Scotton Village Hall
Our history
Prior to the First World War village meetings were held at the school premises in Lingerfield. Subsequently there has been a village hall in Scotton since the late 1920’s and possibly before that date.
In the 1970’s the original hall, which was located on Mire Syke Lane, was proving inadequate both in size and facilities and the decision was taken to build a new hall fit for the needs of the village.
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In May 1975 the founding members of the new hall project, as it was known; Alan Blakey, James Binks and Edith Brook formed a charity in order to protect this valuable village asset. The land for the new hall was purchased from William Carr-Birkbeck a local landowner for the sum of £4,250.00.
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Work commenced in March 1976 on the new hall with the work being undertaken by local village volunteer labour and by 1977 the hall, as we know it today, was completed and opened. The initial enthusiasm with which the hall was built continued with many local groups of amateur players etc . etc. putting on Christmas Shows, Rock Concerts with the band Ancient Rock well into the 1980’s
However by the early 1990’s the steam had run out of the new hall project and the management committee was in disarray. The hall was in debt with the gas supply about to be disconnected due to the bills remaining unpaid. The Parish Council loaned £1000.00 to keep the hall a float whilst the new a new management committee set about restoring the fortunes of the charity and preventing the further decline of the hall.
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Slowly the hall was brought back to life with improvements to the toilets, a new kitchen, accessibility toilet and new central heating boiler. Continuing support from regular hall users notably local residents, Knaresborough Bowling Club, Cliff Horner’s Whist Club, Dancing and Keep Fit groups, to name but a few; combined with Lottery Fund Grants made all this work possible.
When in 2008, a paid caretaker was employed for the first time, it became apparent that there were cancellations in winter by users suffering from a lack of heat in the hall. Eventually the decision was taken to install a new insulated roof to stem the flow of energy skywards. This would be a major and expensive project requiring substantial funding from outside bodies.
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In 2011 a consultation survey of hall users and local residents was conducted as part of the grant application and to test the backing for this imaginative project. Surprisingly the survey revealed that users wanted the car park resurfacing as the priority but the committee concluded that energy conservation was a better bet for grant funding. In August 2014 with the aid of a £50k grant from BIFFA Awards the new insulated roof was installed which increased the comfort whilst reducing the gas bills. The carpark would have to wait for another day......​
The hall today....
Today the hall is well supported and used by a wide variety of local people from the village and the broader community beyond. The five strong management committee oversee the decision making process and liaise with the Charity Commission, who have overall custodianship of the land and property.
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The hall has a part time manager and caretaker plus one assistant caretaker at weekends.
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The day to day running costs for the hall average around £14k per year; leaving a surplus of about £8k which is generally split equally between essential maintenance and improvement costs on the one hand, and reserves for major refurbishment work on the other.
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The future success and viability of the hall is always uppermost in the committee’s mind and village based activities are at its heart. Currently there are several sessions vacant on weekday afternoons and mornings for Yoga, Modern Dancing or Badminton for example. Help in promoting and marketing a new event is available through local contacts and special terms for start-ups will always be an option.
If you have an idea for a one-off village event or are considering starting a regular group there is a wealth of knowledge and experience on hand from committee members for you to tap into. The ongoing success of the hall will benefit everyone now and into the future.