Talbot House Poperinge Belgium

Birthplace of the TocH and a welcome Retreat in WW1

Talbot House is situated in Gasthuisstraat, a Street just of the main Square in Poperinge and I can assure you, a visit there is fascinating for it's history and for it's architectural splendour as well.

The Reverend Philip Thomas Byard (Tubby) Clayton acquired Talbot House not long after the War. He felt it was necessary that Troops on leave from the Western Front should have somewhere to stay, a place to be entertained and a place of more solace and retreat.

The name 'TocH' comes from the Military Phonetic Alphabet used during the first War; 'Toc' stood for the letter 'T', so 'House' was reduced to 'H' with the 'toc' on the front. One can only assume it started as Talbot House, then T House, ending up as TocH?

You enter the House through a door just off the main street which leads you into the Reception and Museum. The Museum is a maze of showpiece artifacts along with various letters and archive videos being shown on numerous TV Sets.
On the top floor is the restored Theatre where men would watch either Shows or be treated to early cinema. It is said that due to so much smoking in the Theatre, the Projectionist invented an extractor fan thus giving a clearer view.

From there you go out the door into the Gardens, a real treat. Now carefully maintained, they have a wonderful view of the back of the House and it's not hard to imagine yourself sitting there with a cup of tea and memories of loved ones at home.

The House itself is a treat of restoration culminating with the Chapel up in the converted loft area (be warned, climbing the final stairs is only for the fit and those without vertigo problems!).

Each room is carefully set out in the style of that time and you can see how many men spoke about a night there as the best sleep they'd had in weeks, all be it for the squeaky floorboards.

Visiting this House is an absolute must for your itinary. I have to admit that before I went in I may find it somewhat lacking of flavour, I was proved very very wrong.