Hampsthwaite’s Memorial Hall has been given the green light for a £230,000 extension and upgrade.
North Yorkshire Council has granted approval for a single-storey front, side and rear extension that will enable the building to provide more activities for villagers.
The current hall was built in 1967 after a timber hut hastily assembled in 1952 to commemorate villagers who fell in the two world wars burned down.
It has become the main community location for residents of Hampsthwaite and surrounding villages. The Hampsthwaite Players put on four drama performances a year and the hall also hosts weekly community payback sessions.
But the growth of the village has left the ageing building in need of improvement.
Hampsthwaite Players performs at the venue four times a year.
Geoff Howard, chair of Hampsthwaite Memorial Hall and a parish councillor, said the project was expected to cost about £230,000.
About £130,000 has been secured from housebuilders as part of section 106 agreements agreed with North Yorkshire Council to mitigate the impact of development. It is hoped grant applications will secure most of the remaining £100,000 required.
Mr Howard said:
“The key issue is we have nowhere for any practical arts and crafts activities. We need a more practical environment.”
Mr Howard said, like many villages, Hampsthwaite needed a better community facility because the population was growing and public transport was worsening, making it harder for many people to get in and out of Harrogate. He said:
“There is nowhere many people can go and we want them to be able to come here. Many folk live on their own and don’t go out.
“With so little public transport, there is a greater need for things to do in villages. This will provide somewhere where more activities can take place and people can meet socially.”
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Steve Wood, a local architect, donated time to help design drawings for the planning application.
A design and access statement, submitted in support of the application, said Hampsthwaite Players were “hampered by cramped wing spaces, poor backstage facilities and limited scenery, costume and props storage”.
It added the extension would enable activities including a repair cafe, a men’s shed and practical learning classes.
The hall, on Hollins Lane, is in Hampsthwaite Conservation Area. Three trees will be felled.
The council case officer’s report said:
Covid vaccine banners stolen from Pateley Bridge“The proposed extensions would wrap around the south end of the existing building and are considered to be a suitably subservient design.”
Two large banners advertising covid booster vaccinations have been pulled down and stolen from Pateley Bridge.
The banners were attached to the walls outside Pateley Bridge Pharmacy on the town’s High Street and outside Pateley Bridge and Bewerley Memorial Hall on Park Road.
Both banners advertised vaccines at the pharmacy, which has been at the forefront of the local covid campaign.
The banner attached to the pharmacy.
North Yorkshire Police today appealed for information about the thefts, which occurred overnight on either Monday or Tuesday last week.
It did not comment on the possible reasons for the theft.
The banner attached to the Memorial Hall.
The banners were bright yellow and measured approximately 1 metre x 2 metres.
Police said:
“Anybody with information about this crime can email bill.hickson@northyorkshire.police.uk, call 101, or report on-line at www.northyorkshire.police.uk. Please quote reference 12230080065.
“Alternatively, information can be passed anonymously via Crimestoppers UK on 0800 555 111 or online at the Crimestoppers website.”
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Centenary concert to celebrate composer buried in Hampsthwaite
A centenary concert is being held on Friday to celebrate the life of a remarkable composer buried in Hampsthwaite.
Amy Woodforde-Finden’s music was much sought-after at the turn of the last century but her reputation fell into obscurity following her death in 1919.
Her Kashmiri Love Song inspired films, novels and even perfumes. Rudolph Valentino recorded the song in 1923.
A white marble recumbent memorial to Amy was unveiled in St Thomas a Becket Church on April 15, 1923. On the same day, the vicar’s daughter Geraldine Peck sang White Sentinels.
Amy’s marble memorial in Hampsthwaite
Thomas Flessenkaemper, the former director of music for the benefice of Hampsthwaite, Killinghall and Birstwith, returned to Hampsthwaite on Saturday for a re-enactment of the unveiling exactly 100 years on.
The German composer and pianist, who started the Amy Woodforde-Finden Music Festival last year before suddenly leaving his post, and soprano Tilly Eustace-Forrest performed while a wreath of white irises was placed on the tomb.
Saturday’s memorial event
Mr Flessenkaemper and the mezzo-soprano Patricia Hammond will join local musicians to perform Amy’s songs in a concert at Hampsthwaite’s Memorial Hall on Friday.
The Kashmiri Love Song is among the songs on the programme.
The event will have the informal feel of an Edwardian soirée type event with wine and canapés at candle-lit tables. Tickets cost £8 and can be booked here.
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