusion that the hall was no longer viable and placed it up for sale. As the building was originally built by public subscription for which the local people had rallied, ran and took care of for almost 90 years, this news came as quite a blow. This had always been a community building and many people, including ourselves, did not want to lose it as such

With this in mind Consett and District Heritage and Arts CIC (CADHA CIC)was formed. Our initial goal was to save the building from sale, which meant placing the hall as a Community Asset, which we did successfully, stopping the initial auction in its tracks. Then came the hard bit, we now had to raise the money to buy. Unfortunately, this was not as easy as we had hoped. We did manage to raise a few thousands by fund raising as well as a few large sums from anonymous benefactors, but it just wasn't enough. So we reach out locally to Project Genesis Trust. It took lots of talks and discussion but eventually PGT purchased the hall on our behalf.

We now have a 25 year lease and took possession of the hall in Oct 2020. Our goal now is to create a Heritage and Arts Centre for the area, that will honour its past and also look forward to the future.

by Brian Harrison