What Happened in the 20th Century?

In 1914 the proprietors of the Reading Rooms decided to surrender the lease due to falling membership. The Town Council then leased the premises to the Boy Scouts for 31 years.

In 1945, with the original 31 year lease coming to an end, The Corporation (Freeman) Trustees of Berwick sold Palace Green Pavilion for £250 to four individuals to hold the property in trust for the Local Association of Boy Scouts. This “Local Association” was redefined as 5th Berwick Scout Group in 1984.

In 1948, very ambitious plans to greatly extend the building were drawn up but these were not implemented. At this time the Pavilion was used by the 4th Berwick (Tweedmouth) Group and by the Grammar School Group.

A more modest scheme to extend the front elevation and reroof the Reading Room was carried out in 1952/53 leaving the building in its current form.

In 1970 "The dwarf wall and gatepiers of the former enclosure" were listed Grade 2.

In 1985 the two remaining individual Trustees wished to retire and ownership of the Pavilion passed to the Scout Association Trust Corporation. The property was still held in trust for the benefit of the 5th Berwick Scouts and remains so to this day.

Scouts continued to use the Pavilion and grounds througout the remainder of the 20th century

The Berwick Bulletin, on August 22 1979, reports of a World War I tank comin.g to Berwick and its journey through the town to Palace Green. The following is a summary:

The WWI tank came to Palace Green from the railway station in 1919. Shells, guns and tanks were given to communities to thank them for their war efforts and as a memorial. On 27th May 1919 Berwick Council discussed a place for the tank and a captured field gun. These were to thank Berwick for its War Savings.

The Old Bowling Green in Palace Green was chosen for the tank. On 21st June it arrived at the station and the Tank Corps drove it to the foot of the Town Hall steps.

The visiting officers were entertained to lunch in the Avenue Hotel (now the Elizabethan Guest House, by the Scots Gate) and afterwards a public procession led by the Berwick Pipe Band marched to the Old Bowling Green. Passing the Governor’s House they were inspected by Major General Ernest Dunlop Swinton CB DSO. Though born in India he belonged to the local Swinton family and was the brains behind the tank scheme. The tank was placed on a prepared mound on the Green. A section of the wall and railings were removed to allow the tank to enter the site.

Savings Certificates were sold locally, with purchasers allowed to inspect and enter the Tank.

By 1935 the tank was in poor condition and was scrapped by Unthanks of Spittal in 1936. However, a large WW1 shell can still be seen in a wall by the village green at East Ord.                                                                                   

                  

                                                       WW1 Tank at Palace Green                                                 WWI Shell at East Ord