The current West Peckham Village Hall is the third such building to stand on a prominent site in Church Road, near the village centre in what has, since 1974, been a Conservation Area.

 

It is not known exactly when the first Village Hall was built, but it was probably in the late 1800s or early 1900s, and it is thanks to Michael Corfe that the early years can be recorded here through his own childhood memories and the stories he was told.

 

Michael recollects that it was built by the Geary family, who wanted to offer locals an alternative to alcohol at the Swan, by serving them tea and coffee so as to curb village drunkenness. A man was apparently employed full time to serve these refreshments, but whether the endeavour to keep the village sober was successful is not known.  There were several other ale houses in the parish at the time, especially on the Hurst where apparently, woodsmen working near Crooked Chimneys could be found “lying in the fields like sheep.”

 

The first building was squat, clad in corrugated iron and weatherboard and was reminiscent of the little chapels that can still occasionally be seen in the area, with small arched windows. In Michael’s boyhood it was known as “The Shant.”

 

In August 1914 licencing changes gave powers to Military and Naval authorities to close pubs and restrict opening hours, as it was believed that alcohol consumption would interfere with the war effort, and this power was extended to the Civil authorities soon afterwards.  After the end of the First World War, presumably as a consequence of the changes in licensing laws, “The Shant” was donated to the village for use as a Church Hall.

 

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The First Hall 

 

The era of the modern Village Hall in West Peckham began in 1959 when the second Hall was built on the site of the first. It was designed and constructed to quite a tight budget with limited facilities and a short design life of 30 years or so. It was semi-prefabricated, comprising a basic timber frame construction with steel roof trusses, corrugated asbestos roof sheeting and external painted timber panelling set onto solid or suspended timber floors. Windows and doors were of timber construction and painting, decoration and internal fitments were modest and utilitarian. The remainder of the site was laid to rough grass with no formal provision for car parking.

 

There was, however, much more structure to the organisation of the Hall than previously. The West Peckham Village Hall Association was established as a charity (registered number 226622) by a trust deed dated 6 August 1959. That trust deed governs the management of the Village Hall Association to the present day.

 

The objective of the trust was to provide a Hall, "For the use of the inhabitants of West Peckham and the neighbourhood without distinction of sex or political, religious or other opinions, and in particular free use for meetings, lectures and classes, and for the other forms of recreation and leisure-time occupation, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants."  The Village Hall Committee was the Management Committee of the West Peckham Village Hall Association.

 

Ownership of the site on which the Village Hall stands was uncertain for decades, but in the late 1980s the West Peckham Parish Council successfully established title to the land. 

 

The progressive deterioration of the 1959 structure towards the end of its design life meant that repairs were constant and increasingly expensive, and by 1988 the cost of repair and maintenance alone had exceeded total revenue from hirings.

 

The insubstantial state of the Hall was laid bare in October 1987 when a number of large branches from adjacent trees fell in the Great Storm and found their way through the Hall roof. Repairs were undertaken, but could not disguise the impending crisis facing the then Village Hall Committee.

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Planning a new Hall

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Concerned at the escalating maintenance costs and taking account of the general inadequacy of the Hall space for many community events, its poor kitchen and toilet facilities, lack of parking facilities as well as the general appearance of the building which at best could be described as utilitarian and not at all in keeping with the character of a Conservation Area village, the Committee decided to consider the possibility of replacing the existing building.

 

A feasibility study was undertaken in 1991 in conjunction with a local architect, Roger Molyneux RIBA, who had a particular specialisation in the development of community buildings.  Extensive consultation followed with many interested local parties and their elected representatives, council planning officers, statutory undertakings, regulatory authorities, contractors and equipment suppliers. 

  

It had become clear that a prefabricated modular construction would be unlikely to receive planning consent in such a sensitive and protected location. However, with careful financial management it was possible to build the optimum design scheme for a price in the region £130,000 utilising a design and build contract approach. After significant community and user group consultation the preferred scheme was finalised and presented to a large public meeting. Strong endorsement from the community led to the submission of a Town Planning Application for consent which was received in January 1992.

 

The design was influenced by the requirement to achieve flexibility of use and minimisation of operational cost within the limited footprint afforded by the existing site.  The form chosen for the building was a square 14.5×14.5 metres with a simple pyramid shaped roof. It was felt that the building should have a sense of community identity and complement the nearby church which has a pyramidal roof to its square Saxon tower. The new building would be a framed construction with fairface brick cladding, ragstone panels, stained softwood joinery and a slate roof to reflect the Kentish vernacular style evident within the village. The total internal area of the building was approximately 183m².

 

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Financing and building today's Hall

 

A detailed tendering process then followed with the objective of constructing the new Hall during the summer of 1993. Five valid tenders were received and complex evaluation and negotiation was undertaken with the two leading tenderers. The tender provided by F Pratten & Co. was eventually selected.

 

Allowing for contingencies, professional fees etc, and taking advantage of savings opportunities afforded by the design proposals, a decision was taken to proceed at a  cost not to exceed £134,500. This meant a grant application to Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council and Kent County Council could be made for the maximum then permitted grant assistance of £97,500, being 75% of the maximum sum (£130,000) that could be considered for such assistance. The remainder of the funding requirement fell to the Village Hall Committee to raise, but it was considered achievable despite the small population of the village.

 

Unfortunately, at a relatively late stage in the 1993 local authority grant award process, it became clear that there were insufficient funds available to permit West Peckham's application to proceed. However, it was also suggested that the application had such merit that it was highly likely to succeed in the 1994 funding round. By negotiation with the successful tenderer, the Committee was able to extend the validity of that tender for 12 months. In spring 1994 the Committee received confirmation that both the Borough and the County Council would provide grant assistance for the full amount requested (i.e. £97,500).

 

Work was scheduled to begin in May 1994 with the rapid construction programme requiring completion in September of that year. The Committee, strongly supported by the West Peckham Parish Council, launched a vigorous fundraising campaign to add to the cash resources already set aside. Of crucial importance was a substantial donation from the Dame Mary Chown Trust, a long-standing local charity established centuries earlier.  Pledges under the Gift Aid scheme had already been received, so that the remaining funding gap in Spring 1994 had shrunk from the £37,000 required from the village to little over £10,000.

 

A carefully coordinated campaign approached all householders in the village, local landowners, former residents and others who had connections with West Peckham. Businesses and other charities were also approached, particularly where villagers had a connection with them. A number of fundraising events, averaging about one per month, were also held.

 

Fundraising proved remarkably successful, and by the conclusion of the construction project in September 1994, the Village Hall Association not only became the proud owner of a fine new Hall, but also retained a healthy positive cash balance. Decoration of the Hall, both inside and out, was largely undertaken by villagers in a series of weekend work parties in late summer and early autumn 1994. Finally the new Hall was opened officially by Lord and Lady Falmouth on 12 November 1994.

 

Since that time the Hall has continued to thrive, providing a valuable and well used facility not only for the residents of West Peckham but for many other local interest groups and associations. Since 2014 the Village Hall Committee has worked on a programme to update or renew the facilities as necessary. This has included a new kitchen, lighting scheme and curtains, improvements to the toilet facilities and redecoration of the entire Hall.  The building remains in an excellent state of repair, well used and equally well looked after, and will continue to serve the community for many decades to come.

 

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