Hempstead Village Hall is available for hire Saturday evenings and Saturday and Sunday afternoons for family parties and social events. Host children's parties, weddings, metings, fundraisers, dances and so on! To contact our bookings secretary e-mail Ann Salter at [email protected]
The hall is managed by a committee of volunteers from the Hempstead community. The committee is always looking for enthusiastic, dedicated people to join the team. For more information about joining the committee please contact David Fuller, the committee chairman at [email protected]
The hall is managed by a committee of volunteers from the Hempstead community. The committee is always looking for enthusiastic, dedicated people to join the team. For more information about joining the committee please contact David Fuller, the committee chairman at [email protected]
HISTORY OF HEMPSTEAD VILLAGE HALL
It was in 1962 that the fund to provide a new hall in Hempstead was started. The Rev Peter Miller, Curate of All Saint's Church wanted a hall to replace the existing wooden building, the lean-to shack which housed equipment, china and water and also the small hut which contained an Elsan toilet.
Originally, the plan was for a new Church Hall but Peter Miller wanted the village people to be involved and also have use of a community hall which would include a Playgroup, so the fund was started to build the Hempstead Village Hall.
Various activities ensued. Weekly house-to-house collections took place with many villagers pledging 6d a week. Coffee mornings were organised and the Hempstead Village Festival was started which continued for many years. A waste paper collection was set up. £2000 was loaned to the building fund and although it was not generally known who this person was, in a letter from the Secretary of the Parochial Church Council of St Matthew's Church to the Hon. Treasurer of Hempstead Village Hall, an agreement was made for the money to be repaid at £400 a year for 5 years. In the event of the person's death, the balance of the loan outstanding would be regarded as a gift to the people of Hempstead. This kind person was the Rev Peter Miller.
In 1967 there was enough money to start building the hall. All permissions had been obtained. It had been passed by the Church Committee and agreed by the Parish. The old hut and sheds were demolished and the new hall built, not without some problems, as the original builders went bankrupt.
So it was on Friday, 12th May 1967 a Public Meeting was held in the new hall, at which there were 36 people present. The lobby as we know it had not been added but the building was completed enough to use. In his opening speech Rev Miller said the village had wanted a new hall for some years and that 5 years ago the fund had started and now just a few short months after the old hall had been demolished there was now a fine new hall. 4 members from the floor would be elected to help with the running of the hall. Many people had been involved with this project and had given their time and services, mostly voluntarily. It had been hard work but most enjoyable and new friendships had been made. The site had been cleared, electricity installed, plumbing undertaken, the wood block floor laid, ceiling and kitchen tiled, curtains made, carpentry and other jobs done, mostly by volunteers. It was at this meeting that the Constitution was accepted. The Constitution was to consist of 7 members elected at the Annual General Meeting plus one representative from each affiliated organisation.
Fundraising still continued as the loan had to be repaid, outstanding bills paid and the day-to-day running of the hall financed.
The heating at that time was by a gas fired radiator, a few feet from the hall entrance. Years later hot water radiators were installed instead. Also the space between the hall and the east end of the Church was roofed over and converted into store rooms. This meant that most of the gutter was now within these store rooms and in later years caused some problems.
Some years on when the youth club was using the hall, a fire started in the waste bin in the kitchen, causing severe damage to the recently installed drop ceiling tiles, to the kitchen itself, the payphone and the money in it and to the tops of the chairs stacked six high at the other end of the hall. Since then the chairs are always stacked in fives. With money from the insurance, the kitchen was refurbished with sinks, cupboards, refrigerator, worktop and fire resistant serving hatch cover. Later on, the boiler was encased in a cupboard to stop the controls being interfered with. The layout of the toilets and lobby was changed to accommodate a second WC for the ladies, a stainless steel urinal in the gents and the transfer of gas and electricity meters to outside the building.
Another problem that was encountered was the wood block flooring rising up in places. More recently this has happened again and has been solved by the fitting of expansion grooves/filling. Double glazing was fitted some years' ago, hopefully to keep all the noise in, which has also resulted in reducing the heating bills. In 2003 a disabled toilet and an extra store room for the Playgroup was planned, both of which were completed and opened in March 2004.
When the Playgroup started it was mainly run by mums being paid pin money wages. Now the highly qualified staff have to pay National Insurance and Income Tax on their earnings. This includes payments for time spent on training courses and seminars. The Playgroup, now a pre-school has always had an excellent reputation which has been officially recognised by Ofsted. At present one of the staff is doing a Degree Course in Childcare at the University of Canterbury and another hopes to do likewise later this year while a third is working through an NVQ3 Course.
Maintenance of the hall is an on-going activity, whether it be volunteers carrying out painting, roof or rainfall problems or day-to-day repairs and replacements, and of course these days, new legislation to obey. Many people are and have been involved in the running of the hall, some of them over very many years. In fact, Ida Edwards was Treasurer from its inception for over 35 years and her husband Robert took this job over on the sad occasion of her death.
