Our Village Hall

Introduction

I thought the readers of this blog might be interested in some of the background history to our Village Hall, how it came to be owned by the Parish Council and then managed by a Village Hall Management Committee. Much of the information contained below has been gained from my own personal research, during which time I discovered there was a problem with the Title to the land.

Volume 2 of ‘Nocton – The Last Years of an Estate Village’ has been a useful reference, but I have tried to supplement this with other information. All of this data is available in the public domain for those who take the trouble to research it, but as far as I am aware, it has never been brought together in one place in a linear date form. For some it will be old news, but for others it may be of interest.

This will be the first of three blog entries.

Early Days

1936
On the 1st May 1936, James Herbert Dennis sold Nocton Estate to Smith's Potato Crisps (1929) Ltd & Smith's Potato Estates Ltd. During their tenure, a certain Mr Ireson became General Manager. Both he and his wife fulfilled a philanthropic role in the estate community, where they were instrumental in locating an old corrugated iron building from Sleaford Market Place that could be used as a village hall for Nocton.

The building had previously been used as a community centre during the war, housing at one time the Sleaford YMCA. After much negotiation with Sleaford Council, the building was purchased and suitably transferred to Nocton and located on the current site. The Ireson’s also sourced two other Village Halls, one for Dunston and another for Wasp’s Nest.

1946
Smith’s Potato Estates Ltd was the major employer in the area and had a number of tied properties in the village. Many villagers worked on the Estate, spending their leisure time in the Village Hall. There are still fond memories of those times.

Nocton Village Hall was officially opened on 28 September 1946 and soon became the social hub of the community. Over the years many village organisations have used the hall for their activities e.g. Arts Group; Baby Clinic; Bowls Club; Friendship Club; Heritage Group; Parish Council; Social Club; Tufty Club; Women’s Institute; Young Men’s Club and Youth Club. More details can be found in the publication mentioned in my introduction.

1970
All this was about to be threatened though. On the 26 March 1970, Smith's Potato Estates Ltd sold the Nocton Estate to a subsidiary (The Smith's Food Group Ltd) and this soon entered liquidation. The Liquidators sold Nocton Estate to Toms Foods Ltd on 5 February 1971.

Nocton Village Hall and a recreation ground to the rear of the building had only been leased to Nocton Parish Council, but fortunately this was continued by Tom’s Foods Ltd. A new lease was prepared, dated 25 March 1973 and scheduled for 30 years, but before long the Nocton Estate changed hands again, this time to British Field Products Ltd.

1975
The sale of Nocton Estate to British Field Products Ltd took place on 4 August 1975 at a cost of £3,098,000. British Field Products was actually a subsidiary company of the Guardian Royal Insurance Group and traded as 'Nocton Farms Ltd'.

It was during their period of ownership that Nocton Village Hall came to be owned by the Parish Council. British Field Products Ltd made a generous offer to legally transfer the Village Hall and its associated land to the Parish Council for the benefit of the local community.

1979
Discussions were actually under way to draft a Conveyance, when the hall was tragically burnt down on 2 January 1979. It was subsequently discovered it was underinsured.

With the cost of rebuilding the hall standing at £38,000 and the insurance only paying out £28,000, there was a significant shortfall. Jim Smart (who was General Manager of Nocton Farms and responsible for the Conveyance) felt it was now up to the villagers to find the balance. As a result, the whole village rallied to the cause and within two years a new brick-built hall was constructed and it opened to the community on 1 November 1980.

1980
Jim Smart (who retired from Nocton Farms in December 1980) was Chairman of Nocton Parish Council when he signed the Conveyance document dated 13 July 1981, alongside George Thomas Dickinson – Clerk. The recreation ground to the rear of Nocton Village Hall remained subject to a leasehold arrangement though.

[to be continued]