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Halls Connaught Road, Brookwood registered charity no 304981 |
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Brookwood Memorial Halls are located in Connaught Road, Brookwood, adjoining Connaught Crescent. There are two halls standing in their own grounds and hirers share the car park. The halls are administered by a management committee meeting monthly and have a non-resident caretaker and bookings secretary.
The land was donated by the London Necropolis Company in 1950 to support the development of Hall facilities for the residents of the Brookwood area as a memorial to those who died in the First and Second World Wars. The Trust key objects were described in the original Constitution as "for the purposes of physical and mental training and recreation and social moral and intellectual development through the medium of reading and recreation rooms library lectures classes recreations and entertainments otherwise as may be found expedient for the benefit of the inhabitants of the Village of Brookwood in the County of Surrey and its immediate vicinity without distinction of sex or of political religious or other opinions subject to the provisions of these presents."
Firstly there is a small village hall dating from the 1950's, of pre-fabricated construction, originally used for social club purposes to raise funds toward the cost of building what is now called the Large Memorial Hall. It is capable of seating up to 80 persons in rows. Large and small tables are available permitting some 60 seats.
The small hall is well lit and is kept in good decorative condition. There is a small kitchen (no cooking facilities), complete with simple crockery (full crockery and cutlery available by arrangement), kettle and urn. There are separate ladies and gentlemen toilets and the hall is centrally heated. Access to the hall is easy for the disabled although the toilets may present a problem. There are disabled toilet facilities in the second hall.
Regular users of this hall include Brookwood Womens Institute, Guides and Rainbows, yoga, dog training and dancing classes. It is a popular venue for children's birthday parties. It is also used as the polling station for all elections.
The second hall is the large memorial hall which was built by public subscription in the 1950's around the time of the development of the nearby Connaught Crescent and Heath Drive housing estates bringing some 150 further families into Brookwood. The large hall hall has a public entertainment licence permitting a seating capacity of 240 in rows. Large and small tables are available and functions are regularly held seating over 100 persons. The hall is bright and welcoming. There is a disabled persons toilet facility as well as the usual ladies and gentlemen facilities. The hall is centrally heated in all parts, well decorated and lit. There is a newly refitted and redecorated kitchen with an electric fan-assisted range cooker, commercial microwave, large frost-free fridge/freezer, instant gas water boiler, twin sinks, kettle, under-unit and ceiling lighting. An urn is available on request, as are crockery and cutlery. The hall has adjustable ceiling lighting and dimmer-adjustable up-lights. The hall has a fully curtained stage with good stage lighting. The hall is marked out for badminton. There is a large divisible committee room that can double as two dressing rooms. Regular users of the hall include Brookwood Art Group, Mothers and Toddlers, badminton clubs, dancing classes and the Scout Group. It is suitable for wedding receptions and parties. Jumble sales and Christmas fairs also figure in the hall's annual programme of events. There is a large, flat grassed terrace behind the rear double exit doors of the Hall, within a well fenced area lined by trees.
Outside the car park is shared by users of both halls and can hold about 30 cars. There are also bicycle racks. The car par, drive and cycle racks are well lit. The grounds are lightly wooded, fenced and maintained by a gardener. The halls are centrally located and close to various shops as well as to Brookwood Station (which has a large car park). Brookwood Station lies on the main South West Trains line between London Waterloo and Portsmouth Harbour, five minutes train journey from Woking, from which there is a regular direct coach service to London Heathrow Airport. Farnborough and Basingstoke stations are a short ride down the train line. Brookwood Station is also served by the Alton to Waterloo line.