The history of Holtwood Community Hall
Holtwood community hall is a fantastic facility set in the beautiful Dorset countryside.
Our History
Back in October 2006, a new community hall was opened which would represent a superb new additional facility at the site of the Methodist chapel which itself was opened in May 1904. This project was born out of a vision to build, and offer this facility out of gratitude to God. Also a desire to serve the Christian Church both locally and nationally.
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The hall was opened which would represent a superb new additional facility at the site of the Methodist chapel which itself was opened in May 1904. It took a further 68 years of making do with just the Sunday School room, which was built at the same time as the church. By the dawn of the 1970s, the requirement for extra space became a necessity. So in 1972, a 2nd hand timber hall was erected on the current site of the new hall which lasted for 34 years until it became time expired.
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Thus the drive towards raising the finances to fund a new hall. At a cost of £380,00, of which £130,000 was raised by the church, no mean feat of just 90 members at the time and generous grants from local and national Methodist funds, local government at county, district and parish levels and from a number of other grant-making bodies, trusts and landfill tax sources. £340,000 was raised by 2006. The remainder was paid over the next 2 years.
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One of the innovative fund raising schemes; one of which was to 'Sponsor a Brick Day'. People could just turn up at the church at a given time, donate a fiver and lay a brick. See photo of a church member demonstrating the technique.
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Although it is a Church based hall, it is also there to serve the community again from either far away or local.