In her book Safe In Print, Jennifer Davies says that following the Great War there was a move to get a village hall erected and in about 1921 a First World War army hut was placed on a piece of land owned by Donnington Hall. It was appropriately known as the War Memorial Hall and it served the Parishes of Broomsgreen, Ryton and Donnington.

Jennifer goes on: "When the Memorial Hall was first in use every drop of water had to be carried to it. Villagers remember carrying buckets and even bathfuls of water from ther house. The hall provided a venue for wedding receptions."