For more details on fees and bookings, please contact the Parish Clerk

Our Village Hall

West Hoathly Village Hall is situated in North Lane, West Hoathly.

The Hall began as a Reading Room in 1887 and the main Hall was added in 1897.

It has been extensively refurbished and provides a lovely venue for all occasions.

Main hall dimensions: 14.5m x 8m

Stage : 5.5m x 8m

Committee Room: 2.5m x 3m

Kitchen: 2.5m x 2.5m

Facilities:

• Equipped kitchen with cutlery and crockery for up to 100 people, 2 ovens, 5 ring hob, dishwasher, instant hot water boiler and fridge.
• Folding Tables14 large (1.83m x 0.7m or 6')1 small table (0.91m x 0.7 or 3')
• 4 medium (1.21m x 0.7m or 4')
• Chairs x 100

History of the Hall

The West Hoathly Reading Room was built by Mr Buckley of Hoathly Hill in 1887. The present Hall, built onto the original Reading Room dates from 1897, the year of the Diamond Jubilee.

The Hall was built by local residents who formed a company and bought shares. The Architect was Sir Alexander Stenning and the builders were Messrs. Izard and Jenner.

The new Hall still served as a Club for the young men of the Parish but unfortunately, the cost of breakages so far exceeded the amount produced by the members that the Club had to close. The Hall was then let out for dances, whist drives and concerts; first at 30s, then one guinea per evening (with extra for heating and lighting and for the caretaker)!

The Hall was used fairly regularly in the Winter but not at all in the Summer, so once again, the income was not enough to meet the expenses. In 1915, the shareholders got together again and decided to forego all claims on the money they had invested and hand over the property to the Charity Commissioners to be managed by local Trustees.

This excerpt was taken from an edition of The Chronicle (date unknown).

Today, the Hall is still managed by the Trustees who are currently all members of the Parish Council.

For details on fees and bookings, please contact the Parish Clerk