History

An extract from “Reflections of a Bygone Age” providing insight into the history of the village hall.

“Before the Church Hall was built, there was no large assembly room in the village to hold any sizeable event.  The members of Christ Church, Rossett suggested a scheme to provide a village hall for the benefit of the community.  After a number of meetings it was decided to build a hall on a piece of ground situated in Station Road belonging to the Trevalyn Hall estate.  About a quarter of an acre of land was donated by the Boscowan family on which the hall was built, funds were raised by public subscription.

The foundation stone was laid by the Rt. Hon. Lord Kenyon, of Gredington on 6th April, 1911.  The hall was designed by P.H. Lockwood, the Chester architect; the cost of the building was £1,800.  The contractor who built the hall was a local building firm, Joseph Johnson of Trevalyn.

With the conveyance of the land, certain covenants were imposed on the use of the building by the Trevalyn Hall estate, one of these covenants was that no alcohol was to be consumed on the premises.  This covenant has since been relinquished.  The first trustees were provided from the members of Christ Church, the incumbent being the Chairman of the Trustees.  They are twelve in number and are responsible for the management and maintenance of the building, the tradition is still carried on for replacing the trustees.

During the 1920’s a local gentleman used to hire the hall as a cinema, and would put on film shows several evenings a week.  The right-hand cloak room at the entrance to the hall was converted into a projection-room where a temporary timber floor was constructed to give height for the projector.  The four small square holes can still be seen in the rear wall of the hall, but have since been temporarily sealed.  In more recent years an amateur dramatic society was formed by members of the village who called themselves “The Rossett Players”; they met at the hall and produced a number of well known productions, which was a great success.

The hall was well built in red brick with stone features and tile roof.  The plan of the hall provided ample accommodation, and has always been a great asset to the village.”

Restoration

In more recent years, the building has suffered some deterioration and now requires a significant amount of restoration work.  In 2006, the trustees made a public appeal for interested parties to volunteer to add to their number and also to form a management committee involving members of the local community to take on the day to day management, refurbishment, and future development of the hall.

The management committee was formed in 2007, choosing to call themselves the Rossett and Burton Village Hall Management Committee, originally consisting of ten members.  This committee meet on a monthly basis to discuss and decide on matters of business necessity.  The management committee also holds social gatherings and other functions in order to raise funds in support of applications to grant funders to carry out the necessary required improvement works to make the hall a more attractive and modern community facility.

Improvement works have included the refurbishment of the Ladies and Gentlemen’s toilets, an updated kitchen that includes the installation of a dishwasher, stripping and refurbishment of internal doors, a new and updated fire alarm system, electrical rewire, refurbishment and replacement flooring timbers in the main hall, and, most recently, the installation of a DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) Compliant toilet facility in what was previously a storeroom at the front of the building.

However, much more work remains to be done if the hopes of the trustees and the management committee are to be realised.  It is important to note that this work will be made much easier and certain with the support of the community for whom the building was originally provided.  Also, as long as the hall is used by the local community the management committee is determined to ensure that it will always be available for the community. Whether it is an exercise class, educational course, family celebration, wedding or wake, the village hall is here to support your needs.