MMC Venue

The old Memorial Hall had occupied this site since 1906 and has always held a prominent and established role within the local community. In between the First and Second World Wars there had been talk in the village of replacing the Mechanics Institute that had been housed in the building originally built in 1847 at the instigation of Countess Lanesborough as an Infants School. This building had, by 1906, become the Parish Rooms and remains today, although much extended, the home of our Parish Council. The Second World War put the idea on hold, but by 1948 and driven by the desire for a tangible commemoration of those who died in that war, the Parish Council commissioned a study for the building of a hall for the use as a social amenity for the village. The delivery of the Report in late 1950 was the spur for a group of trustees to be appointed and fundraising to begin in earnest led by a Social Organising Committee consisting of Trustees and other interested villagers. Support from local firms and businesses helped considerably but the main effort was from the community itself. Throughout the 1950s fundraising continued as did the search for a suitable site for the hall. Various options and offers were considered including the possibility of purchasing the Rock Cinema. Eventually however the search for a site narrowed to three clear contenders, one at the back of the Parish Rooms, one on the Green and one at the bottom of the Green. The latter was considered to be the best option and in 1960 serious negotiations to secure sufficient land for the Hall.