|
Firbeck Hall 1935 - 1939  |
||
| Today Firheck Hall remains empty awaiting a decision
on its future use. Over the centuries the estate has had may differing
roles, from the elegant country home of William West, a barrister who died
in 1585 to the Jebb family, whom in 1934 sold the Hall, leading to its
conversion into one of the country’smost exclusive sporting country clubs.
With the outbreak of world war two the Hall became an annexe of the Royal
Infirmary Sheffield,providing surgical and medical facilities. The Air
Ministry had placed a ban on all civilian flying for the duration of the
war, it tequisitioned the estateand the clubs private aerodrome, turning
part of the Hall into the HQ for RAF Firbeck, which would become home to
four squadrons from 1940-1944.
With the end of the war Firbeck Hall was purchased by the
Miners welfare commission, who set about to transform the Hall into a
rehabilitation centre for injured miners, with the decline in the mining
industry across the region the centre closed in 1984. One of the most
colourful periods was between the wars when in 1935 Mr Cyril Nocholson
the leading Sheffield stockbroker opened a private club, bringing the
glamour of New York and atmosphere of Hollywood to pre-war Yorkshire.
An
investment of £80,000 and over a year’s conversion work turned the
building and estate into a club that was described in publicity material
as, The most beautifully situated and appointed club in the United
Kingdom. The interior was completely modernised under the direction of
Mr Robert Cawkwell A.R.I.A. In contrast to the exterior were the
architecture was retained the interior was ultra modern for its time and
provided the utmost luxury for even the most fastidious. Boasting a wide
range of activities the Firbeck was compared to Gleneagles. Set in its
own 200 acres of landscaped grounds the club was able to take full
advantage of its rural location with meandering streams and placid lakes.
The ground floor featured a mirrored walled ballroom with a maple wood
floor and a lighting system that changed the colour and tone of the
room. The reputation of the club grew so quickly that the BBC would
transmit its weekly Saturday show Late Night Dance Music with Henry
Hall, Carol Gibbons and Charlie Kunz from Firbeck. The first thing that strikes the eye as we come out of the clubhouse is the ornamental lake in front, which gives us a nerve-testing carry for our opening drive. A well-hit shot, however, should take us safely on to the rising plateau beyond A tree on either side narrows the space for the second shot, with a bunker filling the left half of the gap between; and beyond this the ground rises slightly to a green guarded by a bunker on the right but open to a shut swinging in with the run of the ground from the left.
|
The club would host many prestigious golfing tournaments with winners presented with a silver cigarette box, on the lid was a chiselled relief of the Hall.Several first-class hunters and hacks were stabled in the clubs own Riding school, which was under the supervision of the resident Riding Master.A paddock with jumps of various kinds and access to the acres of parkland made Firbeck an ideal retreat for equine enthusiasts. An aerodrome had been constructed to the west of the Hall under the direction of Capt Tom Campbell-Black, the joint winner of the 1935 Mildenhall-Melbourne Air Race. Cyril Nicholson had funded the purchase of a de Havilland 88 Comet in 1935 at a cost of £10,000 for Campbell-Black to attempt further endurance flights. It was intended to name the aircraft Firbeck and start many of the flights from Firbeck following extension to the length of the aerodrome to accommodate the heavily fuel laded aircraft during take off. Lady Fielding convinced Cyril Nicholson to name the Comet ‘Boomerang’, as it would always come back. Boomerang did not live up to her name and in anear fatal accident over Africa the Comet was written off and Campbell- Blacks aspirations of flying from Firbeck to the Cape and back in a weekend came to an end.It was Tom Campbell-Black previous connections with the Prince of Wales during their flights looking for game in Africa that persuaded the Princes equerry to alter the itinerary of a Royal engagement to Sheffield and visit the club. The aerodrome allowed many of the guests to arrive by air. The landing ground could accommodate the small de Havilland Puss Moth of Campbell -Black to the graceftul Percival Procter owned by Lord Londonderry, the famous aviatrix Amy Johnson with her aviator husband Jim Mollinson were regular visitors, along with celebrities from the world of sport and show business of the day. The glamour of I930s aviation added to the magic of the club. Pupil pilots with their instructors from RAF Cranwell would stop over for refreshments, the instructors collected by the Clubs Ford Shooting brake and taken to the Hall while the pupil pilots remained at the Aeroclub clubhouse. From 1934 to the outbreak of war the club gained a reputation as the social Mecca outside of London for the rich and famous. Fashion shows by Jaeger meetings of the Grove Hunt, shooting parties, boating on the lakes, fishing and dancing attracted members and guests from across the country. Arriving by air, by Tail from Retford or in their Lagonda or Bentley the weekend would start with a cocktail party that lasted well in to the early hours of the morning. The Saturday spent lazing around