The Hall was gifted to the village by Mrs Mostyn in memory of her late husband Mr Charles Mostyn JP at a cost of £2,000. A further £350 was donated by the Carnegie Trust, this was used to purchase equipment for the Hall including furnishings. There were also many donations from the Parishioners of West Pennard. The Hall was designed by Mr Harold N Alves of Glastonbury and built by D. R. Dunthorn and Son also of Glastonbury.
West Pennard Village Hall was officially opened on Thursday 21st October 1937 by the Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, the Marquess of Bath KG. The opening ceremony was presided over by the then Chair of the Hall Committee, Rev T. H. Richards. Other notable attendees at the opening were:
- Major J.A.Garton MC – High Sheriff of Somerset
- Right Rev G.A.Hollis – Bishop of Taunton and Archdeacon of Wells
- Miss B.Spencer – Somerset Rural Community Council
- Miss Rocke and Mrs McLean – Ladies of the Hundred Manor of Glaston XII Hides
- Commander and Mrs R.T.W.Thomas-Ferrand RN
- Captain and Mrs E.Page
View the report in the Central Somerset Gazette (29 - 10-1937)
The first Hall committee was made up of 2 people elected by the Parish Council, 2 from the Parochial Church Council and 2 from the West Pennard and District Nursing Association. Those people were:
- Percy William Diment – Upper Woodlands – Yeoman
- Harden Sydney Creed – Southtown – Yeoman
- John Powell – The Priory – Retired Headmaster
- Edgar Champion House – Woodlands House – Yeoman
- Mrs Anne Swanton – East Street House – Widow
- Mrs Kate Emily Bray – Post Office
The first trustees were John Powell of The Priory Woodlands West Pennard and Ernest Bray sub postmaster. The purpose of the hall was:
The property hereby conveyed (herein called “the trust premises”) shall be held upon trust for the purposes of physical and mental recreation and social moral and intellectual development through the medium of reading, recreation rooms, library, lectures, classes, recreations and entertainments or otherwise as found expedient for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Parish of West Pennard in the County of Somerset and its immediate vicinity without distinction of sex or political or other opinions subject to the provisions of these presents.
Did you know?
Displayed in the hall is a memento of one of the village’s remarkable stories.
In 1837 a group of farmers decided to present the new Queen Victoria with a gigantic cheese on the anniversary of her coronation, using the milk of 700 cows. An octagonal ‘follower’ or mould was made from Spanish mahogany and it is a replica of this that is in the village hall. Weighing a half ton, the cheese was taken to Buckingham Palace, but Queen Victoria declared she preferred her cheese ‘mature’, not new, and sent them away.
