The construction of the Drill Hall was funded by public subscriptions and donations from philanthropists. It cost £900. It was dedicated in 1899 with the laying of a stone by the son of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, whose family home was close by. When the drill was no longer required by the Territorial Army, it was put up for sale and a committee comprising members of the local councils investigated buying the hall for community use. The Drill Hall was purchased in August 1960 and opened a year later, in September 1961, as the Memorial Hall.