ST. MARGARET'S NEW PARISH HALL

THE INDEX TO THIS PAGE IS:
 

THE NEW HALL IS NOW AVAILABLE DURING THE DAYTIME AND EVENINGS FOR:-

GROUPS, SOCIETIES, PARTIES, WEDDING RECEPTIONS. EXERCISE CLASSES, DANCE CLASSES, SMALL CONCERTS, ETC.

THE NEW FACILITIES INCLUDE:-

ROOMS OF VARIOUS SIZES
DISABLED ACCESS AND FACILITIES
FULLY EQUIPPED KITCHEN
PIANO AND MULTI-MEDIA FACILITIES

ENTERTAINMENT AND LIQUOR LICENCES HAVE BEEN APPLIED FOR.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MRS. WENDY DICKINSON ON 01943 607015

ST MARGARET’S ILKLEY PARISH HALL

SCALE OF CHARGES FROM SEPTEMBER 2007
 

Daytime (£ per hour)    After 6 pm (£ per hour)
 

Sole use of building                £25    £35
Main Hall (130 sq m)               £12    £17
Meeting Room (30 sq m)         £8    £12
Kitchen                                    £5    £6
Bar facilities                            £5    £6




∑ Minimum booking is for two hours
∑ 10% reduction for a series of 4 or more sessions
∑ Charges for social needs groups by negotiation


Children’s Parties

There is a special rate of £46, payable with booking, for Children’s parties.  This allows 3 hours use of the hall and kitchen.


For further information or to make a booking please contact:

The Parish Administrator
Tel: 01943 607015 (weekday mornings only)
e-mail: st.margarets.pa@btinternet.com

In October 1998 a meeting was held to decide whether we should demolish our old church hall and build a church extension to form a new parish hall. In October 2005, seven years later, St Margaret’s Parish Hall was officially opened.

The old church hall, which was built from pre-fabricated pebble-dashed panels, was worn out and too small. It was inaccessible by road and without disabled facilities and access - being up 12 steps. It had inadequate toilet and kitchen facilities; the insulation and heating were poor. It was also totally out of keeping with the church building and surroundings.

It was felt that we should acquire a vehicular access if at all possible and we began negotiations with the building company which was about to develop the adjoining site. They had to be restarted when the first developer sold out to another. Whilst this was going on our architect, Michael Overton of Wales, Wales and Rawson, produced outline plans followed by increasingly detailed ones as we decided on our requirements.

We instructed a quantity surveyor to provide some idea of overall cost so that we could launch our Appeal, which we did in April 2001. We had to apply for planning permission, which was granted in June 2001, and deal with other formalities necessary for an extension to a Grade II* listed church building.

The proceeds of the sale of a building in the town in 1995 had been invested and provided £235,000 towards the cost of the new hall. The appeal for the balance was aimed mainly at the congregation, but a great deal of effort went into applying for grants – a total of more than 80 applications were sent over a 2 year period. The vast majority were unsuccessful, but in the end a total of 15 grant awarding bodies gave us £103,200.

Over the years there have many fund-raising events including concerts, wine tasting, antiques valuation, celebrity auction, talks, quizzes, Open Gardens, Candlelight Dinners and Burns’ Night Celebrations. Together they raised over £30,000 and provided a good deal of enjoyment and fellowship for organisers and participants alike.

By September 2004 we were ready to invite Tenders from a number of recommended builders. The lowest was from Enoch Harrison and Son Ltd of Cononley near Keighley. Adding on the fees of various professional advisers and other necessary items brought the total budget up to £641,000. At that stage we were about £135,000 short. We had already made enquiries about borrowing money and it was decided to go ahead with the benefit of loans, including some from the congregation.

The formal contract was signed and work started in mid-January with a completion date at the end of August. Given the awkwardness of the site, everything went very smoothly. The new hall was handed over to us during the first week of September. It is a splendid high quality building. It fits in very well with the church building to which it is linked, having a similar stone construction and a lead-coated stainless steel roof. The Gothic influenced oak framed windows look great from both inside and out.

