About Us
Rowledge Village Hall
Now
Rowledge Village Hall is owned independently by the village, and is managed by a committee of local people. It is funded entirely through rental income, fund raising and contributions from the community.
It is a registered charity, number 1186998 and is constituted as a ‘Charitable Incorporated Organisation’ operating with effect from 1st May 2020
The village hall management committee 2022 members are all voluntary and are dedicated to ensuring that Rowledge has a village asset that provides a sustainable community service both now and for the future.
Visit our gallery to view some of the activities and views of the hall. If you have a good photograph of the village hall and you would like to share it, please send it to us so we can include it on the site – originals will be returned where requested.
History
There are records relating to the ownership of the land on which the village hall stands from 1851; however it is believed that the first hall on the site was built for the Village Institute in 1914, the same year in which the recreation ground was opened as a coronation memorial to King George V. The king and queen came to Rowledge and walked on the recreation ground soon after on a visit to the area.
The owner of the land was Mr Charles Hay Walker who owned Frensham Hill (later Frensham Heights). He leased the land for the Village Institute for 1/- a year (5p in today’s money). He was a strict teetotaller and insisted that no alcohol was drunk at the institute. (not a rule we apply now!)
Until the mid 1920’s there was a single hall of galvanised iron with match boarded interior, with about three small committee or green rooms leading from it. There were no inside toilets. In 1925 Mr Faulkner of ‘Faulkner’s Nosegay Tobacco’, who lived in Bayford Cottage on the corner of The Avenue, paid for the erection of the room that abuts the Long Road standing in front of the original hall.
A trust was established in 1926 to operate the hall for the ‘physical and mental recreation of the inhabitants of the parish of Rowledge’. This trust still operates today and governs the running of the hall
By the mid 1970s the hall had fallen into some disrepair and faced an uncertain future. However, a bequest from Mr Sohns, a local nurseryman and gardener, allowed for another major refurbishment of the hall.
Fundraising
The hall depends for its survival on the goodwill and contributions of the local community, coupled with a modest rental income. Maintaining and developing the hall as a vital community service requires constant fundraising. We do this in a number of ways, some of which are detailed below.
100 club – this provides the opportunity to win up to £100 twice a year, plus prizes of £50 and £20 every two months, whilst supporting the hall at the same time. Download the form here (note: this is a pdf file) and return it to any committee member.
The Coffee Spot – every Friday the hall holds a community coffee morning giving residents of the village the opportunity to catch up, exchange news, or just quietly read the paper with a coffee or tea and treat.
Friends of RVH – to fund the long term aims of the hall, the committee invites you to become a Friend of RVH, through making a donation to our renovation fund. Please contact the treasurer for details, or contact us at info@rowledgevillagehall.com.
We also run a number of other fundraising events throughout the year and are always eager to have new people involved and new ideas put forward, so please feel free to sign up or again to contact us by email.
Minutes of the last annual meeting can be found below, along with the Chairman’s report for 2021.