barra hall park came into existence on 20 december 1923 when the then urban district council (udc) of hayes bought the hall and its grounds from ms ethel penfold for £5,700 in order to use it as a town hall. later alterations by the udc brought the total to £7,000. the barra hall building was officially opened as town hall on 23 february 1924 and its grounds became a municipal park with playground, tennis courts and a paddling pool opened by music hall star jessie matthews. in 1965, hayes udc was integrated into the london borough of hillingdon (lbh) and the hall was eventually supplanted by the new civic centre in uxbridge as main council office.