Our village hall is available for hire.
West Leake Village Hall is available for bookings by individuals, clubs or businesses.
It can seat up to 60 people and is available for hire throughout the year.
The hall has recently been refurbished to modern standards and facilities include a kitchen and disabled toilet with baby changing facilities.
Click the image for a 3-D tour of the hall and its facilities >>>
Facilities
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The Meeting Room is 45m² with a carpeted floor. There are 60 chairs, 8 large tables and 8 medium tables.
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The Kitchen is equipped with kettle, fridge, sink and cooker with oven. Crockery and cutlery are available for 60 people.
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Toilet Facilities include provision for those with disabilities and a baby changing unit.
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Outdoor space - Small outside space available.
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Parking – the hall has no dedicated spaces, but unrestricted on street parking is available directly outside.
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Suitability
This venue is suitable for the following occasions.
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Parties
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Training Courses
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Children's Parties
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Local Community Meetings
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Societies and Clubs
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Band Practise
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Wakes
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Fitness Classes / Yoga
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Other Event
Hall Fees
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£10 per hour West Leake individuals and village organisations
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£12 per hour individuals not resident in West Leake
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£15 per hour businesses and organisations not based in West Leake
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A refundable deposit of £25 is required with all bookings.
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Users of all rooms, especially the kitchen, must ensure that everything is left clean and tidy after use.
How to Book
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To see the hall, check availability or to make a booking please contact the bookings secretary via:
Phone: 01509 853577
Email: westleakevillagehallhire@outlook.com
Please note current 'regular bookings' include:
W.I : 7.15-9.15pm on 1st Wednesday of month.
Afternoon Tea : 4-5pm on last Wednesday of month.
Pilates : 7-8pm Tuesdays in winter
A brief history
The Hall was originally built in 1850 for village children, under the auspices of Emily (sometimes known as Amelia) Harriet, Lady Belper and the daughter of the Bishop of Chichester, who is recorded as being “actively benevolent”.
Following the birth of her final child in 1846 and the family’s move to Kingston Hall, she became concerned by the lack of formal education for children in East Leake, West Leake and Kingston.
The school at West Leake is likely to have been designed by the architect, Edward Blore, who had overseen the building work at Kingston Hall, the family’s new home. The school was a small brick building with a main school room and anadjacent teacher’s cottage, which now forms the entrance lobby and the kitchen. Fireplaces were provided in both buildings.
By 1861, there were 30 pupils attending West Leake school of which only four were over the age of nine. Unfortunately in the following year, the visiting Doicesan inspector reported that the schoolmistress was unable to teach arithmetic, with the Rector’s daughters (the Batemans) being relied on to provide this service. It was therefore suggested that East and West Leake should be amalgamated into one school district giving all children access to the bigger and better Board School (possibly the Bley School) in East Leake, but this did not happen.
Instead, improvements were made to the building and the Rector reported that “properly separated offices” (toilets?) and a boarded floor had been provided. This suggests that prior to this, the floor had been either beaten earth or a tiled floor. The floor is likely to have remained in place till the 1990’s when local builder, Alan Chapman and his son Philip replaced it with the present solid floor.
By 1900, the number of local children attending the school had fallen to an unsustainable level. So the school was closed, with children sent to either Kingston-upon-Soar or East Leake Elementary schools.
Over the next forty years, the cottage was used as accommodation for farm labourers working at Townend Farm and the schoolroom became known as the Reading Room. It is uncertain if any books or periodicals were available for villagers to “improve” themselves, which was the original concept of reading rooms.
The room was heated by a large solid fuel stove located adjacent to the fireplace, but the ladies of the WI who where unofficially using the Hall for meetings often had to retain their coats in cold weather, unlike today when they can be ‘grilled’ by the room’s overhead heaters.
The building and land remained part of Lord Belper’s estate until 1966 when it was gifted to the village. Three trustees were appointed and a Management Committee formed with Mr.David Clark as Chairman. Following a settling-in period, plans were submitted to Basford RDC for improvements to the Hall, including a toilet that was accessible from outside the Hall for the ladies and an adjacent (but outside) toilet for gents. But there may have been second thoughs, as both were constructed indoors. The solid fuel heater was removed, the chimney stack reduced to roof level and a doorway installed eading from the front room into the Hall.
With the exception of new kitchen units and other cosmetic changes, The Hall remained largely the same until 2018, when large-scale renovations were undertaken including a new damp course, installing an accessible toilet, baby changing facilities and an update to the electrics for both heating and lighting.
Copyright EL&D Local History Society