About the Hall.
The hall was built as a War Memorial for those who died in the 1914-18 WWI. A commemorative stone (laid 1923) can be found in the front porch. After completion, a Trust was set up with the primary purpose of providing village hall premises for the recreation, social welfare and benefit of St Arvans residents. The Hall is an excellent facility and usefully placed for attracting people from quite a wide area. The location, near the first Severn Crossing, means it draws in some groups from the south west as well as hosting local activities for people of all ages. Our ethos.
Supporting local business is important to us, so as part of our pledge to provide benefit to the community, we’ve kept our hire rates as low as possible ~£5.50/hour. We hope that our wonderful Memorial Hall can be a building block for small & young local businesses to thrive and grow, especially in the early days when attendance numbers can vary and profitability a concern.Management.
A management committee runs the hall on behalf of a Trust set up in 1924. The primary purpose of the Trust is the 'provision of village hall premises for the recreation, social welfare and benefit' of the people of St Arvans. The costs of maintaining the hall are met by hire income, grant aid when available and donations. All trustees and committee members are volunteers.If you interested in helping the hall in any way, we'd love to talk. You can find our contact information here.The organisation is registered as a charity (524382).
History.
These notes are taken from the excellent book by Joyce Edmonds called 'Tales of the People of Old St. Arvans' and published in 1990.Readers are told that the hall was built as a War Memorial for those who died in the 1914-18 conflict. It comprised just the front hall then, The commemorative stone, laid in 1923 is in the porch.Mrs. Hastings Clay gave the land and the stone with which it was built. The same stone was used for Wyndcliffe Court.With the opening of the hall a Trust was set up with the primary purpose of providing village hall premises for the recreation, social welfare and benefit of St Arvans residents. The organisation is registered as a charity.Mrs. Moody of 3, the Row was the first caretaker and apparently she became well known for her strict regime of cleanliness and efficiency!In the early days there was a grass tennis court where the rear hall now stands and a billiard room. It was during the second world war that the tennis court fell into disrepair as there were few young people to use it. Although an attempt was made to raise money for a hard court after the war, it was not successful. The billiard room was lost when the rear hall was built but the stage in the front hall stands on a full size billiard table!Electricity was installed in the mid 1930's when it came to the village. The funding for the installation was met by the estate of Mr. Ted Smith.Management of the Hall is the responsibility of a Committee. Connie Dixon, who did so much for St. Arvans community during her lifetime, was responsible for leaving us these notes about the Hall in Joyce's book. She states that the Committee's job is 'to keep it in good order and out of debt!'Today's Committee works to a similar job description but with the addition that it does everything possible to maintain a building that serves the local community well, facilitates social interaction and welcomes visitors to this beautiful part of Wales.In 2022, a film company used the hall to produce an episode of a drama called 'The Change' to be shown on Channel 4. The producer wanted a building which would 'reach out to viewers with it's character and history'. The crew were absolutely delighted with the results, as indeed, the residents of St Arvans are delighted with their hall.If you have any more information about the history of St Arvans Memorial Hall we'd love to hear from you. Please contact Alan our Chairman.Email: chairstarvanshall@gmail.com
Tel: 07496 674937