Facilities & Fees

The Memorial Hall has a total capacity of 100 people, seated.
The chairs are lightweight, and there are large folding refectory or craft tables, and smaller square café style tables.

An Air Source Heat Pump system means there is a warm space for movement and dance sessions. This system can be used for cooling the room as well as two ceiling fans. It has good newly-renovated lighting (fluorescent tubes).
Supplementary ceiling fans have been installed for groups with more sedentary activities such as art, reading and community meetings, especially in the winter months.

We are especially proud of our polished, ballroom-standard dance floor (no stiletto heels, please!) and the hall is used for all sorts of dancing classes, lessons and groups. There is a raised stage, with stepped access. At the moment the stage is not curtained.

There is free Wifi, which can be accessed via a password available from the Bookings Secretary.

We have a basic PA system and speakers, the mixing desk is a permanent installation - to be shown how to use it, please talk to the Bookings Secretary at least two weeks in advance. There is an Audio Induction Loop system.
An electronically-operated drop-down projection screen is hung over the stage. For presentations you will need to supply a PAT-tested data projector, laptop and connecting leads, and your own microphones.

We have a fully fitted kitchen, with facilities including an electric hob, a separate oven, a microwave oven and a small fridge. There are large catering teapots, tea trays, and two electric kettles and a hot-water urn. There is a dishwashing sink, with hot water via the tap.
We also provide white china cups and saucers, tea-plates and some serving plates, in the hire charge.

** You will need to supply your own dinner plates, cutlery, chopping boards, cooking utensils, washing up liquid and tea towels.

The Hall cannot supply a telephone, nor specialist stage lighting or gantries for such, nor storage facilities for short-term hire. All electrical equipment you might want to bring onto the premises has, by law, to be PAT tested and certificated, and the hire contract asks you to confirm this.

Toilets
There are two unisex toilets, one with a disabled facility and baby-changing table. A washroom with a handsink is in the vestibule, and soap and paper towels are supplied.

Inclusion
There is a ramp for assisted access for wheeled items to the back door; buggies can be hung on hooks in the passageway, although this is also the emergency exit.

Maintenance
The Hall is cleaned regularly in between hire periods, and is kept in good repair by a caretaker and a volunteer estates manager, with support from the committee and other volunteers. It undergoes a regular health and safety risk assessment. It has first aid supplies suitable for emergency situations. Fire extinguisher & equipment is checked by the Fire Brigade annually.

Tariffs, terms and conditions
Booking fees will vary depending on your status

Community Groups
Private Functions (parties, etc)
Commercial hire

so please contact the Booking Secretary for prices to suit your requirements.
Fees must be paid in advance on a monthly, termly, quarterly, or annual basis.
For groups, a Regular Keyholder deposit costs £10.

Contract and Payment

Please note the Hall has a maximum Fire-Risk licensed seated capacity of 100 people.
It cannot be booked for Discos or events with a loud sound system.
Dancing shoes with stiletto heels are not allowed on the floor, nor should you use dance chalk/talc as it can render the floor dangerously slippery.
There is no smoking allowed in the wooden Hall or its immediate vicinity and grounds.
Apart from unloading, the driveway must not be used for parking cars, as this contravenes the Fire Regulations.
The front garden is a wildlife sanctuary and must not be used for playing or sitting, apart from on the bench.
You will need to hire the Hall for the whole period you wish to use it, ie. get-in and clear-up times, as well as the hours needed for your event. You'll be issued with a Contract, and you must pay for the hire of the Hall before we make arrangements for you to collect a key.
We retain the right to charge you a Deposit for a one-off hire, depending on the proposed use. This is insurance for us against breakages and damage. It must be made as a separate payment along with the payment for the hire period. It is returnable in full within two weeks of your event, unless there is damage to the Hall, or additional cleaning or floor polishing requirements, or any other inconvenience to the Caretaker and the Committee. If this happens, we will be in touch to discuss the scale of the deduction.
Pandemic Conditions - additional requirements: Depending on the prevailing conditions regarding any national emergency such as the recent Covid-19 pandemic at the time of hire, there might be additional paperwork to complete. Our Pandemic Risk Assessment policy asked prospective hirers to carry out and send us a written Risk Assessment for their activity, to take into account entry and exit, use of shared facilities, cleaning regime etc. etc. and communication about infection should there be subsequent cases requiring isolation, testing etc. If there is no national emergency, this will not be required, but as conditions change we will reimpose it.