A Potted History - 1920 to 2018
With money raised by public subscription, the Hall was built in 1923 and opened on 2 February 1924, with speeches and a concert, following Colonel Campion’s formal opening of the Hall. A public meeting “of the Ratepayers and residents of Patcham” had been held in Patcham on Thursday 17 June 1920 to “consider building a Memorial to the Men of the Parish who had fallen in the late War”. Some 200 men enlisted from Patcham, and 25 had died.
A committee was appointed to raise funds for the memorial, a permanent building, costing about £1000. They sought a suitable site near the Black Lion, but were unsuccessful. They approached the Marquess of Abergavenny for ground next to the Patcham School, and accepted the Abergavenny estate’s offer of the eventual site for a nominal sum of £25. Fundraising from the people of Patcham began. Within a year £370 was raised. Two and a half years passed until Messrs Packham Sons and Palmer were contracted to build the hall for £675.
The first Women’s Institute group hired the Hall for three shillings per afternoon in March 1925. Almost immediately, the Parish Council proposed to take charge of the facility. The Trustees’ Committee, (three local residents Miss Philcox, Mr Charles Field and Mr John Brown) politely declined.
By 1926 ‘subscription dances’ were put into the hands of the Amusement Committee, and Dance has remained a consistent source of income for the hall, especially since the installation of a ballroom-quality floor, rescued from the Regency Ballroom in the 1960s.
A proper and legal constitution was ratified in 1927. The initiating committee stood for nearly twenty years, with a few changes as time went by.
The early Minutes Book tells of various ups and downs - the hall’s condition was constantly under discussion, lighting, new kitchens, repainting the walls, increasing hire charges, and various losses to the purse.
By 1938 the WI and the Amusement Committee had joined the Trustees’ committee, and in 1939 the Military Authorities had use of the hall. The committee wanted them to “give up the Hall for social purposes” but after discussion agreed that the “national interest would be best served” by allowing the military to continue to use the hall. The question of compensation (eventually agreed at £55 per annum) was agreed. Committee meetings were suspended for the duration of the war, they recommenced in 1947. A successful claim on the War Office for £375 representing repair and restitution of the hall to its former condition, was made. The committee would love to hear from anyone who might remember any of these stories and others.
In 1967 The Charity Commission confirmed that the hall had become a Charity. The present committee created a new Trust Deed in 2012, retaining the objects of the first one, whilst updating the organization in the light of changes to charity laws.
With money raised by public subscription, the Hall was built in 1923 and opened on 2 February 1924, with speeches and a concert, following Colonel Campion’s formal opening of the Hall. A public meeting “of the Ratepayers and residents of Patcham” had been held in Patcham on Thursday 17 June 1920 to “consider building a Memorial to the Men of the Parish who had fallen in the late War”. Some 200 men enlisted from Patcham, and 25 had died.
A committee was appointed to raise funds for the memorial, a permanent building, costing about £1000. They sought a suitable site near the Black Lion, but were unsuccessful. They approached the Marquess of Abergavenny for ground next to the Patcham School, and accepted the Abergavenny estate’s offer of the eventual site for a nominal sum of £25. Fundraising from the people of Patcham began. Within a year £370 was raised. Two and a half years passed until Messrs Packham Sons and Palmer were contracted to build the hall for £675.
The first Women’s Institute group hired the Hall for three shillings per afternoon in March 1925. Almost immediately, the Parish Council proposed to take charge of the facility. The Trustees’ Committee, (three local residents Miss Philcox, Mr Charles Field and Mr John Brown) politely declined.
By 1926 ‘subscription dances’ were put into the hands of the Amusement Committee, and Dance has remained a consistent source of income for the hall, especially since the installation of a ballroom-quality floor, rescued from the Regency Ballroom in the 1960s.
A proper and legal constitution was ratified in 1927. The initiating committee stood for nearly twenty years, with a few changes as time went by.
The early Minutes Book tells of various ups and downs - the hall’s condition was constantly under discussion, lighting, new kitchens, repainting the walls, increasing hire charges, and various losses to the purse.
By 1938 the WI and the Amusement Committee had joined the Trustees’ committee, and in 1939 the Military Authorities had use of the hall. The committee wanted them to “give up the Hall for social purposes” but after discussion agreed that the “national interest would be best served” by allowing the military to continue to use the hall. The question of compensation (eventually agreed at £55 per annum) was agreed. Committee meetings were suspended for the duration of the war, they recommenced in 1947. A successful claim on the War Office for £375 representing repair and restitution of the hall to its former condition, was made. The committee would love to hear from anyone who might remember any of these stories and others.
