Brampton Abbotts Village Hall will celebrate a milestone birthday this year; in December, it will be 60 years since the hall was built. To celebrate, there will be a fete on Sunday, May 22nd, where all local residents are invited to attend.

Brampton Abbotts Village Hall has a long, interesting past. The story about how the hall came to be is, in itself, a story that would fascinate anyone interested in local history.

The hall, which was opened on Thursday, December 6th 1956, had been a 12-year project for the residents of the rural village, located just outside Ross-on-Wye. Brampton Abbotts Village Hall cost £2,520 to build and £320 was spent on equipment and decorations.

Raising the money needed to build the village hall took a long time to collate. While one third of the cost had been obtained through Herefordshire Council, the remaining two thirds of the money had been raised through the sheer determination of the villagers.

In 1940, funding of the village hall was started by two women’s clubs; the Fellowship, and the Women’s Institute. In 1944, a parish meeting was called to discuss the best way to welcome home the soldiers who had fought in the Second World War; several of Brampton Abbotts’ men had fought in the war, and thankfully none of them were killed. It was decided that the establishment of a village hall would be the best way to honour these men, and The Village Hall and Welcome Home Committee was formed.

They raised a phenomenal sum of money; putting on small village dances, house-to-house collections, fetes, whist drives, and concerts. One year, two small girls went carol singing in the area, and raised six shillings, all of which they donated to the pot of money for the hall.

In 1955, after more than a decade of campaigning from Brampton Abbotts’ residents to get their village hall, it was finally given the go ahead at a Parish Council meeting. 33 Councillors voted in favour, and three voted against, and the building of the hall began that same year. The records of the meeting have been kept in pristine order.

The hall was opened in 1956 by Dr Green, a former chairman of the Village Hall Committee. More than 150 people attended the opening, which soon became a party to celebrate the fact that a real community effort had paid off.

Mr Harry Sainsbury also became chairman of the Village Hall Committee, and he purchased the land for the hall, and donated it to the people of the village. At the fete on May 22nd, his daughter, Jane West will be representing him, as his generosity is still greatly appreciated by the people who live in the village to this day.

There will also be representatives of the original team who were involved in establishing the village hall in the 1950s. John Fishpool, son of George Fishpool, who was the treasurer of the Village Hall Committee will be in attendance, as well as Joan Snell, who is the daughter-in-law of Mr and Mrs D.N. Snell, a couple who were at the helm of the entertainment committee. So many individuals put in countless hours of hard work to establish the village hall, efforts which are gratefully remembered today.

Robert Lewis is the current chairman of Brampton Abbotts Village Hall. He told the Ross Gazette: “It amazes me how they all came to work together.”

The fete on Sunday, May 22nd will be raising funds for the village hall itself, and there will also be a prize draw in aid of the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.

There will be lots on offer at the fete, such as Birds of Prey on display, a concert performed by the Oak House Nursery School children, skittles, a Coconut Shy, a goal-shoot game, a cake stall, a plant sale, a tombola, Bric-a-Brac, and an exhibition of Hall memorabilia, for anyone interested in finding out more about the history of the village hall.

The fete will last from 2pm until 5pm and tea and cake is included in the entry fee. Members of the Village Hall Committee will be coming in 60s fancy dress, in homage to the hall’s anniversary.