“The Little Red Roof” – the story of Hever Village Hall

 

It is thought that Hever Village Hall began life as one of the many temporary huts erected to house workers on the Castle and its Estate between 1903 and 1908, when the Castle was being seriously renovated. Once the work was done it was moved to its present site, a small plot of land given by Edmund Meade-Waldo. (The Meade-Waldos were major landowners in the area, and it was they who had sold the Castle to William Waldorf Astor in 1903.)

It was then called the Mens’ Reading Room, and comprised a large room, a smaller meeting room and a kitchen. The ‘necessarium’ was outside, and consisted only of buckets in a lean – to shed!

The Ladies of the W.I. took it over, probably in the 1930s, but eventually found the financial burden too heavy. In 1947, following a public meeting held in the school, it became, for the first time, Hever Village Hall. It belongs to the village, and is administered by trustees. In 1984 it became a registered charity.

Over the years it has undergone many alterations, improvements and repairs.

The paddock at the rear was acquired in 1983 when, after 80 years of occupation, the Astors sold the castle and estate, and moved away.

We are proud of our ‘little’ Village Hall, which we hope will continue to be an asset to the village far into the future.