History of the Hall
Pre 1944
Before 1944 Otterhampton had no village hall, just a downstairs room at Jack Parsons’s home on Brookside, where they played Billiards and Whist. Jack’s house is still there today on the right side of the barn and water pump. The size of the room posed limitations on more varied activities.
The hall used to be an old malt house belonging to the Combwich and District Farmers Association and at one time was part of the property known as the ‘Towers’ owned by Henry Farthing-Leigh. In 1942 the malt house was sold to Frederick Henry and Muriel Amy Hawkins of Weston-Super-Mare.
On 16th November 1944 the malt house was purchased by four trustees, for the sum of £525.00 and the building was very generously donated for use as a Village Hall for all persons residing within 3 miles of the boundary of Otterhampton Parish. The four original Trustees were:
William Arthur Leslie Pardoe of Hill Cottage Otterhampton
Edward William Jeanes of Manor Farm Otterhampton
Alfred Bryer of Somerfield Combwich
Kenneth Bowen Haybittal of Mazoe Otterhampton
First Committee
The very first committee was made up of William Pardoe, Edward Jeanes, Alfred Bryer, Kenneth Haybittal, Sydney Kibby, Ernest Somers, William King, Walter Fielder, Louisa Redding, Margaret Stone, Eliza Cross and Mona Kibby.
Mr Haybittal the local bus proprietor was elected Chairman and Treasurer of the Village Hall committee and under his leadership the old malt house was renovated. Labour was supplied by villagers to excavate the floor and lay concrete but electricity had not yet arrived in Combwich at that time so an electric charging plant was installed. During the first two years a bar and skittle alley (in loft space above the main hall) were added.
Otterhampton Village Hall became a registered charity on 8th August 1949.
1970 - Present Day
1970’s - further alterations were made with the help of a Community Council loan. The skittle alley was moved to its current home and further toilets were added to the ground floor.
1982 - 1989 - the short mat bowls room was created in the loft space of the former skittle alley with a single mat.
Page from the 1982 Combwich Clarion courtesy of Mike Tucker
1987 - the Short Mat Bowls Club was formed and opened by Councillor Cartwright.
1991- planning permission was obtained for further improvements.
1993 - Nuclear Energy donated £4,000 for improvements to the hall. This enabled the following works:
Roof to be completely replaced and in doing so allowed the whole of the first floor to be restructured
A meeting room along with male and female toilets were created
A concrete fire escape was installed at the back of the skittle alley
The short mat bowls added their second mat
On the ground floor the kitchen was relocated to its present position
The social club area was enlarged
Cupboards were installed at the back of the stage
New tables and chairs were purchased
The old heating system was replaced throughout the hall along with improvements to the lighting and electrical systems.
The majority of this work was carried out by volunteers from the Social and Bowls Clubs, creating the Village Hall we have today.
The Future
Following the major refurbishment of the hall it is hoped that this will now make it economically viable and energy efficient in the years to come. The enhanced user-friendly facilities, in particular the additional disabled facilities will make the hall welcoming to all users and ensure that it is ‘future proofed’.
Visit the Gallery to see a photographic journey of the refurbishment.