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Rhodes Memorial Hall

Brockhampton

(charity no 301476)
Information on this page is subject to the general disclaimer

Information, charges, history

Hall Diary

You can see all bookings in the hall in the village diary page.

Information

Col. Fairfax Rhodes left this community a wonderful legacy, and as intended, it is there today providing accessible leisure and recreational facilities for us all.

The Rhodes Memorial Hall (in memory of his son killed in the Boer War) caters for a wide variety of local interests and is the regular venue for many of the local clubs & societies. Then there are Jumble Sales, Exhibitions, Lectures etc. It may also be hired for private parties.

There are two rooms, the Main Hall and the Reading Room (the smaller of the two), which may be hired separately or together for larger functions. There is a modern fitted kitchen and a small car park at the rear of the building. 70 people can easily be accommodated.

If you are catering for a party at home, there is a very reasonable hire service of china, cutlery, glasses and other kitchen equipment.

The location of the hall can be found on this link.

If you would like further information on the availability of these services please call in at the Post Office or telephone on 01242 820966.

For charges see below

The Management Committee currently consists of three elected members (Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary), eight representatives, one from each of the local organisations who regularly use the Hall, and one other co-opted member. However, members of the Management Committee are first and foremost charity trustees and trusteeship carries legal responsibilities and duties. They are responsible for administering both the Hall and its investment property in accordance with the provisions set out in the 1968 Scheme of the Commissions. It is their duty and responsibility to act in the best interests of the Charity after having taken professional advice (where appropriate) and in adhering to the terms of Scheme which regulates the Charity.

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance, upkeep and improvement of the Hall, Reading Room and adjoining Cottage and must ensure that the full market value of the property is maintained. This is a continual and sometimes expensive process and all work must be carried to a high professional standard ensuring it complies with current legislation on fire, health and safety etc. All income is reinvested in the property and this funding is obtained from hiring of the Hall and accessories, rent from the adjoining cottage, and grants for special projects from local and national bodies. Rental income is also received from the Post Office which for the past few years has been located in one of the front lobbies of the Hall.

Charges (from January 2007)

Accredited Regular Users:-
Reading Room	£2.00 per hour
Main Hall	£2.00 per hour
Other Occasional Local Users:-
Reading Room	£4.00 per hour
Main Hall	£6.00 per hour
Commercial Users:-
Reading Room	£5.00 per hour
Main Hall	£7.00 per hour

All charges include lighting, heating, use of kitchen facilities, crockery etc.
For all bookings at least one additional hour must be allocated for setting up etc.
Example charges for hiring cutlery, crockery etc for events outside the hall :-
cutlery - 2p per item, most plates etc - 10p per item, aluminium framed tables (for inside use only) - £2.50 (small) £5.00 (large).
More information from 01242 820966 during post office opening hours.

History

Information kindly supplied by Mrs Ros Stewart

A School, of one single room, was purpose built in 1868 for Mrs. Georgina Craven of Brockhampton Park, to educate the children of her estate workers. It closed when she died but was re-opened 7 years later in 1887 as a Library by her husband Charles G.C. Craven. It became known as the Reading Room when daily papers were introduced. It then became a Club for men only to be known as the Brockhampton Institute. Later women were allowed to join, but only allowed to use it in the daytime.

Col. Fairfax Rhodes became the owner of Brockhampton Park and when his only son John was killed in 1902 in the South African War, Col. Rhodes extended the building by adding the Hall to the Reading Room, including the

white pargetted plaque, to his son's memory. In 1909 Col. Rhodes added the Cottage to accommodate the hall caretaker and his family, who lived there rent-free. This arrangement continued until 1991 when the then Hall Management Committee decided to dispense with the services of a caretaker. The ex-caretaker became a tenant and continued to live in the cottage paying a monthly rent until 1999. The cottage is now let on a commercial basis and the rent greatly benfits the hall's funds.

Col. Rhodes died in 1928 leaving the Parish Council as Trustees for the Hall. When the Rhodes family sold their properties and left the village in 1934, they left the Rhodes Hall and Reading Room to the village under the guidance of the Parish Council as the Trustees. In accordance with the will dated 18th. October 1917, a Foundation was formed, its purpose being "the provision and maintenance of a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of Brockhampton, Charlton Abbots and Sevenhampton and the neighbourhood without distinction of political, religious or other opinions, including use for meetings, lectures and classes and for other forms of recreation and leisure-time occupation with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants".

The Council decided at a meeting that in future the building would be known as "the Rhodes Memorial Hall" and a committee was elected to manage the Hall.

In 1968 a Scheme creating a Charity was made (Charity No. 301476) and the members of the Management Committee became Trustees of this Charity with ultimate responsibility for the administration and management of the Hall. The Parish Council is a custodian trustee but has no role as such in the charity's management.