MOLLINGTON, BACKFORD & DISTRICT VILLAGE HALL
heading for a new hall
Welcome
Our village hall has been at the centre of community gatherings since it was formally opened by Viscount Leverhulme in 1950. Built on donated land it is located centrally within our five villages of Mollington, Lea-by-Backford, Backford, Chorlton and Caughall.
As we are starting to approach the proposed completion date of our replacement Five Villages Hall, the existing hall is now no longer available to our community for hiring.
The last social event (Last Orders!) took place on Friday, 6th August. Villagers, both new and existing, joined in for a last hurrah and a last glass after 70 years of service.
A contemporary newspaper article (The Chester Chronicle/Observer??) reported:
"The Chairman of Chester Rural Council, Mr F Snape and Mr G A Morgan, deputy clerk were present. The hall which is planned so that it can be extended easily is in a very light, attractive building with orange painted woodwork, entrance curtains and electric fan heaters for warmth.
Its cost, Major Hutchinson told a reporter was £3,500 for the hall and £800 for the tennis courts. It is ultimately planned to build a more permanent hall about half as big again although the present structure which though temporary is expected to last for some time.”
We think Major Hutchinson at the time did not foresee the building lasting for 71 years after the opening! We are also trying to ignore those 1950 costs.
The Five Villages Hall
The community’s new hall is scheduled to be completed and ‘handed over’ towards mid-September 2021. There will be a certain amount ‘dressing’ of the building to complete after handover so it will be likely to be October before new hall hirings can be fulfilled.
New hall, new activities, new opportunities
Despite The Five Villages Hall not yet being completed or handed over the booking calendar is already starting to fill up. If you are thinking about starting an activity at the new hall we recommend you contact Judy on 01244 851678 to register your interest or book using the Booking Request form. The Booking Secretary can then provide you with the latest availability, facilities and costs.
Enquiries are encouraged from local groups, local SMEs, individuals. We would like the new hall to offer a diverse range of activities so as to attract as wide an audience as possible and meet as many needs as possible. Please get in touch!
Milestone Dates (approximate)* - from August 2021
6th August The last social event in the old hall
from 7th August old hall closed for hiring
16th August electricity laid to new hall
from 6th September demolition of old hall starts
15/17th September final clean & snagging in new hall
20th September building handover
c. Mid-October Formal opening of The Five Villages Hall
* all subject to construction programme at time of writing
THE NEW FIVE VILLAGES HALL BUILDING PROJECT
June 2021
Our project to replace the old hall (seen on the right of the photo) with a modern, light and versatile facility for both the local community and those further afield is really taking shape now. The new building’s roof and wall cladding phase is due to start followed by the windows and external doors. Once weathertight, the fitting out can start apace.
You can read previous project updates here and this year’s village hall newsletters here.
Some really interesting drone pictures, like the one above, of build progress can be seen here.
To read previous project updates, please click HERE