A picture of Kiora Hall in Roseworth, probably around 2002, was it a Community Centre then?
Picture Stockton Archive
A Pictorial History of Stockton-on-Tees
A picture of Kiora Hall in Roseworth, probably around 2002, was it a Community Centre then?
Fond memories of Kiora Hall, this was my second home growing up. I was in Roseworth Kioras Jazz Band for many years and loved every minute of it.
I attended Brownies here and tap dancing in the 1980’s.
I also attended tap and ballet at Kiora hall, that would have been about 1962, I remember we took part in a production of ‘The Red Shoes’ somewhere in Stockon but can’t remember where. I’m sure I have photographs somewhere, I must dig them out.
Its wonderful to read all these comments from people sharing their memories. Roseworth Big Local are working on a plan to restore the building back to being a community centre. They are collecting peoples memories of the old please, please share your stories here.
I loved Kiora Hall where I attended Sunday School, the Brownies and did tap and ballet (not very well). A lovely building…
I crawled underneath Kiora Hall and found a lot of table tennis balls and old books, pretty spooky I’ve never been so nervous in my life, reeks of history. This was back in 1968 ish I was only 12 at time so just a kid and his friend exploring. Don’t know if anybody else have ever that huts were still there btw Kiora Hall used to hold a disco there once a week too, yeah happy days gone by sadly 🙂
I was told Kiora Hall was a prisoner of war camp during WW2 for Italian prisoners
Kiora Hall and the area around began as an army camp for the gunners on the 4.7 naval guns used as anti aircraft defence, they were not short range and fired directly over our houses in Mill Lane out over the Tees Bay to break up attacks. We never found out if they hit anything though it must have put the wind up some of those Germans who disturbed our sleep night after night.
The first we knew of the Italian Prisoners who came in secret overnight was singing coming down Junction Road, we all stopped amazed as those smiling Italians marched past us singing their heads off with one Soldier on a bike his rifle strapped to his back behind them. They peeled off to work in various places mainly the market gardens as food production was high priority. We got so used to them we got blasé about it, they marched down to the Church Sunday mornings though they were mainly Catholic and livened up the choir.
They left we were told long after to Canada where a lot died when the ship taking them was sunk by a U boat.
We then got the Germans, same routine same jobs same marching down Junction Road with a couple of Guards on bikes, peeling off to their work places, one worked in the Blacksmiths on the Green at Norton, I believe married the Daughter who had been the Blacksmiths striker and stayed here. Some worked on the coal chutes at Norton Station filling bags of coal for the various Coal Merchants who took coal from there. Three worked for my pal Dennis Goldsborough’s Dad and took turns going with him to deliver coal around the houses it was rationed by the way. He would take them home with him at lunch time and they would all eat round the kitchen table talking away as if it was all normal. Holiday times I would often be there for lunch as my parents were both on war work. To say I was a little shocked at it all as to me they were the enemy why were they not trying to escape? That did not last long as I found they were the same as us, not Nazi’s just young men who did not want to be shot at and we had them until the war ended.
We then got the displaced people, Poles mainly but you name it we had them, a lot married local girls and settled here.
What with the Canadians Poles and the many Sailors who came up river including many coloured Stockton at the time was a league of nations, we were so used to it we hardly noticed, the Dance Halls and Picture Houses were full of them and we all mixed without rancour, it was to us the norm, it makes me ask why is the world suddenly going back to tribal ways, we are all the same under the skin.
My g.father had 2 German prisoners of war working for him on his market garden.
Correct Bob, as all the other market gardens around Norton had them also many worked on the Farms around some even living on the farms all week and going back to camp weekends though farming does not stop at weekends.
Many of those POW’s were treated as family as I say above Mr Goldsborough’s men came home at lunch time and ate with the family, even in war time the lunch meal would be the main meal of the day and they ate what we ate. Norton being full of Gardens and Smallholdings there never seemed to be a shortage of good food, sugar tea butter may have been on ration but those of us with pigs and hens never went short as behind the front door deals were done.
Talking to men coming back from German POW camps after the war it would appear the same went for the other side, Stan Brown told me he worked in the coal mines in Germany and got extra rations for that another lad was living on a farm with three women who worked the farm most of the war, their men being away in the army.
I suppose to us blood thirsty young lads brought up on Films of Gunga Din, Sergeants Three and Beau Geste it was all one big puzzle. I would be sitting next to a German wondering why he was not escaping, that was what you were supposed to do. We live and learn.
Germans worked in factories, Garages, doing all the jobs our own men would have done had they no been in the forces, you could call it an exchange of labour, anything must have been better than sitting in a wire cage being bored. Life has some strange twists too it.
it also had a tree lined football pitch –We all used to spend many a day with Laurie who looked after Kiora Hall
Does anyone know when kiora Hall was built , and any information?
I remember Mrs. Bayles, she strapped me on the back of my legs for being late because I waited for my neighbour and that made me late!! What a punishment for a small five year old!!
My father used to volunteer for the youth club there and was in the model train group. My grandad was also in the woodwork group with my dad. Me and my brother spent a lot of time there during our youth. I have also a document (author not identified) on the history of the place passed to me by my aunt from her neighbour.
