The hall was built in 1923, with monies raised by public donation within the village of Downley in memory of the 22 men who died in the Great War 1914-1918.
For details of the men on the memorial visit the Buckinghamshire Remembers website.
Buckinghamshire Remembers web site link.
The land for the building was donated by Sir John Dashwood. It was a sloping site and this resulted in lower and upper floors being built. The upper area consisted of the main hall and stage and a room that served as a committee room and changing area with access to the stage. A staircase led to the lower floor which comprised a club room, kitchen and a large storage area under the main hall floor.
The services at that time comprised of two bucket type toilets, the water came from a cistern fed from the roof drainage. Heating was via a number of "Tortoise" type solid fuel stoves and lighting was via pressurized paraffin lamps. Water; drainage and lighting were all upgraded as the mains services were brought into the village.
Following the 1939 –1945 war the names of the 5 men who lost their lives during the war were added to the memorial tablet.
The management of the hall was by a management committee under the authority of the Trustees.