The Public Hall needs your support

Almost twelve years ago, in May 1997, there was an open meeting held in the village to determine the future of Audlem Public Hall, or the Town Hall, as many locals call it. Indeed, there was a significant number of residents who pressed for the Hall to be closed and pulled down. Fortunately for Audlem this move was rejected.

On the strength of the public feeling to keep the Hall, the management committee determined to improve its condition. Ambitious plans were drawn up to extend the Hall at the rear in order to increase its capacity and provide changing facilities. Unfortunately the costs of £500,000 proved too much and the hoped-for funding from the National Lottery never materialised.

It is interesting to note that some ten years after the initial plan to redevelop the Hall, an even more ambitious scheme to build a youth and sports centre at the rear was put forward as part of the Parish Plan.

The Public Hall was opened in May 1904 and was owned by a private company, the Audlem Public Hall Company Limited. Surprisingly, it was another four years before the grand opening of the Hall took place. True to Audlem's current reputation for putting on a show, there were no less than three opening ceremonies. On Wednesday October 14th 1908 at 3.00 pm, Her Grace Katherine, Duchess of Westminster and Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire, performed the first ceremony. The second ceremony was performed by Lady Alexander Paget the following day and, two days after that, Lady Arthur Grosvenor performed the third one! Music was provided each day from 3.00 pm until 9.00 pm by an orchestral band under the direction of George Lines, who owned and ran the village gas works.

As well as being a social venue for residents, the Hall also housed Audlem's fire engine. Originally this was a horse-drawn fire engine called 'Jubilee', the name commemorating Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee in 1897. In fact the original sleepers on which the wheels of the engine rested are still in situ in the garage. The horses were kept in the stables at the nearby Crown Hotel. In 1926 a van was bought to tow the old manual fire engine but it was not until 1934 that the first motorised fire engine was garaged at the Hall. The Hall remained the fire station until just after the war, probably 1948, when the fire engine was moved to a wooden building on Shropshire Street situated in between the Combermere car park and the existing fire station, which was built in 1952.

In 1939, when the private company went into liquidation, the Hall was bought for the village by public subscription for £600. A board of trustees was set up to manage its management and running. This is still the arrangement seventy years later. The Hall became a registered charity in 1989.

Following the decision to keep the Hall open in 1997, over the next few years the committee worked tirelessly. Volunteers from the committee redecorated the interior of the Hall during their spare time. In addition, they organised Friday night gigs, fund-raising fairs and an extremely successful sell-out evening with TV vet Steve Leonard. As well as bringing in people who had never been in the Hall before, approximately £5,000 was raised through these efforts, which paid for a survey to be carried out and the plans for the new Hall to be drawn up.

It is fair to say that under the guidance of successive Chairmen Frank Gillies, Lesley Higham and Geoff Stretch, the Hall's future has been secured with the far-sighted implementation of major work to improve both the fabric of the building and its interior. The scope of the work, which started in 2002, is shown below:

2002 – complete renewal and upgrading of electrical system;
2003 – renovation of roof;
2004 – building of extension to form new toilets and storage space;
2005 – renovation of floor in main hall and new floor covering in bar;
2006 – replacement of windows and painting of interior and exterior;
2007 – refitting of kitchen;
2008 – total refurbishment of bar.

Further work planned for 2009 includes the installation of a chair lift, the replacement of the lighting and installation of a sound system in the main hall, improvements to the anterooms and the repair of the boundary wall fronting Cheshire Street.

So far over £140,000 has been spent in transforming the Hall, but plenty more will be needed. All these projects have only been possible with the enthusiastic support of the village community, Audlem Parish Council, Crewe & Nantwich Borough Council and WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental Ltd) who have provided a large part of the funding. Other organisations who have provided vital support are: Cheshire County Council, the Parish Councils of Buerton and Hankelow, Lloyds TSB, Audlem Special Events Team, Audlem District Amenities Society, Audlem Carnival and Music Festival Committee, the 5As Theatre Group, Audlem Bowls Club, Audlem WI and the Watch Your Weight Group. In addition there was a gift aid scheme launched that attracted donations of over £2,400, which allowed an extra £650 or so to be reclaimed from the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The committee also puts on regular events in order to raise money for improvements. These events include the fortnightly bingo sessions, regular film shows and the annual Valentine's Ball. The ball is one evening in Audlem's calendar when ladies can wear posh frocks and gents can dust off their dinner jackets and all can have a three-course, silver-service meal.

Today the Hall is used regularly for indoor sport, hosting clubs for badminton (two clubs), bowls, snooker and table tennis. It is also the venue for the Youth Club, the Carers' Support Group, a slimming club and the village pantomime. In addition, it plays an important part in several of the village's annual events – the Carnival and Music Festival, Proms in the Park, the Transport Festival and the Bonfire Night celebrations. Last year also saw the commencement of blood donor sessions: more are planned for this and next year.

The Hall is licensed to accommodate up to 200 people and with the improvements to the Hall and the acquisition of a licence to sell alcohol on the premises it is now the regular venue for fund-raising events put on by the NSPCC, St Luke's Hospice and many other village organisations. In addition, it is regularly hired by individuals for private functions.

The costs of the day-to-day running of the Hall are ever increasing. Excluding the cost of maintenance, which fluctuates year on year, they were £5,470 in 2006, £6,200 in 2007, and £7,660 last year. This year costs are expected to rise again due to the full effect of increased charges for heating oil and electricity. Over and above these increases, a change in the calculation of water charges means that they are due to more than treble over the next two years. However, expenditure is significantly less than it should be as there hasn't been a resident caretaker to undertake cleaning duties for the last few years. Instead, Olive and Geoff Stretch spend many hours each week cleaning the Hall and they refuse to take any money for their considerable efforts. Without this generosity it would be difficult to achieve the current level of cleanliness and costs would be thousands of pounds a year higher.

In order to cover these costs income is generated from the users of the Hall, donations from individuals and organisations, an annual grant by Audlem Parish Council and the annual 20-week draw. So please continue to support the Public Hall, either by supporting their fund-raising efforts – such as the Valentine's Ball and the 20-week draw – or by making a donation, which can be gift-aided of course, so that this valuable village asset can remain viable and can be used for generations to come. The Hall can be hired by contacting Olive or Geoff on 01270 811684.

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