During my lifetime Mayfield Memorial Hall has been at the forefront of village life. In my early years the hall was known as the Parish Hall and was advertised as such. Over the past weeks I have attempted to recall my memories of the different events and happenings at the hall, at the moment these total eighteen and still counting. From boxing tournaments to film shows, from dances to being the village school, from flower shows to jumble sales, the number and variety of events are too many to record at this time. Below are just two of them.
My earliest memory of the hall was of a large corrugated metal building painted a dull shade of green. The interior was sparse and rather dark, there were piles of tables and chairs roughly stacked against the South wall. There was a stage at the North end, surrounded by dark green curtains. Heating was supplied by two, maybe three, large coke burning stoves with heavy steel fire guards. In later years I was to find that when the stoves were fully stoked they would glow a deep dark red colour.
The room at the rear of the hall was the kitchen and was used for many meetings. However once the lights were on, with the furniture and decorations arranged the hall would come to life. It was always a warm welcoming place to be.
Amateur Boxing
One of my earliest memories of the hall is of going with my dad to watch the Amateur Boxing tournaments in 1948. The ring was set up in the centre of the hall floor, with seating arranged in neat rows on all sides. We were fortunate that for both of the two tournaments we were seated on the stage, it was like being in a grandstand with a perfect view of the action. The event had been organised by Ashbourne Amateur Boxing club in conjunction with the Derby ABA. It was thrilling for a twelve year old to be attending boxing matches in Mayfield.
The hall was full to capacity, the ring was well lit and there was an air of excitement and expectation with several local boxers competing. The bouts went without a hitch. One of the most anticipated bouts featured local man Guy Harrison. Guy’s opponent was an ex-navy middleweight champion from Derby. After four rounds of all action fighting the decision went to the Derby man, the result was not well received by the local fans.
Another local contestant was Ashbourne’s Albert Mitchell who went down to his first defeat, which as reported in the Ashbourne Telegraph “did not seem to meet with full approval of the crowd”
At both tournaments there was a junior bout. At the first tournament the Ashbourne junior boxer was Cec Challionor, who boxed a junior exhibition bout. The bout was given an ovation by the local fans and received good reports in the local press. Guy Harrison’s popularity was such that at the second tournament the organisers apologised for his non-appearance due to an injured hand.