Members of the local Berryfield community met on the evening of Wednesday 20th October to learn all about running a village hall.
Mike Booth, the chair of Shaw Village Hall and Mark Harris, the chair of Bowerhill Village Hall, spent the evening with the Berryfield residents and the parish council sharing best practice and top tips on everything from hire charges, cleaners, online booking systems and bouncy castles!
“Community facilities are best run by the local community, and if you would like to get involved then please do get in touch,” said a spokesperson for Melksham Without Parish Council.
“Committee meetings will probably only be every couple of months for an hour and half, there are opportunities to get more involved if you have the time, with roles such as treasurer, secretary and chair of the committee. There is plenty of support from the parish council, neighbouring village halls, the Wiltshire Village Hall Association etc, so no need to start with a blank piece of paper. There are also volunteer roles for key holders, sending out invoices, maintaining the new planting, even checking the doors are locked in the evening – perfect if you are out walking your dog anyway.
“The group forming the committee would love to hear from you, and you can contact them via email BerryfieldVillageHall@outlook.com . You can chat further with a member (please call the parish council in the first instance and we can put you in touch – 01225 705700).
Please put Wednesday 16th November in your diary – 7pm at the new Village Hall – when the first meeting of the management Committee will be held, and the Committee formed, along with a list of volunteer helpers that can be called on to assist. All welcome!
![Melksham Times Past
A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis
The Independent Chapel and Women’s Rights in the 1840s
A document I recently transcribed lists the baptisms performed at the Independent Chapel. This record is especially helpful in that, along with baptisms, a lot of them include birth dates - one of the ways I discover which day someone was born.
The following is taken from a Wiltshire Times article published on 9th November 1878 which reports a speech given during the 100-year services and to celebrate their renovations (what we now know to be the Rachel Fowler Centre).
One speaker, Rev. T. Mann, minister in Trowbridge, talked about the Chapel’s origins when he related how Rev. Honywill came to Melksham and how he’d gone on to remain as the minister for the Independent Chapel for almost 60 years. [Honywill and his family lived on King Street in what we now call “Legion House”.]
Read more on our website, the link is in our bio.](https://scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.75761-15/505444438_18038424887647822_3264519508333556874_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=110&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=18de74&_nc_ohc=gXZQJoHTNiEQ7kNvwHezuPI&_nc_oc=AdlrJvMDapuork_EjycPOcegNeMnCA37GEIudkxkTeCfTgvB5iijE05ojpwlYCd5gN8&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr6-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=0ZY31jxOGx2M8z1ZqYNvEg&oh=00_AfPY_C0B8EndpVcx78sVp9qVJgtm368WREf36ZX1_jO3mg&oe=6855C74A "Melksham Times Past
A column about days gone by in Melksham by local historian Lisa Ellis
The Independent Chapel and Women’s Rights in the 1840s
A document I recently transcribed lists the baptisms performed at the Independent Chapel. This record is especially helpful in that, along with baptisms, a lot of them include birth dates - one of the ways I discover which day someone was born.
The following is taken from a Wiltshire Times article published on 9th November 1878 which reports a speech given during the 100-year services and to celebrate their renovations (what we now know to be the Rachel Fowler Centre).
One speaker, Rev. T. Mann, minister in Trowbridge, talked about the Chapel’s origins when he related how Rev. Honywill came to Melksham and how he’d gone on to remain as the minister for the Independent Chapel for almost 60 years. [Honywill and his family lived on King Street in what we now call “Legion House”.]
Read more on our website, the link is in our bio.")