In 1967 The Charity Commission confirmed that the hall had become a Charity. The present committee created a new Trust Deed in 2012, retaining the objects of the first one, whilst updating the organization in the light of changes to charity laws.
Local People - the Trustees and the Management Committee
The Charity's Objects are that:
The Trustees, and the survivors of them, will stand possessed of the said land and buildings and all buildings which might hereafter be erected thereon upon Trust to establish and maintain in perpetuity in accordance with these presents (and subject to the powers and provisions hereinafter contained) a Village Hall for the use of the inhabitants of Patcham aforesaid and otherwise for the benefit of the inhabitants of the said Village as hereinafter appears (approved as in original Trust Deed January 1927).
A Deed of Variation was accepted in 1967 when the organisation was granted Charity status in England and Wales.
The Trustees do this by seeking to maintain the Hall to a standard so that it can be used safely and comfortably by people who hire the room for meetings, social gatherings, and clubs.
The Charity's Objects are that:
The Trustees, and the survivors of them, will stand possessed of the said land and buildings and all buildings which might hereafter be erected thereon upon Trust to establish and maintain in perpetuity in accordance with these presents (and subject to the powers and provisions hereinafter contained) a Village Hall for the use of the inhabitants of Patcham aforesaid and otherwise for the benefit of the inhabitants of the said Village as hereinafter appears (approved as in original Trust Deed January 1927).
A Deed of Variation was accepted in 1967 when the organisation was granted Charity status in England and Wales.
The Trustees do this by seeking to maintain the Hall to a standard so that it can be used safely and comfortably by people who hire the room for meetings, social gatherings, and clubs.
- Trustees are elected and appointed, or co-opted, and the manner of their being brought to the Board is detailed in the Governing Documents of the Charity, according to Charity Commission rules, and referring to the 1967 objects, people elected and appointed stand for three years.
- Elected trustees are local residents who are publicly selected and elected by the people who attend the AGM. They will have presented themselves as potential trustees to the electorate, having made written statements and been available for questions, at the AGM. They might be trustees for other local or national charities, or have been in the past. Or they might be completely new to trusteeship, and as such would be supported by the other trustees in their induction and work practice.
- Appointees are named by other charities that support the Hall by helping to manage the facility, and who usually hire the space for regular meetings and groups. Although they are elected within their own Charity, they are on this Board to maintain this hall and its objects. If there is ever a conflict of interest in an agenda item, they will declare it and stand out of a vote on that issue. Most of the appointees have been on the trustee committee for many years, and have a lot of experience in managing a local charity.
- Co-opted trustees and non-trustee committee members can be the leaders or members of the User Groups who regularly run sessions at the hall, or they might be people who have a local connection, a business-related expertise, or other people who show an interest in a particular aspect of running the charity. For example, we might find a local solicitor, maintenance firm, accountant or arts advisor, someone who can bring practical and technical expertise to the Board. They are usually co-opted by the trustees, and serve the same terms.
Management Committee / Trustees 2017-21
Appointed Trustee Women's Institute Rep: Mary Taylor
Appointed Trustee U3A Reps: Pamela Hubbard and Christine Eden
Local Resident elected Trustee: Jan Mulreany
Local Resident elected Trustee: Elizabeth Storey
Local Resident elected Trustee: Hugh Woodhouse
User group elected trustee: John Williams
Local Resident management group (garden committee): Maria Hogg
Estates committee chair: John Hogg
Officers of the committee
Chair: Elizabeth Storey Email: [email protected]
Deputy Chair: rolling appointment
Secretary: Jan Mulreany Email: [email protected]
Treasurer: Hugh Woodhouse Email: [email protected]
Bookings Secretary: John Williams Email: [email protected]
Caretaker: Sophie Hogg
Estates Sub-Committee
John Hogg, Jan Mulreany, John Williams, supported by Hugh Woodhouse, PMH Treasurer
Appointed Trustee Women's Institute Rep: Mary Taylor
Appointed Trustee U3A Reps: Pamela Hubbard and Christine Eden
Local Resident elected Trustee: Jan Mulreany
Local Resident elected Trustee: Elizabeth Storey
Local Resident elected Trustee: Hugh Woodhouse
User group elected trustee: John Williams
Local Resident management group (garden committee): Maria Hogg
Estates committee chair: John Hogg
Officers of the committee
Chair: Elizabeth Storey Email: [email protected]
Deputy Chair: rolling appointment
Secretary: Jan Mulreany Email: [email protected]
Treasurer: Hugh Woodhouse Email: [email protected]
Bookings Secretary: John Williams Email: [email protected]
Caretaker: Sophie Hogg
Estates Sub-Committee
John Hogg, Jan Mulreany, John Williams, supported by Hugh Woodhouse, PMH Treasurer
Management Group meetings (3 a year)
Usually held in mid- February, mid-June and mid-October. Normally the AGM would be in June.
