Sewards End Village Hall History

Sewards End

history

Village Hall

The above shows the beginning of the conveyance document that allowed Sewards End to gain its first village hall. The land for the hall which this document relates to was purchased on the 9th February 1934 from Ernest William Hatton. The purchasers where the same Ernest William Hatton, Arthur Richard Mead and James Hutchinson Swanton (“the Trustees”). The First Schedule of this document states that the land and the building to be erected shall be held in trust for “the purpose of physical and mental recreation and social moral and intellectual development through the medium of reading and recreation rooms library lectures classes recreations and entertainment or otherwise as may be found expedient for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Parish of Sewards End..”.

The three Trustees only held the property temporarily pending an application to the Charity Commissioners for the property to be conveyed in the Official Trustees of Charity Lands at which time the charity would be administered by a Council of Management.

Old Village Hall The original hall was purchased second-hand; its original use was as a First World War army hut. It served the village well from 1934 until 1995 when the new village hall was opened.

The front porch was added in 1986.

Although giving excellent service it is fair to say that our old friend was very tired towards the end. Leaks in the roof dripped onto the ancient overhead electrical heaters and ivy had found its way through the walls in some places.The committee, during the last year or so of its life when it was sorely needed to raise money for its successor, fought a valiant battle against the local authority to ensure it met current standards and could remain open.

The new hall had a troubled beginning. A generous grant from Saffron Walden Town Council of £40,000 towards a new hall was made in the late 1980’s (at that time Sewards End was still a part of the parish of Saffron Walden). However, the committee were struggling to find land on which to build the new hall. The current site was too small both practically and to satisfy current regulations. Early attempts to purchase land from a number of land holders had floundered as a condition of the sale the land holders also wanted additional development that planners would not grant. Saffron Walden Town Council had generously understood the problems and kept carrying the grant over into subsequent years’ budgets.

Eventually land was purchased in 1994/95 in what is the village’s preferred position from Neil Wells of Hoys farm.

The land was considerably larger than the old site and was farm land purchased as amenity land

The old site had planning permission for a residential development which made it more valuable and ensured that the village hall trust gained a much larger plot of land whilst at the same time adding vital funds to the new hall project.

In the days when the national lottery had barely begun, the funds for the new hall came from three sources; the £40,000 grant from Saffron Walden Town Council, a grant of around £20,000 from Essex County Council and fund raising and donations from the residents of Sewards End.

The hall was officially opened on Saturday the 19^th June 1995 by Pauline Haigh in the presence of Saffron Walden Town Council mayor, John Lefever and a sizeable part of the village.

Following the closure of the village’s last remaining public house, The Green Dragon, in the 1990’s the village hall is the focal point of village life.Various organisations use the hall regularly.On the first Sunday of each month there are lunchtime drinks and often food and the parish council holds its meetings there.

Pauling Haigh and Cllr John Lefever
at the opening ceremony 19^th June 1995

The facilities were significantly improved when in 2007 after decades of trying land was acquired adjacent to the hall for use as recreation ground.