218 Local History
The first Yapton & Ford Village Hall By Allen Misselbrook, Yapton & Ford local history group
Village Hall c. 1985
The first Yapton and Ford Village Hall, now the Co-op in the centre of the village, came into being in 1932 when the dis-used Foundry and Fitting Shop of Sparks Engineering was bought for £904 8s 4d (s = shillings, d = pence). Architect’s fees were £41 2s 0d and £54 1s 6d was spent on equipping the building fit for use as a village hall. With on-going overheads including 2s 7d spent on a Tobacco Licence, the total out goings for the first year was £1018 9s 10d. This initial funding for the hall was achieved by donations and subscriptions which included a loan of £255 from the West Sussex Community Council, donations including £150 from the Flower Show Committee, £100 from W. A. Hounsom Esq. JP, £25 from Lady Russell of Liverpool plus sums from many well-known village Traders. Villagers themselves helped towards the costs with over one hundred and fifty households subscribing to the fund. Other sources of revenue were the proceeds of Concerts, Dances and Whist Drives which made the venture a truly village enterprise.
Partying in the Village Hall c. 1954
During World War 2 the hall took on a new role. I have already written in a recent article about the Rifle Range in the attic but that was only part of the story. Fred Osbourne, the Signalman and Railway Crossing operator, was secretary of the village hall and describes the hall’s new role in his
memoirs. The hall was commandeered by the army soon after Dunkirk but it was agreed that Fred could still hold his fund-raising events. According to Fred Osbourne the first unit to take up residence was the R.A.M.C (Royal Army Medical Corp), the troops sleeping on the floor and the officers using the ‘ladies’ as the Offic- Dance programe, 1951 ers Mess. The R.A.M.C. were followed by the Argyles who also commandeered a neighbouring house and as well as the rooms above Hall Stores (Merry Meats) for billeting. To feed the troops they required a Field Kitchen, which they duly built on the car-park. Eventually, the Argyles left making way for the Home Guard who were there until the end of the war, after which it reverted to its original purpose. During the war it was also used as an ARP station and as a Red Cross training post. In the ensuing years the hall became the centre once again for village activities. As with all other village halls throughout the land it became the venue for dances, concerts and fundraising events from jumble sales to Race Evenings, from Barn Dances to Bingo Nights. Perhaps one of the most exciting uses was as the ‘nerve centre’ for actors and crews on two occasions when the BBC twice filmed episodes of their comedy ‘Ever Decreasing Circles’ starring Richard Briers and Paul Egan, on the playing field. Yapton’s many sports clubs also used the hall for their activities. Badminton and snooker clubs regularly played there. The football, cricket and stoolball clubs also used the hall as changing rooms and refreshments but the facilities were not very satisfactory and it was this that partly led to the building of a new village hall in 1988, on the King George V playing field. To contact Allen Misselbrook on a local history matter please email: allen@yaptonhistory.org.uk
