Our Village Hall is in a state of major disrepair and we’re starting out on the long and difficult journey of fund raising so that we can make vital repairs before its too late. These challenges are daunting and its easy for us to believe that we’re the first to undertake them however, history has a habit of repeating itself……

The Welcome Home Fund Committee:

The Village Hall Committee is comprised of a small group of people dedicated to maintaining our village hall and the central part it plays in our community. The committee however is no modern development, it has it roots in wartime Northumberland and evolved out of the then Great Whittington Welcome Home Fund Committee. The Welcome Home Fund began in April 1944 when villagers started collecting money for the return of their servicemen and women who were overseas serving their country. The committee organised whist drives, dances and concerts (sound familiar!) and money soon came pouring in. On VE day, the villagers held a massive street party in which they ‘buried Hitler’, pulling a makeshift symbolic coffin along the main street.

Hitler's burial

They baked cakes and other delicious food for the party and there was an outpouring of relief that war was finally going to be over and that their loved ones would soon return. By the time the servicemen and women returned there was enough money in the kitty to give each one the then princely sum of £10, a gilt edged card and a slap up meal (£10 wouldn’t go far in the Queen’s Head these days unfortunately!). After the pay out £576 remained in the fund and it was decided that this money was to go towards building a village hall so that the wartime community spirit could continue on.

Fund raising continued and in 1956 a suitable plot of land was found. The plot, which is now known as Hill House Close, was owned by Major Blackett and was leased to the R and M Bus Company who were prepared to give up the tenancy if the land were to be used for the new village hall. However there were ongoing problems with the site and by 1961, after many changes in the committee including a period without even a chairman, things had ground to a halt. There was still only £900 in the bank and they needed £1,100 before qualifying for a grant. The local newspaper headline reflected their despondency with the headline, ‘Village Heroes Hall Fades Away’. Sixteen years on from when the decision was first taken to build the hall and they were no closer to their goal. “Its disgusting that all this time should have gone by without anything having been done”, said one of the villagers when interviewed by the local press. One of the hardest working committee members during these bleak times was Mrs Jean Lowdon who was the landlady of the Queen’s Head. Mrs Lowdon was quick to respond to the criticism, “We will get a hall as soon as we can. We know that some people are critical, but we are doing our best”. So, even in the face of such adversity they persisted in their dream and, surprisingly, the silver lining eventually appeared in the form of the closure of the local school.

The School:

Newspaper photo of the school

Village school children

During the time that the Welcome Home Committee had been in operation, meetings were often held in the schoolroom and it had functioned as much more than just a school. Therefore, when the building came up for sale in 1970 and the first brick had yet to be laid for the new hall, it was decided that they’d convert the school in to a village hall saving both time and money. At a meeting in June of 1970 the committee considered two proposals; plan A, costing £2,800, was to buy the school, the teacher's house and the grounds, and plan B was the cheaper option of purchasing just the school and allowing the teacher's house and front garden to be sold separately. Plan A was the preferred option but was risky as they hadn't yet raised enough funding and would have to quickly apply for grant aid. As we now know, plan A was put into action, the grant applications were successful and the rest is just history! In September 1970 they applied for a grant from the Education Authority and work began in earnest in 1971. Building work was estimated at £2,700 – if only we could get the repairs done for that price today.

Welcome home fund payments

Plan A acceptance letter

Great Whittington Village Hall Association:

The hall was soon converted and the extension that included the toilet block was completed. Charity status was applied for from the Charities Commission and this came through in October 1971. A new Village Hall Association Committee was formed with several residents of Great Whittington taking their places on the committee. Alongside these villagers there were three other bodies with elected representatives, the local council, the Friends of the Methodist Church and the Matfen Women’s Institute. Although the Friends of the Methodist Church are long gone, the WI and the council are still represented on the modern day committee.

In 1972 they began holding their first events in the new hall. In June 1972 the hall was used for the wedding reception of Mr Alan Tiffin of Great Whittington and Miss Eleanor Jessie Oliver of Matfen. In November the first public event to be held was the village flower show, which got a big spread in the local press - 13 year old George Dodd hitting the headlines with his prize winning gigantic swede. The flower show sub-committee secretary explained how the hall was already a busy centre for village activities such as evening classes in art, keep fit and handicrafts. It was also used as a meeting room by the Great Whittington WI, the parish council and Matfen Cricket Club and, in November 1972, plans were afoot for Christmas parties for adults and for children - a popular tradition carried on up to the present day. In 1987 a new central heating system was installed and in 1988 the committee applied for more funding in order to carry out vital repair works. It was stated on the application that the hall was practically unusable but that refurbishment would “provide this rural community with a restored hall in which to meet and hold communal events and groups”, a sentiment strongly echoed today. This refurbishment saw the addition of a porch and repairs to the kitchen and toilets, which unfortunately are now in dire need of repair yet again. Looking back we can only begin to imagine the massive amount of time and effort that went into securing a hall for our village and to keeping it in working order. Surely we owe it to those who went before, as well as to ourselves, to keep the hall going no matter how difficult the fundraising may be and how long it takes. Let's all give our utmost support to the village hall renovation appeal, ensuring that once again our village hall can take its rightful place in the heart, and hearts, of our community.