The new Village Hall, on the site occupied by the previous hall, was opened on the 13th February 1999. After two open village meetings it was decided by the majority present to spend any funds raised on a new hall rather than the old one, which was in need of many repairs.
The new building, designed by George Batterham of Batterham Matthews Designs, Marshfield,
Chippenham, has two interconnecting halls which can be used independently or together, providing
for a maximum of 168 standing or 84 seated. At the rear there are two enclosed areas for play or
barbecues etc. accessed by double doors and at the front a parking area with steps and a ramp
for the disabled. Inside, the centrally positioned kitchen and reception area, which is very
welcoming, has three toilets and a rest area leading off. The overall effect is one of
simplicity and space. Natural wood has been used to good effect, including the re-use of the old
beams from the former hall, and the colour scheme of daffodil yellow and pale green completes
the picture. The original estimate of the cost was £91000, but the final bill came to £160000, the
monies having been raised by grants, fundraising, donations etc.
|
The Old Hall The previous village hall had originally been the village school, a building given to the village by Richard Gerard 4th Viscount Long. It served the village for 25 years as the hall, but it's predecessor, a much more humble building, had served for 40. |
|
This latter was the Chitterne Hut, which stood in the Shrewton Road, between Well Cottage
and White Hart House where a beech hedge hides a flat, grassy area today. It was a wooden, ex
W.D. Army Stores hut from the first World War and it was paid for by public subscription after a
Parish meeting decided that the current facilities were not convenient for village events. A
committee was formed to oversee the purchase and erection and when the hut became available, it
was dismantled and re-erected by Polden and Feltham, local builders, in 1920 - 21. It was used
for meetings, whist drives, dances and parties for children and the elderly. During the second
World War army personnel used it again as soldiers stationed nearby joined the revelry on
Saturday nights.
|
The Penny Peading Room
|
The inconvenient facilities that preceded the Hut were the Village School and the Penny Reading Room. The Penny Reading Room, in Back Lane on the left behind The Poplars, was once temporarily consecrated for weddings etc. until the church was finished. Now only part of the old building remains, the gable end in Back Lane, and the original thatch on the roof and wall have long since disappeared. |
Impression of the Penny Reading Room in 1891