Iwade Village Hall 2010-12 © All Rights Reserved

Before 1930 the population of Iwade was less than 200 persons, at that time Village Hall activities were held in the old Iwade National School – later renamed Iwade Church of England School, situated on the corner of School Lane and Ferry Road. In 1914 the present school, Iwade County Primary School, was erected to cope with the increasing population. The original building was transferred to Iwade Church for use as a Parish Hall and continued to be used for Village functions.

Because of the age and condition of this building, plus the growth of the area, there was now a need for the Village to have its own Community Centre. This could only be achieved by the villagers own efforts, together with the possibility of a grant from the Ministry of Education. In the past, attempts had been made to organise a scheme to build a Village Hall and a number of fund-raising events were planned. These were very successful, but unfortunately they ceased in 1949, with the fund standing at £610.00. This money was held in trust by the Landlord of “The Woolpack Inn” – Mr Sam Wellard.

In February 1952, Mr Jack Wright called a public meeting to discuss the possibility of organising another Village Hall project.

The meeting was very well attended and because so much interest was shown, the agreement was reached that a committee be formed forthwith.

A committee of 17 was duly elected under the chairmanship of Mr Jack Wright, with Mr Ron Thorogood as Secretary and Mr Frank Mitchell as Treasurer. The first priority was to organise fund-raising efforts which were so successful that in 1954 the Committee began to look for a site for the proposed Village Hall. This was not a hard task, thanks to the generosity of Sir Leslie Doubleday, who donated the ground, freehold to the Village.

Having reached this stage of the project, the Committee made an application to the Ministry of Education for a Grant Aid, which was sanctioned by the Ministry and amounted to the equivalent of one third of the total cost of the building. The fund-raising efforts continued to go from strength to strength and on the 27th July 1957, the Hall was opened to the Public. The project was completed in 5 years by the Generosity of Sir Leslie Doubleday, the grant from the Ministry of Education, the advice and guidance of the Kent Voluntary Service Council, the support and enthusiasm of the residents of Iwade and the unrelenting hard work of the committee, which continues to this day.