Compared to today Ashill was very much smaller in size and population. Nonetheless they embarked on the project to raise funds for a village hall. Land was given to them by a local farmer Mr. W.Wood at Lower Hayne in the village. Various events including a fortnightly Whist Drive and many dances were held to raise the money over a period of 2 years, until it was agreed to start building in the summer of 1927. The initial work of levelling the site was carried out by local men, working in the evenings and at weekends. The accepted tender was from a local man, W. Niblett for a total of £289.

Mr Niblett had previously built his own house, Little Arden, in the village. This was largely timber-built on one floor, something which matched the design format of the hall. The hall was originally to be named the New Hall after a local resident Mrs. New, but this was changed before opening to Ashill Public Hall. There was a grand opening with about 200 present, including many dignitaries when the hall was opened by Mrs. Dashwood JP from Croyle. Mrs Dashwood praised the efforts of the local community in having the foresight and courage to embark upon the project.

The hall was apparently very basic with no furniture at first. Chairs were borrowed or loaned by residents in the initial stages. This was in all probability due to the need to pay off the bank loan of £100 before adding other basics.

It is perhaps striking that last year Little Arden was demolished and has been replaced by a new timber building. Thus, Mr Niblett’s two Ashill buildings were both constructed and demolished at roughly the same time.

The old village hall was taken down by local volunteers in late May this year, prior to the building of a new hall on the same site. The old building took only a few days to knock down, but the workmanship and general condition of the woodwork were still appreciated. Unfortunately we were not able to find anyone who remembers the hall being built, but two of our Trustees, Phyllis Sanders and Gilbert Gubb, both had fathers who worked on the original. Indeed, Phyllis is the daughter of W.A Wood, who gave the land on which the hall was built. The total known costs for the hall built in 1927 were £289 of which all but £100 was raised locally.

In very much the same way, fundraising for the new hall has matched the effort of the residents in the 1920’s. Due to the great community spirit which still prevails in Ashill, there has been a number of fundraising events over the last three years, culminating in the present situation where we have almost reached our target of £175,000 for the building costs of the new hall.

The events range from simple coffee mornings and treasure hunts, pub quiz nights through to dances, a motor cycle grass track, and a horse and rider fun day (although the weather ensured it was hardly funny). Also the highly active young people have organised discos, talent nights and have helped in many ways, both financially and with great enthusiasm.

Whilst nearly everyone in the village has helped in some way, it would be only fair to mention that Dr D. Sergeant our leader of the fundraising committee has excelled in reaching the target for funds, with over £8,000 being raised. There must surely by now be ‘donor fatigue’ setting in! In addition Hugh Gibson, has with the guidance of Dougal Scott-Wilson, masterminded the successful demolition of the hall.

Whilst many people in the parish question the wisdom of having a landfill site on their doorstep, it has brought some benefit, as along with other local organisations, Ashill Village Hall has benefited from a considerable grant from Uffculme Environmental Limited, the body set up to administer the proceeds of the landfill tax credit scheme. Many thanks are due to the Parish Council for their wholehearted support, both financially and more importantly morally. More events are to take place in the village including, a village Fun Day on Saturday 24th June, when as the name suggests we will relax a little and have a good time, with races for all, a kart derby, games and stalls, with a hog-roast as well.

On Monday 10th July a major event will take place at Craddock House when we will have a Gardeners Lunch with tours of the beautiful gardens of the house and a talk by Michael Hickson. In October there will be an Auction of Promises and a second Horse and Rider Fun Day. Hopefully this year we will enjoy a better day with the weather.

By October, it is of course quite possible we shall have the brand new hall up and running. What is certain however is that the present residents of Ashill will have contributed in many ways to their new hall. We can only hope the people living here in 80 years time will remember with gratitude the work of the Committee and people of Ashill from this era, just as we remember with our gratitude those people who embarked on building a community centre for their enjoyment and for the many generations that followed.

Our Chairman, John Edwards, who is the son of R.J. Edwards, one of the original instigators of the hall in the 1920’s, is to be congratulated on piloting the project over the past three years, which have seen some frustration with the delay in planning. However we are now on the verge of building and look forward to our new more user-friendly hall, with great anticipation.

Article courtesy of Colin Coombes 9th June 2006

SQUARE CORNER BOOKINGS
should be made through
Barbara Coombes
on 841149.
Thank you to Jeff and Karen for their help
over the past year.