All meetings will take place at the Hall, unless otherwise arranged, or Zoom will be used as an alternative electronic meeting platform.
As beneficiaries of the Hall, Patcham residents are welcome to raise agenda items for discussion at the meetings, subject to approval for the Agenda by the Chair. All papers for the item's discussion must be received by the Secretary by the end of the first week of the month in which the meeting falls. They can be sent by email to Jan Mulreany, [email protected], or posted in the postbox at the Hall.
If the resident then wishes to be at the meeting to discuss their item, subject to approval by the Chair, and dependent on the amount of business that the committee has to cover at the meeting, please arrange that with the Secretary.
Usually held in mid- February, mid-June and mid-October. Normally the AGM would be in June.
All meetings will take place at the Hall, unless otherwise arranged, or Zoom will be used as an alternative electronic meeting platform.
As beneficiaries of the Hall, Patcham residents are welcome to raise agenda items for discussion at the meetings, subject to approval for the Agenda by the Chair. All papers for the item's discussion must be received by the Secretary by the end of the first week of the month in which the meeting falls. They can be sent by email to Jan Mulreany, [email protected], or posted in the postbox at the Hall.
If the resident then wishes to be at the meeting to discuss their item, subject to approval by the Chair, and dependent on the amount of business that the committee has to cover at the meeting, please arrange that with the Secretary.
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Deed of Variation 2012
The Committee updated the 1969 deeds in October 2012. An amendment was made in June 2014 to revert the period of appointment for elected Trustees to three years, as per the original committee's intentions. This was done to facilitate continuity for the beneficiaries of the Hall, enabling the establishment of working party development for longer-term planning, especially the increased need to support the fabric of the hall. Minutes of meetings of the Trustees The minutes of the main committee and the estates subcommittee are electronic documents which are kept by the Secretary. The Charity Commission advises that minutes of ordinary trustees' meetings do not have to be available for public inspection, as our governing document does not require this. Public documents are available to download for last year's reports, and older ones listed below can be supplied on written request (with a suitable stamped addressed envelope) to the Secretary via the Hall's post box. Public Documents AGM 20 June 2019 A good dozen Patcham people joined us for a summary of the year, and a discussion about next year's priorities. The Minutes and actions were approved as accurate through a "Quaker-style" process, at the end of the meeting by the people present. The Report, Treasurer's Summary and AGM Minutes (approved) PDFs, are attached on this page. Previous AGM documents: 2018 Minutes (approved) of the 2018 Annual General Meeting held 14 June 2017 Minutes (approved) of the 2017 Annual General Meeting held 21 September Annual Report, 2017 Accounts and Treasurer's Report (summary) 2016 Minutes (approved) of the 2016 Annual General Meeting held 1st July 2016. Annual Report, 2016 Accounts and 2015-16 Treasurer's Report (summary) 2015 Minutes (approved) of the 2015 Annual General Meeting held 16th June 2015 Annual Report, 2015 Accounts and 2014-15 Treasurer's Report (summary) 2014 Minutes (approved) of the 2014 Annual General Meeting held Thursday 12 June 2014. Annual Report, 2014 Accounts and 2013-14 Treasurer's Report (summary) 2013 Equal Opportunities policy 2013 Annual Report 2013 Accounts and 2012-13 Treasurer's Quarterly Report Notes (summary) 2012 Approved minutes of the Annual General Meeting 2012, Friday 5th October 2012 The report of elected Trustees, an illustrated Report from the Open Evening and Minutes of the AGM, Accounts and Treasurers Report to 2012. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Patcham Memorial Hall, 3 Old London Road, Patcham, Brighton, BN1 8XR Charity number 213464 www.pmhpatcham.org.uk
All rights reserved. Copyright PMH/JM © 8 April 2022
All rights reserved. Copyright PMH/JM © 8 April 2022