Winsham Web Museum

Jubilee Hall
Everyone in Winsham is familiar with the Jubilee Hall. At the centre of the village, it has been the setting for innumerable meetings and performances. There are few who have not attended a village pantomime play or concert; a wide range of age groups from Brownies to Over Sixties have pursued their activities here in the Jubilee Hall most of us have sung or danced, painted or exercised, celebrated a family occasion or at public meetings, argued and discussed.
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If you look across Church Street at the Hall/ you can clearly see the dates 1837 and 1887, which commemorates the building of the Hall in the year of Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. Inside the dates are repeated either side of the main window/ in red and gold. Lord Bridport of Cricket St Thomas built the Hall for the benefit of the village, both as a meeting place and for educational purposes: it was referred to as a reading room. Two thatched cottages were knocked down to provide the site, and we are fortunate enough to have photographs of them . The crowded village street and the clothes of the people photographed (especially the policeman's top hat) are a wonderfully preserved record of the time.

In 1905, Deed of Gift conveyed the Hall from the Hood family to the Parish Council, along with an endowment for its upkeep. A proviso stated that if the Hall was neglected, ownership must be returned to the Hoods.In 1947 this proviso was released, and the Hall became unreservedly the property of the village. In 1965 it became a Charity, administered by a management committee on behalf of the Parish Council. For many years within the memory of older people in the village
 The highlight of the week was the "sixpenny hop" on Saturday nights. These were even more eagerly attended during the Second World War when American soldiers from the temporary camp at Cricket St.Thomas came along. Flirtations, on the part of the girls and fights, started by the anxious local lads, were a common occurrence. Continuous improvements have to be made to the Hall, not least because of the increasing pressure of legislation. 


Silver JubileeCelebration 1977

The main hall
The Committee room

The Kitchen
The Garden

New plastic chairs fire-proofing materials, exit signs, a circuit breaker, all to be paid for in the 1980s to fulfill safety regulations. In 1989 part of the chimney fell down in a hurricane (damaging the then playgroup leader's car) so the distinctive chimney was shortened. The main achievement of the very active Management Committee of the 80s was the building oŁ the new Committee Room and kitchen. Both these are heavily booked: only by looking at the flint south wall of the Committee Room, which was the original outside wall, can one remember that the Committee Room was not always there. The Hall was also improved by the introduction of large stage curtains, and a modular stage, now replaced by an even better one. The main hall window had to be replaced in the late 1990s. Improvements continue, for example the new lawn, garden and fence provided by the pre-school group. The next and most difficult task is the provision of disabled access and disabled toilet, as required by the Disability Discrimination Act. In 2004,the dormer window had to be replaced due to bad wood rot.

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This page revised 27 February 2004