Village Halls Week 2021

Rural communities in Northamptonshire to celebrate 100 years of village halls

Village Halls Week 2021 will recognise the contribution England’s 10,000+ halls have made to rural communities since the 1920s.

The national campaign week - now in its 4^th year – is set to take place 25 to 29 January and will feature online events, videos, podcasts, and blogs showcasing the history of village halls and the benefits they have derived for rural communities over the years.

The initiative is being championed locally by Northamptonshire ACRE, a charity that provides support and advice to numerous village halls found across the county.

Managed by volunteers, England’s 10,000+ village and community halls support a diverse range of community activities from exercise classes to coffee mornings and are routinely hired out for private parties and weddings. Some host community shops and post offices.

In a survey undertaken by national charity Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) last year, it was found that 60% of village halls provide the only meeting space in the local community. An estimated 50,000 individuals too are reliant on the use of village halls to make a living. 

Phillip Vincent, Public Affairs and Communications Manager for ACRE said, “The current national lockdown means we are having to doing things differently for Village Halls Week 2021. This will be an online affair but there’s still good opportunity for village halls to get involved and join us in celebrating all the work they do. We’ve published a programme that invites people to join online events, share stories on social media and sign a ‘doomsday book’ which will be a record of village halls in their centenary year.”

Further information about the national campaign is available from ACRE’s website.  

To find out more on how to participate email: [email protected]

Northamptonshire ACRE is part of the ACRE Network. The ACRE Network is England's largest rural grouping of community support agencies. Together, we members of the network have been making a difference for rural communities since the 1920s. This includes support for rural business, enabling delivery of essential health and social services through ‘fit for purpose’ village halls, good neighbours’ schemes and helping develop affordable housing to meet local need.