Locals joy as Fulbeck village hall gets long-awaited makeover

A popular village hall has been given a new lease of life, thanks to a £15,000 grant.

Approximately 50 guests attended an afternoon tea party to celebrate the refurbishment of Fulbeck village hall last month, with local celebrity and Olympic swimmer Sophie Allen cutting the ribbon.

Before opening as a village hall in 1896, Fulbeck hall, which is situated on the A607 Grantham to Lincoln road, was also used as a workhouse, a village school and a stop over for criminals on their way to London. It needs regular upkeep to keep it going for the villagers who rely on it to hold groups including art classes, history talks, mother and toddler mornings, dances, antiques fairs and parties.

Just some of the areas that the money awarded by the WREN’s FCC Community Action Fund and match funded by £5,000 from the village hall committee, has been used for include a new set of wall lights to create a softer ambience during parties, acoustic panels installed to either end of the hall which will reduce echo and reverberations and complete redecoration of the main hall, kitchen, committee room and entrance to give the hall a more modern contemporary look. The old plastic chairs have been replaced with 100 chrome, framed, blue, upholstered chairs and even the wooden floor which hasn’t been treated for over 40 years wasn’t forgotten. It has now been repaired and sanded, which will protect it for many years to come.

Fundraiser and village hall committee member Iris Morison believes it will make a huge difference to people living in the area. She said: “The project has given a real boost to the people of Fulbeck. The refurbisment will certainly make the hall much more attractive to villagers, people wanting to hold parties and to the groups who use the hall on a regular basis. It is looking fabulous.”

Wren is a not-for-profit business that awards grants for community conservation and heritage projects from funds donated by waste and resource management company FCC Environment through the landfill communities fund.

For more information, visit www.wren.org.uk