Maiden Newton Village Hall
Efforts to provide a village hall for Maiden Newton began as far back as 1936. In July that year a fete and carnival was held in the Rectory grounds (Maiden Newton House) opened by the Lady Wynford to raise funds. Before this time the small upper story of the building behind the houses called Berrocco near the village cross was furnished and used as a village hall and named Cromwell Hall. Later it was used by the school for overflow classes. The building now a builder’s workshop and office near to the White Horse Inn was the village hall. A sum of £50 which remained of the money raised for a new village hall when the project had to be given up owing to the second world war, was given to the Parish Church as most of it had been raised in the rectory garden. After the war a fresh start was made, and there was much hard work put in for several years by successive members of committees to raise the money needed. In April 1958 the new Hall, between the railway station and the church cemetery, was opened, and at the Opening Ceremony, the Reverend Canon D.F. Slemeck, who had just retired as Rector of Maiden Newton after twenty years, was presented with a cheque for £100 by parishioners and friends. The repayment of the loan of £800 from the National Council of Social Service and the outstanding debt to the builder was made within about six years. The Hall is now used a great deal by a number of the village organisations and has been used for B.B.C. broadcasts – Country Dance Festival and ‘Any Questions’.
Hanging framed in the hall is a Loyal Address from the people of Maiden Newton to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II when she stayed the night in the royal train at Maiden Newton Station on one of her visits to the Duchy of Cornwall. It reads:
Your Majesty,
- On behalf of the people of Maiden Newton we wish to express our loyal greetings and devotion on the occasion of Your Majesty spending a night within the boundaries of our parish, an event in our history which will always be remembered with pride.
- We are Your Majesty’s most humble and obedient servants;
- Albert F. Wakely, Chairman
- Hedley W. Haward, Vice-Chairman
- John F.C. Paulley
- William J. Dunn (ex-Postillion to H.M. Queen Victoria)
- Bertram Russell
- Albert R. Edmonds
- Otho M. Bullivant.
July 2nd, 1952. Members of the Maiden Newton Parish Council. Norman C. Drewer Trump.
Alacrify Ltd. 01300 320076. jon@alacrify.co.uk
