History

2008 – 2010
Shilbottle Community Hall is the Phoenix which rose from the ashes of the old Miners Welfare Hall which was destroyed by fire in 2008. The new hall was designed by the architects Purves Ash LLP and the main construction contractor was Stephen Easten Building. The building design incorporates the latest “green” technology which includes ground source heat pumps, a rain water harvesting system and a wind turbine electricity generator.
 
The construction of the new building was part funded from grants by the following:-    
The Big Lottery Community Buildings Fund
The Football Foundation
Alnwick District Council/Northumberland County Coucil
Shilbottle Parish Council
The Rural Development Programme for England (Leader)
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation
The Joicey Trust
His Grace Duke of Northumberland
Sir James Knott Trust
Sherburn House Trust
William Webster Charitable Trust
We are grateful to these organisations for supporting this project and also to the community of Shilbottle who have worked hard to raise funds locally and help the project in many other ways.
 
We now have a new hall that the whole community can be proud of and we hope everyone enjoys.  There are lots of activities planned and clubs already established so please visit our other pages for more information.  
 
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2010 – 2020
Since the hall was opened in September 2010, along with the user groups working hard to raise money for the ongoing costs of running the hall, we have continued to apply for and receive grants towards the upkeep of the hall and the costs of operating various activities such as our two youth groups.
 
During this period of time we are grateful to the following organisations who have made a grant to us:- 
The Community Chest ~ bowls trolley and storage equipment
Sainsburys ~ youth club equipment
Scholefield Trust ~ funding for Junior Youth Group
Northumberland Childrens Trust ~ funding for Youth work
Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance ~ curtains for the main hall
The Lendrum Family Community First Fund ~ a years funding for the “What’s On” and funding for internet access so the Junior Youth Group can produce a newsletter
Community Foundation ~ “What’s On” production costs
Community Foundation ~ IT provision
Community Foundation ~ blinds for the main Hall
Community Foundation ~ new hearing loops for the Main Hall and the Grange 
Scholefield Trust ~ Art Workshops Materials
Lloyds Community Fund ~ “Challenge Yourself” project to get new groups running and run one off events for the community 
Joicey Trust, Hadrian Trust, Hospital of God at Greatham and the Barbour Foundation ~ Youth Worker
NCCCommunity Chest ~ Youth room storage, Flooring, TV and Toddlers equipment

As of October 2013, the Hall had internet access and a telephone line thanks to a grant obtained via the Community Foundation.

In November 2015, the Hall had blackout blinds installed in the Main Hall, again courtesy of a grant via the Community Foundation. In 2016, we received a further grant to update the hearing loops in the Main Hall and the Grange Room. If you need to use the hearing loops, please ask how to access them.

We have continued to apply for grant funding for a variety of activities and for a half time Youth Worker for the village. We have been successful in securing grants for the Youth Worker, and Phillipa Compson took up the position at the end of April 2017. Phillipa also secured grant to fund a variety of activities and workshops for the young people in the village, including a Circus Skills Workshop.

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2020 to 2021 ~ through the COVID Pandemic!

In 2020 we were faced with the COVID pandemic and were forced to close the building to our normal groups from March 2020.

Shilbottle and Hampeth Mutual Aid was set up to help people with food through the pandemic, and they moved their pop up shop to the Hall and was the only group using the building through to the Summer. This was a great initiative which allowed restricted social contact for people in the lockdowns and provided food to many ~ food that would otherwise have been thrown away as it was food destined for the bin at the end of the day’s trading for local stores. It also meant that our belief the building is “a resource for all the community” still rang true despite our circumstances.

Thanks to the generous Government COVID grants our financial situation has remained steady and we survived the pandemic because of them.

2020 saw the charity registration of “Shilbottle Children and Young People’s Project” (SCYPP). This means they are now overseeing the provision of sessions for children and young people from age 0 upwards.

In 2021, groups began to return to the Hall as COVID restrictions were eased. By September, all our regular groups had returned and fundraising efforts were beginning to be organised.

We continue to look to increase our security around the building and work with SCYPP to enhance the youth provision in the village.