Richard Hall (FS 64-68). Jeremy Hall (FS 67-72) has kindly sent in the following notice. “Richard was born in September 1950 in Carlisle to a farming family, running a traditional mixed working farm near Aspatria. Richard’s was a happy childhood, growing up with younger brother Jeremy (FS 66-72), but despite being brought up on a farm, it was never going to be part of the life of one who from the start displayed inclinations to the indoor and the cerebral life. Richard was sent to Seascale Prep School. Given what was already emerging in him as a shy and reserved nature, this might have been thought an unhappy environment for him, but this proved not to be the case, with school encouraging his enthusiasms for Latin, history and English literature. Active participation in sport was not for him, but this did not prevent his acquiring enthusiasms for cricket and rugby union, although not in any sense in a participatory way. For all that knew him in later life, his lack of practical involvement in rugby and cricket was no inhibition to his acquiring an encyclopaedic knowledge of the intricacies and histories of both sports.
Senior school followed at St Bees. This was a formative time for him both intellectually and in terms of his character, and he retained a lifelong affectation for his old school, being a long-time member of the St Beghian Society Committee and a regular attender of reunions. His academic ability pointed to a good university, and he duly went up to Jesus College, Cambridge, to read history, focusing on medieval history, for which he was well suited given his ability in Latin. It was a happy time for him and he graduated with a good 2.1. Like many history graduates before and since, he then had to consider what his career would be, and like many history graduates before and since, he thought teaching would be just the thing, but his putative teaching career lasted a matter of weeks.
In what might be termed a ‘gap year’, Richard started what would now be considered an internship, that is unpaid work filling in at the Carlisle Record Office. Since his school days he had shown an inclination for record keeping, compiling his own daily collection of Times newspapers; now he discovered his life’s passion - archives. It soon became apparent that he had discovered his ideal career, but if he was going to be serious about it then he needed a professional qualification. There were but three places that offered such a qualification, and one was Aberystwyth, the university by the sea, a higher educational mirror of his school by the sea at St Bees. In 1978 he was to take up a permanent post as archivist at the Kendal Record Office, melding his love for archives with locating to his native Lake District. Kendal was where he was to remain. Richard was a committed bachelor and he was a man of great charm and conviviality, so he was able to combine his love of history and archives into becoming a highly active member of the Kendal Historical Society and the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, being a long-serving secretary of the latter. History might have occupied the preeminent position in Richard’s intellectual life, but his cultural interests were extensive. There was his love of English literature and poetry, reflected in his reading tastes and his membership of the Houseman Society and the Wordsworth Trust. There was his love of English painting, especially portraiture, reflected in his membership of the Romney Society. But above all there was music. His membership of music societies and his love of attending concerts, recitals and festivals transcended all other interests. There were the Vaughan Williams, Holst and Dvorak societies, but reigning supreme was the Elgar Society, of which he was sometime archivist and an extremely active member of the north west branch, plus an avid attender of society promoted events. There was the regular concert season, with the Halle and Royal Northern series featuring heavily. Then there were the festivals - English Song, Ludlow, Buxton, Edinburgh, Cambridge Handel Opera, Kendal Midday Concert Club, but two were preeminent - The Three Choirs and Lake District Music. As both were held in the high summer, some intensive juggling of commitments was required, but he never missed either. Richard was, however, no mere passive observer of the musical and arts scenes. Putting back into music the love he took out, he began actively to sponsor concerts and recitals on an individual basis, then latterly establishing the Richard Hall Charitable Trust, to maximise his support for the arts. His support was eclectic, but the work of the trust was weighted towards supporting young performers in the foothills of their careers. The Three Choirs was also a regular recipient of Trust sponsorship. Indeed, the last concert he sponsored through the trust was that given by the Dante Quartet on the last day of this year’s Worcester festival, featuring the string quartet by his beloved Elgar. It was at this concert that his sad death, just days before, was announced with much emotion. Richard had not been in good health for a long time, but his health was especially poor in recent years. This did not, however, dampen his indomitable spirit or his cheerfulness in the face of physical adversity, nor his attendance at his round of concerts, recitals and festivals. His final descent was rapid, and even those of us who knew that he was at risk were still shocked when the news came through that he died at home on 2nd August. The large number who attended his funeral on 2nd September, which included the President of the St Beghian Society, Darryl Davies, attested to the high regard with which he was held by so many people and societies.”

 

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