Opening of the First Hall
Background to the building of the Village Hall
In 1948 Monmouthshire Rural Community Council were allocated funds and building licences for the erection of five village halls in the county. Many applications were received and after much consideration, Langstone, Llanover, Goytre, Redwick and Machen were chosen. In 1947 a hall had been built at Earlswood by Mr Venn from Newport. He had put up the money and once the hall was opened and in use the villagers paid him back. His only stipulation was that it should be a Memorial Hall. A group of villagers from Redwick visited the Earlswood Hall and after their visit decided to raise the additional money needed to build an extension to the basic plan of the hall.
The Opening of the Hall
The hall was opened on August 18th 1949. There was an official opening ceremony followed by a tea in the hall served by the Ladies’ Committee. There were then children’s sports and the day was rounded off by a dance in the hall in the evening.
The Official Opening
This was performed by Sir William James Thomas. who was accompanied by his wife and his younger brother. In his speech he said “I am glad that at last, after much struggling, Redwick is the proud possessor of a village hall. Although you can visit each other’s homes, the village hall is the centre of social and community life.” The village was represented by the Chairman of the Village Hall Committee Mr F. Howard James J.P.; Mr C. W. Arthur, Secretary of the Committee; Mr Hubert Jones and Mr Walter Cowles. The Rural Community Council, who had provided £2000.00 towards the cost of building the hall, was represented by Mr D L Jones O.B.E.
Mr James in his speech talked about the earlier unsuccessful attempts to raise the money to build a village hall in the 1920s and about how, in 1946, a young and enthusiastic band of villagers formed a second Village Hall Committee “determined that this time nothing would deter them.” He thanked patrons for their donations saying that nearly £1,000 was raised by the people of Redwick. He paid a special tribute to Mr C.W. Arthur saying “Without him I doubt if this hall would ever have been built.”
Mr Arthur in his speech thanked Sir William and Lady Thomas and then praised his committee for the way in which they had all pulled together; the Rural Community Council for their financial assistance and the contractors Messrs. J. Venn and Sons for their personal interest they had taken.
Mr Jones, on behalf of the Rural Community Council, in his speech said it was a great day for Redwick. He congratulated the villagers on their achievement, and said, “A lot of work has been put into this hall in leisure hours, after a day’s work has been done. This alone is a tribute to the people of Redwick.” He emphasised that the chief task lay, not in building the hall, but ensuring its success once opened. “I would like to think that the hall will not only be used for social purposes, but also for educational purposes.” he added.
Mr Hubert Jones, in his speech thanked the visitors and patrons and said, “I am happy to say that, throughout the whole of the work there has never been a dispute, I feel if the country as a whole would only pull together as we have in Redwick, we would not be in such a mess.”
The Tea
This was provided by the Ladies’ Committee of the village. The hall had no china so the ladies had brought their own best china for the occasion.