The Wenhaston Village Hall is at the centre of the village and was built in1975 to replace a previous wooden hut built prior to the Second World War. The funding for the hall, £32,000, was raised by public donation and fund raising. The Hall is managed by the Village Hall Management Comittee, a registered charity number 1001694, which oversees the day to day running and maintenance of the building.
Community awareness and social cohesion are vital ingredients of village life and where better to find this than at Wenhaston Village Hall where numerous changes and new enterprises have been introduced to give wider appeal.
The Café, created over a year ago by a team of volunteers, is now a popular venue on a Wednesday and Saturday morning (opening hours 10am to 1pm) for cafetiere coffee, pots of tea, including many herbal varieties, hot chocolate, cold drinks and, of course, delicious cakes. It is manned by volunteers, with a regular baking team cooking up sweet and savoury treats.
On the first Wednesday in the month a ‘Men's Shed' Breakfast runs from 8.30am until 10am. A full English is served, accompanied by lively debate on wide-ranging topics. All profits from The Cafe go the village hall which is a registered charity.
Film nights occur twice a month following the installation of expensive new equipment including large drop screen, back projection and much-improved sound system. On the first Saturday in the month more popular films are screened - Selma, Mr Holmes, Saving Mr Banks, Chicago and Paddington to name but a few - but on the third Thursday the film team selects from world cinema and includes many sub-titled foreign language films. Once again all profits are in aid of the village hall.
The recently-installed, very bright, LED lighting, with useful dimmer facility, has been welcomed by all the village hall user groups, in particular the regular badminton and table tennis clubs. The Village Hall Management Committee is justly proud of the hall's green credentials, boasting a large roof array of photo-voltaic panels and a wood chip boiler.
The Wenhaston Village Hall 100 Club recently purchased two
kurling sets and once a month eight teams of four meet to fight it out across the floor of the hall. By all accounts it is a fun evening with no experience necessary. Teams can sign up through the booking secretary, Jane Peters.
Private bookings range from parties and wedding receptions to joint council meetings and book launches. Hire of the hall includes the use of good kitchen facilities o fight it out across the floor of the hall.alland disabled access.
Other village hall users include the Wine Club, Art and Craft, Youth Club, WI, Parish Council, Wenhaston Commons Group, Strictly Dance Fitness, Exercise Group, Gardeners' Club, WEA, Bingo and the Drop-In Club. Regular calendar favourites include jumble sales, church lunches, Christmas bazaar, table-top sales, village show and art events. On the last Saturday in the month, running alongside our cafe, we have a successful "Produce, Craft and Flea Market"from 10am until 12.30pm. Our aim is to raise funds for Village Hall maintenance and support local small businesses.
Well-stocked book shelves in the corridor enable anyone to borrow books and magazines on trust and donate items if appropriate.
A defibrillator for emergency use in case of a cardiac arrest has been installed outside the village hall, following an initiative by the East of England Co-op. Community First Responder Co-ordinator Gus Jones gave practical demonstrations on its use.
The Post Office, another vital village service, is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 1pm and run by Jane Peters. A doctor's surgery, operated by the Reydon practice, takes place on Thursday afternoons. Regular blood donor sessions are also held at the village hall. A bottle bank facility is available in the car park.
All these activities provide an invigorating mix with which to celebrate village life in Wenhaston. A warm welcome awaits visitors to the village hall.
Following the closure of the original Post Office in the village, the Post Office facilities were transferred to the Village Hall to provide a, mornings only, full service Monday to Friday. Photocopying facilities are available for personal use at 10p per copy during Post Office opening hours.
The Hall is heated by a large wood chip boiler system with automatic programmable time control to provide comfortable conditons for events throughout the year. A 9 kW solar panel array is mounted on the roof providing low cost energy during daylight/sunlit days.