10 February 2025 - Mission Hall reopening
Dear friends,
Work to renovate and improve the Mission Hall has now been going on over the last 5 weeks, and we are expecting the work to complete by Friday 21st, with the Hall reopening on Saturday 1st March. We have been really impressed with the work done, particularly the builder Mike Fuller and the decorator David Kerr - we're really grateful to them especially. As a reminder, the "new" Hall will have brighter, dimmable, lighting, new overhead heaters, double glazed windows, new chairs and additional tables, a new audio system, a "Mission Hall" sign at the front of the Hall, and a better, safer layout in the Store Room, as well as less visible improvements such as renovated floor joists, minor roof repairs, better ventilation for the loft and under the floor, loft insulation, woodworm treatment, improvements to the WC at the far end of the Hall, and a proper Fire Door at the far corner of the Hall. Finally, the whole Hall has been redecorated inside and out, with a colour scheme that we think will be much brighter and more attractive.
The Hall will be open for business again on March 1st, and so the next village coffee morning will be there, on Friday 7th March. The Hall will also be holding an Open Day on Saturday 1st March, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., to give you all a chance to see what has been done. Mission Hall Trust members will be available to show you round the changes. Teas, coffees and biscuits will be available - no charge.
All this has been made possible by fund-raising done for and by the Mission Hall in the past, and by grants and donations, firstly general donations towards the building work from the National Lottery Community Fund, the Dr & Mrs Alfred Darlington Trust, and the Valentine Charitable Trust, plus donations from the late Rev. William Kelly (whose legacy went towards the new heating), the Britford Bridge Trust (with a donation for the new furniture), the Sutton Poyntz Society (whose donation made the new lighting affordable and who are providing new tablecloths), and friends of the late Barbara Harrison (whose donations have paid for the new sign). We are hugely grateful to all those people and organisations for their generosity, and hope we have used their contributions well.
As a result of all this, we have left the Mission Hall Trust's coffers very nearly bare, so we will need to do some fund-raising, initially so that we can restore a sensible "rainy day" financial reserve, and then for other works that we would have liked to do but have had to put off. We are planning a Village Picnic in the summer, so watch this space for further news.
We had a brilliant team just after Christmas to clear the Hall, and it's now, of course, time to plan to get all the equipment back into the Hall. If you are available and able to help, on Saturday 22nd February, please get in touch with Bill Egerton (
So we look forward to seeing some of you on Saturday 22nd (for moving back in), and then lots of you on Saturday 1st (Hall Open Day) and Friday 7th (Coffee morning).
Best wishes,
Bill Egerton - on behalf of the Mission Hall Trust