Welcome To Edingale
The village hall is a vital local resource, supporting our community and wellbeing. The whole community is responsible for ensuring its ongoing survival. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support and we hope you are enjoying our programme of events.
About Us
Villages need somewhere to meet as a community. In the medieval times, the venue would have been the church – as very much the most substantial building in the locality. In more recent times, a farm building (now demolished) that lay opposite Church Farm was the venue for celebrations of Royal events.
But, the first village hall was the only school room on School Lane. This was used for event such as whist drives, parish meetings, wedding parties, church fayres, talks, dances, concerts, and general entertainment. There were also informative meetings and talks, with one on India and another on China, with the local M.P. present.
However, the school room wasn’t large enough – and had been condemned as insanitary years before. So from 1944, villagers started fund-raising for a new hall and in 1950 a smallholding and two cottages, totalling 1 ½ acres, were purchased for £1,060
On Saturday 4th April 1953, Edingale’s second village hall, a wooden sectional building, was opened.
By 1975, its facilities were old and primitive – with inefficient heating and sparse toilet and kitchen arrangements. The floor was rough and old which made its use by the young, elderly and infirm difficult and unsafe. Similarly, its small size precluded its use for most social activities except small gatherings.
Fundraising for a brand new hall began in the 1960s. County Councillor Arnold Ward officially opened the third village hall on Saturday 26th November 1977. D.A. Aucott of Atherstone built the hall at a cost of £31,000. Of this, £24,000 was raised from the sale of the land that is now Moores Croft for building, and a wide variety of social events and a grant of £400 from Harlaston Parish Council, made up the shortfall. The first village event to take place in the Hall was on Monday 3rd June 1977 for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.
The hall was approximately three times larger than the wooden hall with a semi sprung sports floor and proper toilet and kitchen facilities; large enough to hold a dance for 250, and with the possibility of future extension.
The 1977 hall has had several refurbishments, including a major reordering in 2001-2002 with the creation of a meeting room and better kitchen along with a bar area. With the kind support of the Parish Council the hall was fully rewired alongside the installation of roof insulation and solar panels. Changes have also taken place outside including play facilities for a range of ages including an outdoor gym. Soft landscaping including hedges and copses help break up the field and keep children off the roads nearby. A community orchard makes productive use of land next to the car park.
In 2024, the Village Hall Committee made a successful bid to the National Lottery Community Fund to upgrade the toilets, improve the heating, install many new doors and fully redecorate. This National Lottery award, combined with further support from the Parish Council helps our community thrive by ensuring that the newly refurbished Hall continues to be at the centre of village life.
Meet The Team
Meet the team that work tirelessly to make our village hall what it is today.
Jon Wells
Chairman
Louise Acheson
Bookings Manager
Clare Keey
Events Co-Ordinator
Carmel Mason
Marketing Manager
Carol Tatlow
Trustee
Paul Mitchell
Health & Safety Advisor
Claire Simmons
Grant Application Manager
David Layland
Treasurer
Lisa Thorpe
Secretary