Grewelthorpe Reading Room
Grewelthorpe had a reading room and billiard room which was situated in the village near Crosshills.
It is a small cottage which is now privately owned called Greencroft. The owners have erected a plaque naming it “Old Reading Room”.
The cottage was built about 200 years ago and originally it had a thatched roof.
When used as a reading room the ground floor was one large room with tables and benches, there was a stove in the corner.
A hook can still be seen, hanging from a beam, which was probably used for an oil lamp.
The back of the room is below ground as the building is cut into the hillside.
The staircase was at the rear of the room and this lead to a single upstairs room.
There were no windows to the back even though this was above ground.
The rooms were only used by the men of the village. They would come to read the newspaper or borrow a book. They would also have a chance to meet fellow villagers and exchange information. During the 1st World War they would read of casualties, and world events. Between the wars the building continued as a reading room. In 1932 it is reported that the room was repainted and renovated. Then in World War 2 it became an Air Raid Warden centre. When the stove would come in handy on cold nights, and a welcome cup of tea would be made.
After the war it continued as a reading room with a games room above. The upstairs room had bench seating all round, with a darts board and a billiard table.
Gordon Ryder who was born in Grewelthorpe in 1937 tells us that his Mother was the caretaker of the Reading Room. She would tidy up the books, light the stove each day and she would, with his help, iron the billiard table. The pay was £1-10shillings a month.
He thinks this was in the late 1940’s and early 50’s.
The reading room was sold in 1965 for about £250 the money from the sale was placed in trust and a charity known as The Reading Room Trust was formed.
The trustees are village residents and they represent various organisations within the Parish. They meet once a year and they make donations to worthy causes within the Parish which will be of benefit to the whole community. They only spend money made as interest on the original investment.
This year, 2007, a donation has been made to go towards the upkeep of the churchyard.
The trustees would welcome donations from any person who feels so inclined.
I would be interested to hear from anybody who has a story to tell about this old building. Perhaps somebody knows when the reading room started and when the games room was created and what the building was used for before then.
Researched by Barbara Bradley & Sally Marr. 2007