the pool, riding across the estate or playing golf before dinner and a night dancing was almost a set routine for many guests. If the weather were fine speakers would be set up outside allowing an immediate extension of the ballroom into the grounds with the music heard in Firbeck village. The club was supplied with its produce and services from local shops and companies, fresh meat from G. G. Warner of Worksop, they advertised the fact that they were purveyors to the club, Blyth Model dairies delivered cream, butter and eggs. Worksop Laundry laundered items from the white Irish linen tablecloths, dinner jackets to the starching of guest’s shirts. A resident staff of 40 provided guests with very high levels of personnel service, with three different styles and colours of uniform for the morning, afternoon and evening, it was this attention to detail that gave Firbeck its reputation. The changing Politics of Europe and in particular Germany was reflected at Firbeck with the Sheffield Aeroclub undertaking Flying lessons on behalf of the Civil Air Guard, who had been formed to train a reserve of potential pilots for the possibility of war.The social and sporting life of the club continued unabated by the events in Germany, the sports calendar included regular golfing tournaments, tennis matches. Mr Santo Casani ensured that the entertainment reflected the best London could offer, cabaret shows flown direct to the club Arthur Tracy the American street singer, Albert SandIer with his Palm Court Orchestra added to the ambience that was Firbeck. A major event in the social calendar was the Pre-St Ledger Ball; significant numbers of the racing fraternity would make the Ball their start to the St Ledger week. The close proximity to Doncaster made the club an ideal location for those wishing to combine a week at the races while taking advantage of the clubs facilities. Firbeck club also provided a refuge for the Stars from the films and stage. Greta Nissen took up residence at the Club during her performance in Leeds and Sheffield relaxing afler her stage appearances, the newspapers of the day reported that’ Miss Nissen was able to ride every day, play squash and read at least six books a week. The harsh winter of 1937 froze the lakes to a depth that allowed ice skating to take place. Warmed by a hot strong punch, skaters would take to the frozen waters, one of the lakes was set out for the energetic speed skater while the smaller lake was reserved for the more sedate. By July 1939 it was evident to all that the peace across Europe would not last with many of the members on military reserve lists, the priority of preparing for war would take them away from the gaiety of Firbeck. The club would begin to change and eventually close as Cyril Nicholson generously handed over the Hall to the Royal Infirmary in order to evacuate patients away from Sheffield. Lake House became a much smaller club providing facilities for the diminishing number of golfers who continued to use the course. With the declaration of war on Sunday 3rd September 1939 the Hall would begin another and very different chapter in its history. A hospital and Guests’ whose sole aim was to take the fight back to the heart of Nazi Germany became residents. Their backgrounds were very different to the clubs initial membership, engineers from Manchester, apprentices from the Sheffield Steel industry, Polish escapes from Russian Gulags; trainee assault glider pilots made Firbeck Hall and RAF Station Firbeck their temporary home. Squadrons operating, training and formed at Firbeck played a significant if little known role in the out come of the war. The material for this article has resulted from my research into Firbeck as a fully operational RAF station. I believe there remains a wealth of documents and photographs that would give a greater insight into the glamorous life enjoyed by guests at Many of those individuals making the ultimate sacrifice to safe guard freedoms taken for granted by today’s generation. Firbeck. Photographs taken to record a success at golf the signatures in the Clubs guest book would add to completing a full picture of one of the country’s most glamorous sporting clubs. If you have any information relating to Firbeck Club Ltd or the RAF Station please contact me on 01909 560732. Noel Wade. England, august 2000 See some black-white pictures of the Firbeck Hall from the 1930's. |
|
Also on the ground floor was the
clubs main restaurant with its London West End chef and maitre
d’hotel, the kitchen had the capacity to provide over 400 table d’hote
dinners. The lounges had furnishings covered in a zebra stripe material
that was complimented by the distinct patterned mirrors gracing the
lounge walls. The Cocktail bar became a popular place to socialise and
sample one of the latest American cocktail recipes flamboyantly the
Cocktail barman. On the second floor was located a smaller grillroom
that had a reputation for serving the best of English breakfasts and
steaks, a card room that became the scene of regular high stake games
and a smaller ballroom with reception areas that could accommodate small
private functions. In addition there were a number of bedrooms,
furnished in an older more traditional style.Adjoiniug the Hall was the
Dormey House, which over looked the 18 hole putting green and contained
twelve bedrooms furnished to a very high standard of comfort in the
latest of 1930’s designs.