The Smethurst Hall, as it was originally known was presented in 1860 by Rev. John Smethurst, Unitarian Minister of Moretonhampstead, to his congregation to be used for the education and welfare of the children of the town and other similar purposes.
The hall was then sold by The British and Foreign Unitarian Association to the Minister of Education, now the Charity Commission, in 1952 for £1,350 and was renamed Moretonhampstead Parish Hall to be run by a Management Committee on behalf of the Charity Commission for the purposes of education and wellbeing and so it has continued to this day.
You may recognize the names of some of the original members of the committee in 1952:
Frank Marley,
Alfred Cann,
Frank Maxwell,
William Neck,
William Jones,
Mrs Charlotte Collacott,
Mrs Alice Keane,
Raymond How,
Cecil Whittall,
James Letts,
Mrs Phillis Huish,
Mrs Peggy West,
Charles Lynch,
Roy Saunders,
James Underhill,
Albert Treen,
Mrs Irene Leadbitter,
Mrs Flora Ireland,
William Amery,
Percy Leigh,
John Eads.
The Warnes Room, toilet area and kitchen was added by George Brimblecome around 1966. The Peter Gunning Room, added for the youth of the town, was built by Mike Jeffrey and his father around 1973 and they also built the storage sheds around 1988.
We are grateful to the original Trustees and committee for preserving the hall for the benefit of the community and to all subsequent members of the community who have used, valued, maintained and improved its facilities.
The hall has recently benefitted from grant funding from Teignbridge District Council enabling us to put down a new floor in the Main Hall. Other funders have included DEFRA, Moretonhampstead Parish Council, Chagford Show, the Variety Group, The Co-op and the Flower Show and the Carnival. This has all been invaluable in ensuring we can develop our community space and continue to offer our services long into the future enabling this space be available to multiple different groups.
Today it continues to support the same values, used as it is by Cubs and Scouts, Bumps and Beyond toddler group, Wellmoor and Moretonhampstead Folk Orchestra, to name a just a few of the regulars.
Your current committee is:
Rebecca Jameson – Chair
Julia Mockett – Treasurer and Booking Clerk
Julie Stockwell – Secretary
Danielle Wratten
Barry Coath – Safety Officer
Shona Lumsdaine
If you would be interested to learn more about the Hall and how it is run or would like to join the committee please message us. We would be pleased to hear from you.