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| Gretton Village Hall History |
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The building that has served Gretton as a village hall for many years was originally built as a barn in the late 18th / early 19th century. It was part of a farmyard which included a stable, cart house, and yard and formed part of the property of the adjacent Well House.
In 1846 the owner of Well House, John Greening, decided to convert the barn into four cottages. The outbuildings, being by this time old and dilapidated, were demolished and a garden ground for use by the cottage tenants was established there instead.
In 1860 the last of the Greening family, owners of Well House and the cottages, died. It happened that Emma Dent of Sudeley Castle was keen to provide an education for the poor of the district. She and her husband John were on the lookout for a building centrally located in Gretton that could be converted into a school. The cottages were seen as ideal, providing accommodation for the Head teacher as well as a schoolroom for the pupils.
In May 1861 an estimate for converting two of the cottages into a schoolroom was received from Edwards and Chidley. The estimate of £55 included the fitting of desks and forms on cast iron standards, and fixing some 4 dozen cloak pins with rails.
The local landowners who supported the Dents initiative were obviously aware that the estimate of £55 was rather conservative so every effort was made to secure building grants. The landowners also put their own money into the project. Fundraising, including a ‘fancy sale’ held at Sudeley Castle that realised £100, helped to ensure that the dream became reality.
Early in 1862 the cottages and 27 perches of garden ground were purchased; the cost, £145. The decision then had to be taken as to whether to knock the cottages down and erect a purpose built school or to alter the existing building. It was decided to go with the latter.
In years to come many must have regretted this decision.
It was also agreed at this time that whether the building was used as a school or not it should, from then on, always be used ‘for such charitable or benevolent purpose in connection with Gretton’.
Converting the cottages into a school house (which eventually cost £75) took less than 4 months and in June 1862 John Salmon became the first Head teacher of Gretton School with some 50 pupils on roll.
As early as 1864 work was needed in order to ensure that pupils remained focussed on their work rather than on any distractions outside. A painter was called in to obscure all the windows. In the years that followed various alterations took place. A new classroom for the infants was created in 1866 by using the third cottage. In 1879 a new porch, for use by the girls, was added, and in 1881 two new windows were installed to give more light and added ventilation.
Although the fourth cottage was at first used as accommodation by the Head teacher it was soon deemed to be unfit for someone of that social standing. It was decided by the Managers to rent the cottage out in order to provide the school with a badly needed source of income. Unfortunately the various tenants were extremely bad at paying their rent, sometimes being six months in arrears. Eventually the cottage was rented to William and Priscilla Smith and family. They paid about £4 a year but, in return for this low rental, Mrs Smith cleaned the school. This arrangement suited both parties for many years.
As early as 1882 the School Board stated that it did not ‘intend to continue the present building as a permanent school’. By 1890 the Head teacher wrote in the log book ‘ the condition of the school premises … are scarcely fit for any but the hardiest children to be in’.
At this time there were 95 children on roll. The parents signed a petition outlining just how dire conditions had become. Often forty-nine pupils were crammed into a room thought suitable for just twenty-one children. It was also argued that the building would not withstand any substantial alteration ‘the present rooms have such thin walls, and such weak roofs, that it would not be advisable to touch them’.
Eventually, in 1892 the children picked up their slates and filed through the village to their new purpose built school. The old school was left somewhat redundant. Up to this point it had been occasionally used by the village for mothers meetings, as a polling station, and for the local bazaar. After its closure as the main school it was occasionally used by the pupils for cookery and housewifery lessons until the early 1930’s when these sessions were moved to Winchcombe.
Gradually, the village hall grew into its role as a centre for entertainment in Gretton. By the second world war dances were being held at least once a fortnight; a three piece band coming over from Winchcombe to provide the music. American soldiers based at Ashchurch and Toddington proved to be entertaining dance partners.
Concerts were also held to keep people’s spirits up.
The village hall took on a variety of roles. Rummage sales were always well attended, the queue stretching off down the road as people waited to snatch up a bargain. There were Beetle and Whist Drives. These were so popular that those wanting to join in had to provide their own seat, chalking their initials underneath their particular chair to avoid any confusion. The hall was also used by local girls for their wedding receptions, as well as for birthday and Christmas parties.
In the 1950’s a Youth Club was founded. This gave local teenagers an opportunity to get together, eat crisps and pop, play table tennis, listen to the record player, and generally relax away from their parents.
Football became a popular pastime in Gretton from the 1950’s until the 70’s. In the 1960’s there was enough interest to support two teams. The village hall was used as a changing room for home matches. Buckets of water were put on the gas stove to heat whilst the match was being played with several tin baths laid out in the hall for the players to use after the match had ended. The teams also enjoyed social evenings at the hall when there would be dancing to a record player and quiz nights.
As well as the more conventional village groups the five piece rhythm and blues band, ‘Blue Condition’ held their initial rehearsals at the village hall during the late 1960’s.
By the 1970’s, especially after the demise of the football teams, the village hall was comparatively under used. Even so, some improvements were made with the addition of a new kitchen and an extension along the back of the building. In 1979 ownership of the hall passed from a Church Commissioners trust to the Gretton Village Hall charity. Five years later a playgroup was created which used the hall up to five days each week. This helped to give the building a new lease of life. Other groups also began to meet there, generating an income which was then used to improve facilities. At first the playgroup found that the building was so basic that children sitting on the floor could see through the stonework. At times it could be extremely cold. The village hall committee, together with the support of various local groups, worked hard during this period to raise funds to improve the facilities for the users. A carpet and curtains brought about a more homely feel, alterations were made to the toilets, and a storeroom was added.
One event that no one who attended the playgroup at the time will ever forget took place after a bout of torrential rain. The downpour was so great that the road outside flooded and the children had to be rescued by climbing through the windows of the hall.
Up until the current work on the building the playgroup still used the hall on a regular basis. Other groups also flourished including an Art Club and the Women’s Institute. The village hall also provided a base for the newly formed parish council. In 1998 the Gretton Village Association was created out of the three village charities of Gretton Village Hall, Gretton Playing Field and Gretton Ward and from this point onwards it was this association that took on responsibility for the hall.
Meanwhile, the fourth cottage which had provided a home for a long line of families since 1846 saw its last resident move out in the late 1990’s. Mrs Roma Hill nee Shakespeare had lived in the cottage all her life. As a child she shared it with her three sisters and parents. As an adult she acted as caretaker for the village hall. The cottage was a physical link with the past, giving curious visitors a snapshot of how home life used to be for the families who had once lived there.
In the early years of this new century enough money was raised through the generous personal donations of the local residents, and by applying for grants, that an ambitious extension and complete renovation of the original building could take place. Due to open this summer (2009) it will provide the village with a versatile and spacious public facility, at the very heart of the community.
Mrs Caroline Meller
History Co-ordinator
Gretton Primary School
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