Halls for All A History of Village Halls

Rural life in England has changed for the better in the past century, thanks in no small part to the 10,000 village and community halls that provide a home for fitness classes, WIs, amateur dramatics, dances, toddler groups, parish councils, the polling station and other local activities. Managed by local volunteers, the buildings represent a combination of historic legacy and modern design worth some £12 billion pounds. This is the story of how rural communities garnered the confidence and skill to build and run their own halls, how they raised the money and briefed architects and builders, their wartime service, the century of support and advice from charities now forming the ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) network of county Rural Community Councils, and of the challenges halls have faced and overcome – from funding, to licensing, VAT, the COVID pandemic, and rising energy costs.

Louise Beaton OBE has supported village halls for over 40 years, formerly as National Village Halls Adviser for Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE), latterly as consultant and Sussex Adviser. She played a key part in tackling issues affecting volunteers building and running halls, including during the Covid pandemic. David Clark as Chief Rural Officer for the National Council of Voluntary Organizations reformed the national village halls advisory service in the 1980s. His publications include The Decline of Rural Services, the Good Neighbors guide for the Rowntree Trust, and books chronicling social changes in rural life.