I used to go to that hall for circuit assemblies I would say it has a seating capacity of at least 1,000.
Hellaby UK circuit A$$emb£y this Sunday
by punkofnice 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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BluesBrother
I have been up their several times to C/ass when I lived that way.. it was a showpiece when first built but might be aging now.
True that it could easily hold double the number attending in this report , but all numbers have to be seen in context of who was invited, or rather, assigned to go. I have not observed a dramatic fall in numbers ... yet...
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punkofnice
Smiddy - It had an aura of realism about it knowing how mental the GB are.
Xan - I wonder if I was ever at the same a$$emb£y as some on here.
BB - I knew many that worked on building HELLaby. A dramatic fall in numbers is the desired outcome but probably not a realistic one. there are probably reasons, although 600 does seem a bit low.
I wonder how much deficit they announced to guilt trip further contributions?
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Slidin Fast
Been to it many times. I actually worked on it. The attendance has to be taken in context, it really does depend on how many were assigned. In my experience the normal number assigned would be 900/1000.
Can we find out more? Which circuit? What is normal for them?
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The Fall Guy
The East Pennines Assembly Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses - colloquially referred to as "Hellaby."
I was reliably informed that the org originally bought much more of the (derelict) land for the Assembly Hall than was needed
and subsequently sold the excess real estate for a considerable profit. That area then became a hub for numerous businesses.
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darkspilver
Gayle: wow, low attendance, how much seating capacity, one commenter on a googled site indicated 1200 attenders possible at one time
Google eh?
Construction began in September 1985 on what has come to be known as the East Pennine Assembly Hall. It is a steel-frame structure seating 1,642 persons, with a 350-seat Kingdom Hall for the local congregation. The building was designed with a roof that has a 42-meter [138 foot] span.
The number of seats may have been reduced since it was first built.
In Britain they normally divide each circuit up into two assemblies (an 'A' and a 'B' part) so 900 to 1,300 attendance is probably 'expected' in the English speaking circuits.
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punkofnice
Slidin - I'd love to find out who was assigned but I know it was the Peterborough mob but not sure who with. My sources or sauces are very shunningly limited.
Fall - Selling land. That's their forte.
Spilly - Yep. that's the Hell hole!
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punkofnice
I am told 6 got craptised. I believe all born ins. I'm trying to find out which congo-a-bongo-I's went to this circus a$$emb£y.
6 out of 600. I imagine the oversneers are in fits of ecstasy.
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Phizzy
6 out of 600, just below the statistical Death Rate for our part of Europe.
They are slowly on the way out.
yay !
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dozy
Been there a few times. Used to get annoyed as the amount we had to pay ( aka "suggested donation per publisher" ) constantly went up every year.
I once took a party of about 30 from the congregation down in a couple of hired mini buses to work on the garden ( there was a rota system and our congregation was included , even though we were 2 1/2 hours drive away. ) We worked for a couple of hours or so ( frankly there was very little to do , and the Hall Overseer there was scratching his head trying to find odd jobs to do - he wasn't especially friendly or appreciative , especially given the time , effort and expense we had made to get there ).
It started to rain and I asked the overseer if we could go into the kitchen and have a cup of tea or coffee till it stopped raining but he said that wouldn't be possible as it had just been cleaned. I said we would clean up on our way out and and he really started to become quite awkward , basically wanting us to leave the premises and go home as there wasn't anything for us to do and he clearly didn't want us hanging around.
Uncertain about what to do next and being responsible for 30 keen but now unemployed volunteers , I decided we would leave and all go out for a meal and drink to the local Brewers Fayre / Harvesters or equivalent. ( I'd already been advised by another elder that this was usually what happened - it's basically a "show face" arrangement - and had provisionally made a booking ). This seemed to work OK but the whole days experience left me somewhat unsettled , at a time when I was already getting increasingly frustrated at the goings on in the Organisation.
In terms of what was accomplished , it was really just a complete waste of time and an obvious "make work" scheme ( similar to a lot of activities in the Org ).
