Village Hall

The Reading Room was the first “public building” to be erected on the Recreation Ground, if you discount the men’s urinal! The Room was not a public meeting place, as it had a specific purpose, was not open to all and was administered by Reading Room Trustees. From 1867 most public events had been held in the School and this continued to be the case. For more read the Reading Room page and School page

First Village Hall

The first Village Hall came along in 1952 and was built in line with and next to the Reading Room as seen in the photograph. It was a gift from local farmer and pig breeder. Ernest “Ernie” Pepper and was a requisitioned Nissen Hut – a survivor from the recent WW II. The Ministry of Defence held numerous dispersal sales of surplus buildings and equipment after the war, including on Steeple Morden Airfield, which was a fitting source for the first Village Hall. Ernie and other local farmers bought Nissen Huts and a similar Hut houses the farm shop in Ashwell Road. The village raised £865 to cover erection and fitting out costs of the new Hall and it was noted the major role Mr & Mrs H Hawes had played in the fund raising. Ernie Pepper, in addition to providing the Hut, supplied workmen to lay the concrete base and carry out the work of erection. He also had laid a concrete road to provide access to the Hall.

It was fitting that Ernie’s daughter Cynthia age 20 (who the following month married James Clayton) was chosen to open the new Hall and she was presented with an impressive bouquet by 10 years old Thelma Newland (later Mrs Whelan). The event was extensively reported in the Royston Crow

Second and Current Village Hall

There may have been a nostalgic love of the original Village Hall, but over time it became clear it did not provide the facilities and comfort that could be enjoyed of a modern, purpose built hall. At some point, no doubt after a lot of discussion, a fund raising campaign was begun to accumulate the large amount of money to pay for such a modern structure. All manner of events were held over the years and it seems about £6,000 had eventually been raised but it was estimated the new hall would cost £10,000. The search began for grants from various bodies  The Department of Education & Science offered a grant of £4,752 in June 1971, but more was considered needed and the South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council were both approached, although it is unclear if those requests were eventually successful. In January 1972 the DES upped their grant to £6402, which may have swung the balance, because the new Hall was completed the following year.

The new Hall was positioned at right angles to the Reading Room and some way away from it; different positioning from the old Hall. It was opened in May 1973 by Cynthia Clayton, who as Cynthia Pepper had opened the previous Hall twenty one years before. She commented that the Nissen Hut Hall had always been intended as a temporary facility and looking at the new Hall was certain that her services would not be required a third time. A plaque commemorating the opening was a-fixed to a wall in the main Hall.

The Hall consists of an entrance vestibule, with male and female toilets off.  There is the main hall itself, which has a stage with dressing/storage rooms each side, a committee room and separate kitchen. In September 2024 the main hall was equipped with state of the art projection system and large screen.

Administration

The Village Hall sits on land, owned by the Parish Council as part of the Recreation Ground, which is leased to the Steeple Morden Village Hall a charity administered by Trustees. The operation of the Hall is by a Management Committee including representatives of most village organisations (as set out on Page 4 of the Trust Deed) and it is run on a day to day basis by a smaller Finance & General Purposes Committee.

A Lease and Trust Deed of 18 June 1971 established both the terms of the lease of the land from the Parish Council to the Village Hall and the creation of the charitable trust, which built and owns the Hall itself. The lease of the land commenced on 24 June 1971 and runs for 99 years. The ground rent payable annually on the 24 June by the Hall to the Council is 50p.

Steeple Morden Village Hall was registered with the Charity Commission on 22 March 1972 and the original Trustees were James Amphlett Clayton, Stanley William Izzard, Arthur Richards Goddard, John Anthony Brockett and Irene Martha Winter.

Current (2024) Trustees with appointment dates where recorded are Patricia Joyce Covington 28 June 2024, Heidi Boutcher 28 June 2024, Brian Burton 19 Nov 2021, Patricia Ann Burton-White 19 November 2021, Harriet Helen Walmesley 7 March 2019, Celia Jane Upchurch 29 June 2017, Keith Graham Austin, Christine Sandra Austin, Diane Knight.