Hi would it be possible to have a copy of the history of Kiora Hall?
I was in the model club, scouts and St Johns Ambulance at different times of my childhood
What about the ghost – the white lady?
A folk story started in Grassy Nook Farm before Kiora was built on its remains.
I certainly don’t think Kiora Hall has changed what it was in the time I have known of it- I remember passing by it frequently when my mother worked at Roseworth Library. I had understood that it had been used by the ICI as offices at one point, as my grandmother had worked there and had met my grandfather who was living in a camp for displaced persons nearby. I am not sure reading the other comments whether this understanding was correct, and if it was perhaps another place my relatives were referring to?
Your understanding is correct, ICI moved their pay and purchase section into Kiora Hall in 1939 due to reasonable fear of attack after the First World War. They purchased leases on Hardwick Hall and Kiora Hall in 1938. They were joined in the late 1940s by officers of the royal artillery who built a gun emplacement camp out front (now Romford Road area). The next people were the displaced persons of Europe.
I was told on a local history course, that the gun emplacement was situated between the present Jewson’s (Junction Rd) and Tesco. The maps of the period appear to back that up. This area is opposite Kiora Cottage which was linked to Kiora Hall by a path.
The first POW camp at Kiora was for Italian prisoners, who worked on the farms and market gardens which surrounded Norton at that time.
They left and we got German POW’s who also worked on the farms around, my friend Dennis Goldsbrough who’s Dad had a coal business employed some bagging at the coal depot Norton Station and some on the cart and later the truck.
At lunch time they would go to the house, Woodbine Station Road for the midday break. It seemed strange to me a young lad to be sitting with the enemy eating and talking then see them wash up for Mrs Goldsbrough , I would be thinking why do they not try to escape?
As the war came to an end displaced persons lots of them Polish arrived, they too found work around the area and some of them married local girls, local lads did not like that though in time they were accepted.
ICI moved out of Kiora to Norton House Hardwick and Norton House Hartburn, the house on Hardwick having been Alexander Flecks house.
Now all gone and housing estates built on them only Kiora remains much as it always was.
The guns Battery at Kiora were 4.7 naval guns and engaged the enemy planes out over the Tees Bay, when they fired our air raid shelter shook you could hear the shells go moaning over a weird sound that some how brought comfort, we were giving the Germans something back, whether they ever hit anything I do not know but it must have shaken them up a bit.
My birth father, Alphonse Zichelmanis, was rumoured to have been prisoner at Kiora Hall?? I say rumoured as I never met him sadly. My parents separated before I was born and we never found out where he went or what happened to him. But nice to know that this was true and that he wasn’t treated badly, as family members who knew of him, told me he was a very nice man.
I also remember walking through a swarm of bees on my way to the Junior school. I walked by Kiora Hall every day to go to school. The manager? of the place kept bees, and one of the queen bees was swarming to another hive. He told me to just walk through them and they wouldn’t bother me. I trusted him, and he was right, they brushed against my face, but didn’t hurt me.
I also remember going to school in the huts that were I think on the Kiora Hall property, It had been a prisoner of war camp, and they were the overflow classrooms for the junior school during those baby boom years. I was there for a full year in Mrs. Grant’s class. I think I was 7 years old
I also walked by Kiora Hall, and I was in Mrs Grant’s class too, I was also in Mrs Smelt’s class – happy days
We had a lot of parties at Kiora hall when I was growing up. There were the street parties we had there for the residents of Rosedale Gardens. Then my Grandma Mee arranged for my sister Pam and I to have a birthday party there. We could invite all of our friends, and we had a great time.
Later I went to a ballet class there for a short time. I was not the most graceful ballerina:-)
In the 1950s either this building or another close by was a Junior/Infant School where my mother taught. Her name was Muriel Smelt and the headmistress was a Miss Bayles.
I was in Mrs. Smelt’s class, she was the reception teacher at Roseworth Infants school. The school was across the field to the Junior school. I liked Mrs. Smelt, who was fairly strict, but fair. She used to ask me to post letters for her on my way home from school. She also had me help other children in the class. That was when I met Philip, whose last name escapes me at the moment, but he died of polio when we were 10 years old. I used to help him with organizing his math, and writing books.
I forgot to mention that would have been in 1955.
I also forgot to mention that the Junior school was behind Kiora Hall.
Hi John I assume you are the John Smelt who lived in Preston Lane and attended Richard Hind Juniors in 1952. We were friends while you were there but I think you went to Barnard Castle school while I moved on to Grangefield. It all seems a long time ago now but the Hind was a good school to attend and I enjoyed my time there
I attended both infants and junior school next to Kiora hall, There were rumours about the white lady back in the 60’s. The huts that were mentioned were on the school premises and belonged to the junior school although they were closer to the infants. There was a big gun emplacement there during the second world war my parents often told me that they could hear it from Grindon lane ends. Thinking back I also remember some corrugated huts on the grounds of Kiora hall, back in 2002 my children attended an after school club at the hall.
I was in Mrs Smelts class my name was Linda Brown
I like it! Reminiscent of the “black and white” buildings of Chester.