The old Royal British Legion Hall on Bakers Hill is now divided into several dwellings - Legion House,  Legion Cottage and 1 - 4 The Old School Room.

The Hall originally formed part of the complex of the School Board’s girls’ school in 1876, before which it was the Brixham Workhouse.

Petty court sessions moved here in 1861. It was used as a mortuary after the 1866 Great Gale and a place of confinement during Cholera outbreaks. In 1878 Miss George was appointed Schoolmistress of the new school.

The origins of the building are understood to be late 18th century. The building has been substantially remodeled on at least two occasions: when converted from the workhouse to the school in the 1870s; and when converted for use by the British Legion in the 1950s, closing in 2018 and then converted into residential homes.

The earliest map to show a building on the footprint of the existing Hall is the Brixham Tithe Map of 1840. The Tithe Map shows a building occupying an elongated U-plan footprint identifiable as the site of the existing building. The two shallow projecting ranges are situated on the south elevation, facing what is now Baker’s Hill, creating east and west wings.

The Tithe Map shows that to the north of the U-plan block, a separate building was attached, with the footprint extending to include a range facing Drew Street. The evidence for this attached building is visible where the scarring of a gable can be seen on the north elevation of the Hall.

A parish workhouse is recorded at Brixham as early as 1777, a substantial building having accommodation for up to 60 inmates. Baker’s Hill was then called Beggar’s Hill. The building is shown on the 1862 Tithe Map as the Brixham Workhouse, although it is understood to have ceased to function as such by that date.

Although scant documentary evidence survives it appears that the workhouse had been used as a Court House in the period before it was adapted to function as a girls’ school in 1876, with an attendance of 90. The School Board, formed on 1 April 1874, has already opened the Boys School at Rea Hill that year, with an average attendance of 136.

When the building was being converted from the girls school into the British Legion Hall manacles were found in the basement, where anyone in the Workhouse suffering from poor mental health or lunacy was kept chained up.  Tough times indeed.

The 1959 map of Brixham finds the building labelled as “Hall (C of E)”. A plaque in the entrance hall of the Hall reads: “MEMORIAM THIS BUILDING WAS ACQUIRED BY THE BRIXHAM BRANCH-BRITISH LEGION IN MEMORY OF THE FALLEN OF THE TWO WORLD WARS. SERVICE-NOT-SELF.

Terraced into the slope, the facades contrast random-coursed local grey limestone with ornate buff limestone (probably Bath stone) dressings, which include shouldered-arched window heads over tall light openings.

The south elevation has two gabled wings to Baker’s Hill, with five asymmetrical bays on the recessed face in between. Between Bay 3 and Bay 4 there is a distinct change between two phases of building; there are two distinct roof heights, and the first floor windows are positioned at different heights. There is however, no clear vertical joint to distinguish two separate phases of walling construction.

The external walls of the south elevation are constructed from local limestone, with sandstone dressings to the window heads. The south wall of the west gabled range is rendered.

The fenestration of the five-bay range is composed of large multipane sash windows set into shouldered arch openings; many of the windows have been modified. The ground floor of Bays 1 to 3 are concealed by an architecturally unsympathetic late 20th century extension to provide kitchen and W.C. facilities.

The west elevation continues through a curved wall that extends from the south elevation. The lower half of the limestone rubble wall may have formerly enclosed an outside courtyard, and was subsequently used as the base for the late 19th century extension, and then as the base on which the late 20th century extension was constructed. The late 20th century extension can be distinguished by the rendered external finish.

The indication that a former boundary wall was incorporated within the late 19th century extension is evident in the lack of quoins at ground floor level on the west gable. The elevation is detailed with a square-headed doorway at ground level and with a tripartite window above. These openings are contemporary with the construction of this Victorian extension to the building.

The north elevation is comprised of a number of different elements, but as a whole presents an imposing composition, particularly when viewed from the car park immediately to the north of the building, or from the churchyard.

There is some limited evidence of red sandstone quoins appearing to relate to the earliest construction on this site. The eastern half of the elevation, now part of that part converted to residential accommodation, is composed of a relatively uniform three bays articulated with the shouldered arch fenestration found on the east and south elevations.

The western half of the elevation is articulated as: three bays featuring the ROYAL BRITISH LEGION HALL BRIXHAM, DEVON shouldered arch windows; a gable containing a tripartite window with oculus above; and the wall of the late Victorian extension. There is evidence to indicate that the cills of shouldered arch windows have been raised.

The elevation also bears the scars of a building that was formerly built against this elevation. All the chimneys are positioned on the north elevation, with four chimneystacks at roof level. Of these stacks, three are represented by chimney breasts within the building, but one has lost all the associated structure within the building.

Because of the alterations to the function of the building depleting the architectural integrity, the building is not considered worthy of national Grade II listing.

A local tale by Ray Gardner:
During the Second World War there were many hundreds of Canadian troops billetted up at Coleton Camp, near Coleton Fishacre.  There were also large numbers of black American GI units in Higher Brixham and many thousands of Americans at Lupton, camping in the woods awaiting D Day.

At the weekends the troops would head for the Bell Inn in Higher Brixham to sample the local 'applejack' aka cider.  Ray's father, Ralph Gardner, had a workshop at the old Legion House, the first door in the building up Baker's Hill.

A local character, 'Farmer' Jefferies, insulted the black GIs and was soon fleeing up the hill next to the pub, hotly pursued by some very irate GIs.  Ralph grabbed him, threw him into the workshop and slammed the door, in time for the GIs to thunder past and onwards up the hill to the park.  A narrow escape!