Frittenden Celebrates its Refurbished Hall

The renovation and remodelling of the Frittenden Memorial Hall was celebrated at a drinks event on 14th October 2022.

The event was an opportunity to thank everyone that had helped the Memorial Hall in Frittenden to complete a much-needed renovation which provided a new meeting room, kitchen, toilet facilities, and a stage and performance equipment.

Guests at the drinks reception included Tim Bull DL, Helen Grant MP for Maidstone and The Weald, Kent Community Foundation, and many residents from the village who chatted over drinks and enjoyed entertainment by local Abba tribute band “Shabba.”

Rosalind Riley, Chair of the Frittenden Hall Trustees thanked guests for their valuable contributions to the renovation of this important community asset and Helen Grant MP for Maidstone and The Weald, spoke about how valuable the Hall was to the local community.

Rosalind Riley, Chair of the Frittenden Hall Trustees, said “Frittenden Memorial Hall provides essential space for our community to meet and hold events, clubs and entertainment. The evening celebrated the completion of the improvements which will give the village high quality, flexible and modern facilities which have a lower ecological footprint. It was wonderful to see so many people come together to celebrate our new look hall and to unveil the new meeting room, which has been named the ‘Sixty-Four Room’ in memory of the sixty-four Frittenden residents who served during WWII. This has been a huge achievement by generations of village volunteers, and we are very grateful to all our fundraisers and funders, including Kent Community Foundation, the Heritage Lottery Fund and DEFRA, as well as several other charitable funds and many private donors.”

Stacey Tillott from Kent Community Foundation was delighted to meet 92-year-old Mr Keith Piper who spoke warmly about the two months it had taken him and his apprentice to build the much-loved original Hall in 1963 to honour those from the village that were lost in WWII.

Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive, Kent Community Foundation, said, “Kent Community Foundation was delighted to support the renovation of the Frittenden Memorial Hall. In June funding of £6,500 from the Lawson Endowment Fund and the Brissenden Fund was utilised for new disabled toilet fixtures and fittings, new general toilet fixtures and fittings, and the necessary replumbing work to create the new layout of the toilets. And in April we awarded the Hall £9,700 from The Queen’s Jubilee Fund, towards purchasing a portable stage and sound and light equipment which was first used for a series of celebratory events, entertainment and workshops for the Queen’s Jubilee in June.”

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