The toilets and Flower Arrangers’ room are at the same level as the church. Alongside the stairs to the upper level is a lift. At the upper level there is firstly a Meeting Room which seats 30/35 people. The Main Hall measuring 135 square metres has a wooden floor and lovely views from the windows. It can be divided by a partition into two rooms of approximately equal size. There is a fully fitted kitchen and separate bar, both having hatches opening onto the Main Hall.

The New Parish Hall was formally opened by Fr Richard and Mrs Muriel Hoyal on 15 October 2005 (see separate report). It is already being well used. The church’s Playtime for toddlers on Friday mornings is attracting even greater numbers. Regular church meetings and a weekly art lecture are held in the Meeting Room and the Main Hall is used each week for a Choral Society rehearsal and various keep fit and dance classes. The church’s first big function was the Harvest Lunch for 100 people which went off very well. There have been one or two private parties and more are booked.

Anyone requiring further information about hiring the hall should contact James Pieslak on 01943 607015 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

Thanks to further donations and fund-raising events since building started, the level of borrowing has been kept to just over £100,000. This will be repaid from lettings income and continuing fund-raising events. The Appeal Fund is still open and further donations to reduce the borrowing would be most welcome. Anyone willing to help should please contact Norman Phillips on 01943 864818.

The hall has been built with the powerful combination of prayer, generosity and hard work. For many generations to come it should serve the congregation of St Margaret’s and the people of Ilkley, to the Glory of God.
Bryan Anson, Project Manager

The Foundation Stone of the new Parish Hall was laid by Fr David Hope on Sunday 5 June. The ceremony, which was attended by a large number of people from both the 9.30 Family Service and 10.30 Parish Eucharist congregations, began with a verse from the hymn 'Christ is made the sure foundation, and the precious corner-stone ............' A reading from Ephesians 2. vv 19-22 followed and then a series of prayers and responses.

The churchwardens invited Fr David to bless and lay the Foundation Stone, which he duly did. The stone was sprinkled with holy water and censed, after which it was laid in the wall of the new hall. Following further prayers and a blessing, the ceremony concluded with all singing:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts;
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

The wording on the Foundation Stone is:

THIS FOUNDATION STONE WAS LAID BY
THE RT REVD & RT HON DAVID HOPE KCVO
PRIEST IN CHARGE
ON 5TH JUNE 2005
AMDG

[N.B. AMDG = ad majorem Dei gloriam = to the greater glory of God]

On Saturday 15th October 2005 St. Margaret’s welcomed back Fr. Richard and Mrs. Muriel Hoyal for the formal opening of the new parish hall. A good congregation, which included regulars and visitors alike, met in church at 11.30 for a joyful Eucharist and then moved into the hall for the official ceremony.

Fr. David began by welcoming everyone. With the expert background knowledge that comes from his father’s own building firm he paid a special tribute to the builders, Enoch Harrison and Sons of Cononley, who had finished the building to time and within budget, no mean feat in itself. The sub-contractors, joiners, electricians, plumbers and others were all thanked for their fine workmanship. He was grateful for the vision of Mike Overton, the architect, for the hard work and perseverance of the project team and for the generosity of benefactors both official grant making trusts and private donors. Much of the work had been done by the time he arrived her but he was aware of the careful preparations that had been made.

Fr. David then invited the Hoyals who, after all had been the instigators of the whole venture, to perform the official opening. Muriel carefully opened the velvet curtain to reveal the plaque and Fr. Richard then spoke. He remembered being shown round the church and the hall before he was appointed in 1989 and bathos was the only word that could describe the difference between the splendours of the one and the outworn ambience of the other. With some humour he reminded us of the felt roof that had begun to leak and the less than efficient heating system which his mother had urged him to improve. Once those were done it was time to look to at replacing the hall but careful planning and patience would be necessary. He felt that the luring of Bryan Anson to lead the new parish hall project team had been probably his best move. When he left in March 2004 he never imagined the hall would become a reality in so short a time. Barbara France had told him he would be gobsmacked when he came to see it the day before the opening. He admitted to being pleased with what he saw, and, when pressed, very pleased and hoped that the hall would be well used both for the service of God and for the community.

Fr. David urged everyone to get on with the feasting and enjoyment, Fr. Richard and Muriel cut the celebration cake and the decibel level of happy exchanges reverberated until mid-afternoon.