Village Hall History
Charles Dewar was the main benefactor of our Village Hall
Who was he? He was born on the 28th of April 1858 and died on the 12th of September 1933, at the age of 75. He married Jane Smart in June 1889 and then moved Abbey Farm, Great Massingham with Jane.
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He took a great interest in village life, helping to finance the construction of the original village hall, which was built by the villagers in 1924 using their own unpaid voluntary labour. In 1937 his widow Mrs. Dewar gifted a parcel of land behind the village hall which became the current playing field. The naming of Charles Dewar Close seemed a fitting, if somewhat overdue, gesture of thanks towards this very generous couple.
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His son John Arthur Dewar was born on the 3rd of August 1891 and became Chairman and Director of John Dewar & Sons.
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The 1911 Census tells us……. Charles was a Justice of the Peace, County Councillor and President of the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture. His legacy in Great Massingham lives on with the land bequeathed to the community for the Village Hall. More recently, Charles Dewar Close was named in his honour.
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New Hall is Built After Devastating Fire
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The original Great Massingham Village Hall, as mentioned above, was opened in 1925 after landowner Charles Dewar donated the playing field and land for the hall. It was built by voluntary labour with each working man in the village contributing a set number of hours. Sadly, the original building burned down in March 1943.
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The Rev. A.J. Davies, who was President of the hall at the time, gave generous help in the darkest days when the village was without a hall. He opened the Rectory as a club until other accommodation could be found.
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An army hut was acquired as a temporary hall ( see picture right ) and, again, the Rector came forward and provided chairs and card tables and he even gave his full-sized billiards table.
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In the early fifties, a new hall was built. You can see the building of the new hall in progress, also in the picture right. Arthur Britton is the man in the centre holding a saw and Herbert Mason, who repaired cycles, is far right.
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Hail our New Hall
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The official opening of the new Massingham Village Hall was performed, on Sunday 11th September 1955, by Mrs. F. Lincoln Ralphs, wife of the Chief Education Officer for Norfolk. The Rev A.J. Davies (chairman) was supported by the trustees, management committee and representatives of Freebridge Rural Council.
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In his opening remarks, the Chairman recalled the debt of gratitude the village owed to the late Charles Dewar, in particular, for making the hall possible. You can see below a picture of the current Village Hall when first completed and some of the people present at the opening ceremony.
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Charles Dewar enjoyed his role in Great Massingham as a ‘gentleman farmer’ and was held in high regard within the community. He and his wife are buried in St. Mary’s, churchyard, Great Massingham. (see below)
Refurbished Village Hall – July 2019
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First Phase of the Village Hall Declared officially Open on 10th July. With a cut from Vic Cross’s golden scissors the ribbon fell away and the new kitchen part of the refurbishment was declared open. Around eighty-five villagers came along to the more formal evening to see the completed first phase of the Village Hall Refurbishment some seven years after it was first recognised that the Hall needed a serious upgrade. Celebrating with some fizz and a buffet, those who attended were able to see the improvements that have been made. The revised and illuminated signage means that people will no longer drive past the Hall, the improved entrance and driveway will make those visiting the Hall by car or by foot that bit safer and the new cement boarding makes the Hall much more appealing from the outside. Meanwhile, on the inside, the assessible toilets and newly-finished kitchen will make the Hall a more attractive venue for parties and life celebrations.
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There are So Many People to Thank
The trustees thank all those major donors who provided the main funding for the refurbishment as follows:
Parish Council-The Hall, Parish Council-Feasibility Study, Garfield Weston Foundation, Norfolk Community Foundation/Borough Council, The Mallard, The Bowls Club, National Lottery Awards for All, TFCC Communities Foundation (WREN), Tesco Bags for Life, West Norfolk Wins, Bingo Evenings, Film Night, Tennis and Multisport Club, and the Quiz Night.
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The trustees gave a big thank you to all those individuals and families who have donated to the Refurbishment, either by attending or organising fund-raisers or by an individual donation. Thanks were also given to Jo and Mark Froment who donated the carcasses, doors and ovens to modernise the kitchen. Special mentions were given to those ‘Refurbishment Volunteers’ who had completed work to save on costs namely, Robin Arbenz for the kitchen, Tom and Mike Read for fitting the kitchen worktops, Brian Francis for painting the toilets, corridor and kitchen, Baz Pratt for the signs and design, Arthur Allen for financial planning and to Alan Petto for making and refurbishing handy bits of metalwork.
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It is clear that Quinn Construction Services were the right company to complete the building work. Under the calm and considered management of Paul Quinn the various constructions have gone very smoothly with excellent rapport between Paul and the Refurbishment Committee. Equally, Christian Mountney, our chartered surveyor, who has been with the development since day one devising plans and helping with always sound advice, proved to be an excellent project manager and the trustees are grateful to him.
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Phase 1 of the refurbishment took place after consulting with local people about their ideas on how to improve the Hall. The evening concluded with villagers being consulted on what improvements they would like to see as Phase 2 of the Refurbishment.