What a wonderful weekend of celebration we had as our community come together to mark 100 years of Silchester Village Hall.
The hall was full of life for our Community Centenary Celebration and Open Day.
It was opened by our County Councillor Rhydian Vaughan, and the ribbon was cut by Julie Baldock, whose relatives were on the original village hall committee, and it was her great grandfather who built the first fence around the hall.
It was fantastic to welcome so many people through the doors to enjoy the music from the wonderful Tadley Band and the amazing Silchester Community Orchestra, excellent performances from the Headstart Theatre Company, Home Instead seated exercise class and the Silchester Handbell Ringers. There were activities, a tasty BBQ and refreshments including a barrel of beer kindly donated by The Calleva Arms – Silchester
Our visitors also got to meet the many local groups and organisations that help make Silchester such a special community.
Our “Stories of Our Village Hall” history display proved particularly popular, giving visitors the chance to look back at the people, events and memories that have shaped the hall over the past century.
The hall was beautifully decorated with flowers arranged by the gardeners who tended the community garden this year to provide very pretty flower displays for us.
The celebrations continued on Sunday 13th with a very special Songs of Praise service with St Mary’s and Silchester Methodist Church, followed by a talk from Mike Baldock telling the story of our Village Hall and its 100-year history. It was a fitting and rather lovely way to bring our centenary weekend to a close.
We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make the weekend possible and everyone who came along and supported us.
OUR FANTASTIC CENTENARY COMMITTEE:
Janet Earl • Clare Payne • Kirstie Jones • Sarah Bradshaw• Eve Baker • Bob & Louise Dodds • Steve MacAvoy • Lindsay Allison • Julie Baldock
OUR WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS:
Chris Payne • Emily Payne • Sally Thomas • Sue Richardson Richard Barnes • Claire & Richard Eldridge • Ruth Canter• Mike Earl • Richard Baker
AND ALL THE OTHER AMAZING COMMUNITY GROUPS WHO JOINED US:
Richard Hyde Charity • Silchester Parish Council • Phoenix Club Silchester Choir • Silchester School PTA• Sustainable Silchester Silchester Football Club • Silchester Cricket Club • Silchester Players Silchester Association • Rainbows, Brownies & Guides • Silchester Market
Seeing so many people enjoying the hall over the weekend was a wonderful reminder of why it was built 100 years ago: to bring our community together.
Whilst this weekend was about our hall and the community, we also raised some much needed funds, which was the icing on the cake! We will update you all next month.
Here’s to the next 100 years of Silchester Village Hall!
