Liberty hall – the resurgence of the local village hall
As the Government sets up a new £3m fund for Britain’s 10,000 village halls, William Cook visits his local one – and is enchanted
Some of my fondest childhood memories are rooted in those homely places known as village halls, in and around Stapleford, Cambridgeshire – playing ping-pong, frequenting jumble sales and watching my mum’s friends doing dreadful am-dram.
But then I went away to seek my fortune and left village life far behind. More fool me.
Now, half a lifetime later, I’m back in a village at long last (hurrah!) – a pretty place called Ickenham, near Uxbridge, with a medieval church and a miniature railway and even a few independent shops and cafés. It’s on the edge of London – so much of its original village life has inevitably been buried beneath suburban sprawl, but it’s been a wonderful surprise to find that the village hall is still there.
Ickenham Village Hall is the hub of this community. Without it, I wonder if there’d be much of a community here at all. You can come here for morning coffee or afternoon tea. If you’re feeling more athletic you can do yoga or Zumba (a sort of sporty dance routine). There are quiz nights and even ferret-racing nights.
There are more than 10,000 village halls in England. Though they’ve struggled a bit recently, subjected to the same strains and stresses that afflict all local amenities, these splendid places are now enjoying a discreet renaissance.
I reckon it’s because we’ve finally become fed up with the soulless anonymity of the internet. We want to get out and meet our neighbours, as we used to. Then, as now, the village hall is the best place to do it.
So how did the idea of the village hall begin? Like the fruits of most good ideas down the ages, they evolved organically, rather than as a result of grand governmental diktat.
But, like lots of things we think of as eternal, many of them aren’t nearly as ancient as you might suppose. The movement really took off after the First
World War, when lots of village halls were erected as memorials to the fallen. Some of the buildings they’re housed in are older, but they were often built for other uses, for example as schoolhouses.
St Margaret’s Hall in Alderwasley, Derbyshire, claims to be the oldest village hall in England. The original structure is 13th-century – it was built as a chapel and converted into a village hall for the 1977 Silver Jubilee.
Still, it’s never easy maintaining any sort of building, however old – or modern. So it’s good news that the Government has just stumped up £3 million for a Village Halls Improvement Grant Scheme.
More than £1 million has already been allocated, but that still leaves nearly £2 million up for grabs. If you’re involved in running a village hall, you can apply for up to £75,000 for alterations and improvements. These grants are administered by an admirable charity called Action with Communities in Rural England.
‘Village halls are more important and relevant than ever,’ said Rural Affairs Minister Lord Gardiner, launching the scheme earlier this year. Hear, hear.
However, a village hall is nothing without events, and booking these places used to be a challenge. You had to phone a number and speak to someone who never seemed to be there. In this regard, at least, it seems the internet has its uses. A bright chap called Bernard Hammick has come up with a clever scheme called Hallmaster (www.hallmaster.co.uk) – a computer system that makes booking village halls easy-peasy.
Bernard’s computer system also books out church halls, and he’s not too bothered about the distinction. There’s a big overlap between the two institutions. The church hall in Dad’s Army is forever hosting Walmington-on-sea village gatherings, often clashing with Captain Mainwaring’s drill sessions.
But what’s remarkable about village halls is that they don’t have a big organisation, like the C of E, behind them. They’re entirely run by volunteers. The concept has been exported to Commonwealth countries such as Canada and Australia; it’s a peculiarly Anglophone phenomenon. Germany has a community hall in every Dorf (village), but it doesn’t feel quite the same.
In the course of a single century, village halls have become integral to British culture, a familiar forum for many a Just William story, Miss Marple mystery or Dad’s Army episode.
Ten years ago, Oldie cartoonist Tony Husband toured over 100 village halls, in a double act with poet Ian Mcmillan, and discovered a rural netherworld of aerobics, tap-dancing and beekeeping. In one venue, they saw a poster billing them as a song-and-dance act. They asked why. ‘We were told the guy doing the poster was going on holiday and only had time to change the names!’ the cartoonist said.
So how can we support these sterling institutions? Well, next time you’re arranging an event and need to find a venue, why not forget the stuffy hotel that fleeced you rotten last time, and hire your village hall instead?
Meantime, I’ll be dropping into my village hall for a spot of ferret-racing, or maybe even to shake my booty in an energetic bout of Zumba.