The Village Hall
A brief history of the Hall
In 1876 the Chapel in Marston Meysey fell into serious disrepair. It had been built in 1648 to replace what was a Chapel of Ease built by the de Meysey family in the late 13th century. In 1869 the Reverend William Henry Ranken became Rector of Meysey Hampton and Vicar of Marston Meysey: he was much helped by two churchwardens of Marston Meysey, John Archer of Lushill of whom we will hear more later, and Edward Fletcher Booker, in the collection of an impressive sum of money with which to replace the Chapel with a new church on better ground donated by the same John Archer. This money, collected mainly within the parish of Marston Meysey was enough not only to build a new church but also a vicarage and a school. Part of the site given by John Archer was also used to enlarge the burial ground and on another part of it a Church of England school was built.
The school flourished until it was closed in July 1924 because the number of pupils had fallen to eighteen, two below the required number of twenty. The school building continued to be used as a village hall , for a period of some sixty three years, and was maintained by the residents of the village until 1987 .At which time the Diocesan Education Authority became aware of its existence, following we understand an application to purchase it. At that time after protracted discussions between the Marston Meysey Parish Room Committee (MMPRC) and the Diocesan Education Authority, and with the help of the Charity Commissioners a fifteen year lease based on a peppercorn rent was agreed. Subsequently, after a successful fund raising exercise the Hall was purchased for the village.
The hall is now a grade 2 listed building.
Hall improvements carried out by MMPRC
The MMPRC has maintained the school room in excellent condition - improved many of the facilities including the kitchen which was significantly upgraded, installed a hot water system, provided two indoor toilets equipped to accommodate the disabled and installed gas heating. The area in front of the hall was dug up and lowered, a paved pathway was built to accept wheelchairs for the convenience of those with ambulatory difficulties; the area was gravelled while retaining some of the lawn. The garden to the rear of the hall was dug over and levelled and laid to lawn, all the work being done by villagers. A large paved patio was commissioned which has proved ideal for the various functions held as part of the normal village activities.
In addition, the old outdoor lavatories were re-roofed and converted into secure storage lockups. Additional improvements to the interior of the building were carried out, the floor was re-varnished, walls painted and re-wiring carried out.
Hall Celebrations
Following the successful conclusion of the fundraising campaign to save the Hall for the village a party was held to celebrate the acquisition and to thank all the donors and others who had made it possible.
The picture below shows the current Hall committee with the Chairman Charles Woodward being congratulated by Mr Alan Watts from BiffaWard one of the major donors.
The Hall committee wish to express its sincere thanks to all the donors, Corporate, Public and private who have contributed to the successful conclusion of the fund raising exercise.
Money will still be required to fund the upkeep of the Hall ,to cover day to day maintenance and more long term repairs, like most old buildings we suffer from rising damp, this must be tackled in the not to distant future.
Following the acquisition of the hall on behalf of the village; the managing committee formerly the MMPRC ,changed its name to the Marston Meysey village Hall Committee (MMVHC)