Villagers attend launch of centenary celebrations of hall

ABOUT 70 people attended a launch event to celebrate the 100th anniversary year of Shiplake Memorial Hall.

Residents, hall users and former trustees were invited to the venue in Memorial Avenue as a thank you for their support to start a programme of events marking the hall’s centenary.

A presentation was held by trustees Bob Partridge and Mark Manson who thanked guests for attending and addressed “significant” challenges of operating the hall over the years. The hall was built in memory of villagers who had lost their lives in the First World War.

On July 18, 1925, several members of Thames Lodge, the only masonic craft lodge in Henley at that time, marched in full regalia to the site to witness the laying of the foundation stone. The parents of Heber Reginald Mardon, a soldier killed in 1918, had put forward a proposal to provide land and to finance its construction in 1924 at a cost of £3,500.

His war medals were on display at the event. Canapes were provided at the party by The Plough pub in Shiplake and soft drinks, wine and nibbles were also supplied.

Chair Bob Partridge, 77, from Lower Shiplake, said: “The centenary is special but we’re just the current generation of people who have done this for 100 years.

“The hall has relied on people to volunteer their time and their expertise to keep this going and it is pretty challenging in these times because of legislation and finances and everything like that.

“The challenges of operating the hall have significantly increased over the years. Covid and energy prices really hit us because there is no insulation in the hall. There are three main challenges. It’s the age of the building and the repairs that we need to do and finding new trustees as we need younger people to come in.”

Mr Partridge said he was “delighted” to welcome people to the event. He said: “Between the trustees, they’ve got more than 80 years of service experience for running this vital community asset.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank both the past trustees and the current trustees and the operations team for all their efforts to keep this place going.”

Caroline Fairbrother, also a trustee, said: “This hall has been a centre point for the community. It didn’t open until 1927 but in 1925 was the laying of the foundation stones.

“In recent years, we’ve had Any Questions for BBC Radio 4 filmed here and we had tree planting after covid in memory of one of the teachers who had taught at the primary school for many years and that was really special event.”

A programme of events to mark the centenary will start in May. The events include a Twenties film night, where Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush, will be screened on Friday, May 9, followed by a murder mystery play from the same era performed at the hall by SHADDO, an amateur dramatic association for Shiplake and Dunsden on May 24.

A centenary trail has been planned for the summer, which will encourage residents to take part in a guided walk around the village. A date is to be confirmed. Other events include a photography competition which is planned to start in June, a vintage vehicle display at the hall and strawberry tea on July 20 and a centenary quiz night will be held at the venue on October 3.

For more information, visit www.shiplakehall.com