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The village hall is officially 60 years old on 4th November this year. Unlike its 25th and 50th Anniversaries, there are no plans to celebrate this event. A few weeks ago, there was an afternoon tea party open to all villagers and those who use the hall to show off the numerous alterations that have been carried out during the past 2 years, mostly during the COVID-19 lockdown periods, and this was well attended at the time. Past history of the village hall has been written about many times and can still be found on Upchurch Matters as well as numerous other publications and websites. The following is a brief celebration of the village hall. A more detailed one, The History of Upchurch Village Hall, can be found on the Upchurch Village Hall website: www.upchurchvillagehall.weebly.com
It is believed to be as far back as the 1930’s that Margaret Neame who worked in the Upchurch Village Store first suggested the idea that Upchurch should have a village hall that served the whole community. However, it wasn’t until 1952 that the idea first started to come to fruition, culminating in the building of the first part of the village hall in 1961. This was followed by the addition of the back hall and stage area in 1974. During the 1980’s there were many different upgrades to the building including bringing gas into the hall in 1982 when at the same time the original electric heating hung from the ceiling were changed to floor-standing gas-fired heating units, converting the internal emergency lighting system from a continuously charged 12v battery-operated system to a mains electric powered system and installing a fully powered external emergency and security lighting around the building. In 1999, with the help of a £93,000 grant from the National Lottery Fund, the kitchen extension and toilet upgrading were carried out.
Most recently the hall has undergone a major refurbishment which included the replacement of the gas heaters for more economical ones, installation of an electrically operated smoke detection and fire alarm system, updating the main electrics, a new ceiling and lighting system in the main hall along with new fire doors and floor covering. Work in the back hall has included a new soundproof partition positioned on the upper level with a set of soundproof double doors linking it through into the stage area, an additional inner ceiling complete with module lighting panels, similar to that in the main hall and additional external lighting illuminating the car park area.
Upchurch Village Hall was first proposed some 90 years ago now and having come to fruition in 1961 and has been at the heart of the village community ever since. Whilst some of the village clubs that exist today functioned during the 1960s many do not. These include the Mother’s Union, the Darby and Joan Club, the Table Tennis Club, the Youth Club, the Badminton Club, Upchurch Horticultural Society and the Upchurch Play Group although the last two are still in existence but have transferred to other locations within the village.
Current groups regularly using the hall include Upchurch Active Retirement Association (UpARA), Bowls, Pilates, Tai Chi, Uplift, the Women's Institute, the Upchurch Players, as well as other groups meeting for socialising, health and wellbeing on a not so regular basis. All these, and others, are open to people in the village of Upchurch and the surrounding area. Additional to these activities the hall is also used as a Voting Station whenever there is a General or Local Election as well as being hired out for private functions such as Wedding Receptions, Birthday and Anniversary Parties, Theatre Rehearsals, Model Railway Enthusiasts, Spiritual Groups and occasionally for external Company Training of things such as First Aid and the like. Currently, the hall is also being used by Rainham Tuition, a private company that provides additional tuition for pupils approaching their 11+ exam.
Over the years operational costs have increased considerably. Currently, it costs in excess of £20,000 per year to keep the hall open. These costs include insurance, refuse collection, gas, water and electricity along with general running, cleaning and maintenance upkeep. Additional to these the Upchurch Village Hall Management Committee, (UVHMC), are required to hold various licences as well as carrying out statutory gas, electrical and fire inspections. This money does not come from grants as has much of the building works but the income from lettings. With the recent COVID-19 shutdown this has been a difficult time for the management of the hall as in spite of there being no income certain bills still had to be paid. Fortunately, because of careful financial management by the Trustees, the village hall has survived the shut-down and is once again fully open for all to use.
Most recently the UVHMC received a Hallmark 1 Award from the Action with Communities in Rural Kent, (ACRE), showing recognition of how the hall is both looked after and managed.
The village hall is now 60 years old. It is because of the work and attention that the various Management Committees, not forgetting the large number of volunteers at various times, have given to it over those years that it remains the safe and usable village hall that it is today. What the future of the village hall holds is unknown. What we can be sure of though is that if future Trustees look after it in the same way as all those have in the past it should still be the village asset that it is today and give many more people the use and enjoyment that it has for others over the past 60 years.
Edward Murphy with thanks to Jan Lacy
