Recent history of the Village Hall
Ravensworth Village Hall was built in 1841 as the village school. For around the past 50 years it has been used as the community hall for the village.
The hall is used for a variety of purposes, including meetings and social functions.
The building was upgraded and improved in 1983 by a group of local volunteers but by late 2019 the condition had gradually deteriorated and over the past 4 years a new team of local residents has been actively planning and managing improvements to the fabric of the building and the facilities within.
Ravensworth Village Hall Reopening Event - Saturday 28th August 2021
The revamped Ravensworth Village Hall was opened on Saturday 28th August. A day of sunshine, a brass band with tea and cakes helped to celebrate the hall reopening. Peter Wilson kindly agreed to ‘cut the tape’ in an informal opening ceremony. Peter, who was born and raised in the village recalled how he had attended primary school in the building prior to its use as a community hall.
During 2020 within the restraints of various COVID lockdowns and supply shortages the hall has been totally transformed and is now open for community use. A team of volunteers have freely given their time and expertise to assist in the refurbishment …. We would like to extend a massive thank you for this support. The upgrading has included:
1. Installation of modern toilet facilities with disability access. This was made possible with a generous grant from the National Community Lottery Fund.
2. A fantastic new kitchen area with vaulted ceiling. This was achieved with a grant from Richmondshire Community Investment Fund.
3. The main hall has been dry lined, new LED lights fitted, walls/ceiling painted and the floor sanded and resealed. This work was funded from village hall funds.
4. New double-glazed hard wood windows have been fitted to the toilet block.
Peter Wilson, cutting the tape to open the refurbished village hall on 28th August 2021
Ravensworth Village Hall Update - September 2022
Work has continued over the last 12 months to further improve and maintain the village hall.
Plans were approved by Richmondshire Council in May 2022 for ongoing repairs as listed below:
-
Repair/replacement of the roof (completed Spring 2023)
-
Repointing of the north wall and repair the water table stones (completed August 22)
-
Re-point and repair stone windows (completed August 22 )
-
Replacement of broken glass in the windows
-
Removal of concrete around the walls and creation of a 'soak-away'
-
Repairs to and replacement of broken and uneven concrete paving in order to render safe
-
Creation of a disability access on the gable side of entrance porch
Improvements previously conducted in 2020 - 2021 included:
-
Complete replacement and redesign/refitting of the kitchen area, including installation of modern equipment
-
The village hall toilets were significantly upgraded and refitted. The new toilets are modern, clean and offer disabled access. The old ageing metal windows were also replaced in the toilet block
-
Replacement of the ceiling in the main hall and re-plastering of the internal walls
-
Providing new LED light fittings with a dimmer switch to main hall
Ravensworth Village Hall Update - 26th October 2020
During internal refurbishment carried out in 2020 a date stone was uncovered on the north wall of the original building, built in 1841, which was for many years the village primary school. See photo.
The original hall was the school classroom, and a further extension was later added to the north – the current location of the entrance porch and reception area. The primary school occupied the building until the 1960’s. An archive photograph from the later years is shown here.
We are keen to obtain any personal stories, memories and pictures from local people who may have attended the primary school in its previous location in what is now the village hall. Does anyone recognise any of the children playing on the village green in the above picture? Was one of them you?
If you have memories to share we would love to hear from you. Please contact us by sending an email to
ravensworth.village @gmail.com
Flower Planting Around the Village - Summer 2020
Due to the kind generosity of Ravensworth Nurseries during the summer of 2020 we were donated a colourful range of bedding plants. These were used to replant the numerous tubs around the village and we also re-planted a couple of flower beds adjacent to the Village Hall.
The photos below show the newly planted tubs and flower beds. Several villagers kindly assisted with watering the tubs for several months during the summer.