And so, the hall continues to be in use to this day. It is used by various organisations, although the Scouts/Cubs/Brownies/Guides now have their own hall. The pre-school is thriving, the Women's Fellowship has many members, dancing classes and other activities take place regularly. The Management Committee of the hall are all volunteers, who regularly meet to carry out the work which Rev Peter Miller initiated so many years ago. Long may it continue.
Valerie Gorf
Secretary - Hempstead Village Hall June 2007
(Additional information from Robert Edwards)
It was in 1962 that the fund to provide a new hall in Hempstead was started. The Rev Peter Miller, Curate of All Saint's Church wanted a hall to replace the existing wooden building, the lean-to shack which housed equipment, china and water and also the small hut which contained an Elsan toilet.
Originally, the plan was for a new Church Hall but Peter Miller wanted the village people to be involved and also have use of a community hall which would include a Playgroup, so the fund was started to build the Hempstead Village Hall.
Various activities ensued. Weekly house-to-house collections took place with many villagers pledging 6d a week. Coffee mornings were organised and the Hempstead Village Festival was started which continued for many years. A waste paper collection was set up. £2000 was loaned to the building fund and although it was not generally known who this person was, in a letter from the Secretary of the Parochial Church Council of St Matthew's Church to the Hon. Treasurer of Hempstead Village Hall, an agreement was made for the money to be repaid at £400 a year for 5 years. In the event of the person's death, the balance of the loan outstanding would be regarded as a gift to the people of Hempstead. This kind person was the Rev Peter Miller.
In 1967 there was enough money to start building the hall. All permissions had been obtained. It had been passed by the Church Committee and agreed by the Parish. The old hut and sheds were demolished and the new hall built, not without some problems, as the original builders went bankrupt.
So it was on Friday, 12th May 1967 a Public Meeting was held in the new hall, at which there were 36 people present. The lobby as we know it had not been added but the building was completed enough to use. In his opening speech Rev Miller said the village had wanted a new hall for some years and that 5 years ago the fund had started and now just a few short months after the old hall had been demolished there was now a fine new hall. 4 members from the floor would be elected to help with the running of the hall. Many people had been involved with this project and had given their time and services, mostly voluntarily. It had been hard work but most enjoyable and new friendships had been made. The site had been cleared, electricity installed, plumbing undertaken, the wood block floor laid, ceiling and kitchen tiled, curtains made, carpentry and other jobs done, mostly by volunteers. It was at this meeting that the Constitution was accepted. The Constitution was to consist of 7 members elected at the Annual General Meeting plus one representative from each affiliated organisation.
Fundraising still continued as the loan had to be repaid, outstanding bills paid and the day-to-day running of the hall financed.
The heating at that time was by a gas fired radiator, a few feet from the hall entrance. Years later hot water radiators were installed instead. Also the space between the hall and the east end of the Church was roofed over and converted into store rooms. This meant that most of the gutter was now within these store rooms and in later years caused some problems.
Some years on when the youth club was using the hall, a fire started in the waste bin in the kitchen, causing severe damage to the recently installed drop ceiling tiles, to the kitchen itself, the payphone and the money in it and to the tops of the chairs stacked six high at the other end of the hall. Since then the chairs are always stacked in fives. With money from the insurance, the kitchen was refurbished with sinks, cupboards, refrigerator, worktop and fire resistant serving hatch cover. Later on, the boiler was encased in a cupboard to stop the controls being interfered with. The layout of the toilets and lobby was changed to accommodate a second WC for the ladies, a stainless steel urinal in the gents and the transfer of gas and electricity meters to outside the building.
Another problem that was encountered was the wood block flooring rising up in places. More recently this has happened again and has been solved by the fitting of expansion grooves/filling. Double glazing was fitted some years' ago, hopefully to keep all the noise in, which has also resulted in reducing the heating bills. In 2003 a disabled toilet and an extra store room for the Playgroup was planned, both of which were completed and opened in March 2004.
When the Playgroup started it was mainly run by mums being paid pin money wages. Now the highly qualified staff have to pay National Insurance and Income Tax on their earnings. This includes payments for time spent on training courses and seminars. The Playgroup, now a pre-school has always had an excellent reputation which has been officially recognised by Ofsted. At present one of the staff is doing a Degree Course in Childcare at the University of Canterbury and another hopes to do likewise later this year while a third is working through an NVQ3 Course.
Maintenance of the hall is an on-going activity, whether it be volunteers carrying out painting, roof or rainfall problems or day-to-day repairs and replacements, and of course these days, new legislation to obey. Many people are and have been involved in the running of the hall, some of them over very many years. In fact, Ida Edwards was Treasurer from its inception for over 35 years and her husband Robert took this job over on the sad occasion of her death.
And so, the hall continues to be in use to this day. It is used by various organisations, although the Scouts/Cubs/Brownies/Guides now have their own hall. The pre-school is thriving, the Women's Fellowship has many members, dancing classes and other activities take place regularly. The Management Committee of the hall are all volunteers, who regularly meet to carry out the work which Rev Peter Miller initiated so many years ago. Long may it continue.
Valerie Gorf
Secretary - Hempstead Village Hall June 2007
(Additional information from Robert Edwards)
