Wigglesworth Community Centre @ Clark's Old School
Newsletter 1: April
2011
Refurbishment and new development complete!
Clark's Old School served the village
very well as an informal village hall for many years. However, despite the best
efforts of many committed villagers over many years, the interior fabric of the
building 
was deteriorating. The facilities
available made it difficult to provide any form of catering, and as you will probably
recall, it was difficult to heat the building in winter and so this restricted
the frequency and kind of events we could hold.
In 2009 a major fundraising effort
culminated in the award of substantial grants from the Big Lottery Community
Buildings Fund, The Yorkshire Dales Leader Fund and The Clothworkers'
Foundation. In early 2010 Settle builders GI Hopley were awarded the contract and
together with a number of local sub contractors have done a fine job of
refurbishing the old school rooms and creating the new annexe; see page 2 for
what facilities we now have in the centre.
The
centre will be commissioned over the next few weeks and will be 'open for
business' at the beginning of May.
The
first booking is for what could be an historic referendum on whether we change
our voting system. So if you want an early look at the new centre then don't
forget to use your vote on the 5th of May!
Picture
shows the main entrance from the new car park.
Our formal opening event
will take place on Saturday 14th May at 13.30 when the Reverend Peter Yorkstone
will welcome everyone to the new centre and officially open the building.
Peter
was instrumental in getting the project off the ground so we are pleased he can
now see it completed and ready for use. The opening will include tea, coffee
and cakes and some fun activities aimed at children young and old! Tickets
for the opening event are free.
In the evening we will
be having a ceilidh
and giving people a chance to let their hair down! Tickets are £10 and include a pie and pea
supper, dancing is not compulsory but we think you won't be able to 
resist!
Environmentally Friendly as far as we can!
A rainwater harvesting system has been
installed at the new centre. This water will be used to flush all of the
toilets in the centre. In the case of drought we can top up the system from the
mains. A new waste treatment system has been installed. After treatment, all
that is left is water..... Low energy light bulbs have been used throughout the
building.
Picture shows how the new annexe has been added to the
existing buildings. Please note parking in this area is now private.
What kind of facilities will now be available?
The annexe has a small but very well
equipped commercial quality kitchen.
The
main hall (pictured when almost complete) can accommodate between 50-60 people
depending on the kind of event planned. New toilets, including disabled facilities
have been installed adjacent to the main hall. The Old School rooms can be
accessed from the main hall (see the photo on the right). The Old School rooms
together can hold between 40-50 people.
The
new car park has room for 14 cars (includes 2 disabled spaces).
The
hall and the Old School rooms can be used together or separately as both now
have their own entrances and there are toilets in the main hall and the
refurbished Old School rooms.
We
anticipate that the hall will be used for family and children's parties,
dances, a luncheon club, quiz nights, a
craft club, Young Farmers, film shows run by TRAMPS and touring theatre
with Rural Arts, meetings and many other special events.
The
Trustees will continue to manage and support the new Centre and the School
House. However, the day to day operation of the Centre would be best managed
through a small committee made up of local people together with one or two of
the Trustees.
Who are the Trustees?
David
Clarke (Chair)
Claire
Maxfield (Treasurer)
Phil
Raper (Secretary)
Astrid
Nitzche
Rev
Dr Neil Kendra
The
Trustees of Clark's Old School Foundation have managed the Community Centre project
with help from a number of villagers. We want to thank everyone who has
provided know how and practical help and in particular Mike Dean, Bryan Proctor
Peter Occardi and Adrian Shepherd their help and advice. We think Lawrence
Clark would have been pleased to see his gift to the village being given a new
lease of life.
Lawrence
Clark's legacy
In the late 1700s, as part of his will, Lawrence
Clark bequeathed funds for the
establishment of Clark's Free School and the adjoining School
House. In 1798, the total costs for the construction of the buildings came to £157 pounds, 0 shillings and 4 pence. (Kids: you will
need to ask Mum and Dad or Gran and Grandad about shillings!). Clark's Free
School closed around 1964.
Will there be IT facilities at the new centre?
As part of the project funding we were able to purchase some laptop computers. Settle Rotary Club also generously donated funds for us to buy
an
additional laptop. We now have access to high speed wireless broadband (or at
least 7.15 Mbps!) throughout the centre.
We
will be running some introductory computer use classes. Places are limited –see
posters in the centre and contact Anne or Sue to book. We can also hire out the
rooms with laptops/wireless broadband for meetings or classes.
Who will run
the centre now?
In
the past the Social Group played a major role in planning and running events
and also in fundraising at the Old School. We anticipate that some members of the
Social Group will wish to help form the new Centre Management Committee but we
also want to welcome anyone who would like to help us run and make good use of
this great new facility. If you would like to know more or would like to join
the group, please contact:
David
Clarke on 01729 840794 or Sue Shepherd on 01729 840620
Who
do I contact for bookings and tickets?
Anne Clarke
Tel: 01729 840794 OR
Forthcoming Events
Thursday
5th May Polling Day
Saturday 14th
May Grand Opening (tickets)
Saturday 14th
May Ceilidh with Supper (tickets)
Tuesday
17th May Ribble Banks Parish Council Meeting
Thursday
26th May Fun Quiz and Supper, (just turn up!)
Wednesday
1st June Family Fun Day (just turn up!)
Friday
10thJune Cheese and Wine Tasting (tickets)
Monday
20th 27th June and 4th July Fun with your computer
session (please book)
Wednesday
6th July then every 1st Wednesday of the month, The Eat
and Meet Club, (please book)
Coming soon
Greeting
Cards and Craft classes
Kite
making workshop
Who
knows? Let us know what you can offer!
What would you like to see? Get
involved.
Sue Shepherd
Tel: 01729 840620
TIMES and TICKET Requirements
07.00-22.00
13.30-15.30
no cost but tickets required
19.30-23.15
£10 per person ticket required
19.30-21.00
20.00-23.00 £4.00 per person
12.30-15.00 £3.00 per child
19.30-23.00 £7.00 per person
19.45-21.30 £3.00 per person
11.00-3.00, £5.00 per person
includes lunch/snacks/raffle/entertainment.
We
will endeavour to display relevant notices/news on the village notice board and
at the Community Centre. Also at Booths
and the Co-op in Settle. Keep a lookout
in the Craven Herald community news section and our village website,