The Village Hall was built by Mrs. Anna Harvey in memory of her husband Richard who was Vicar of Sarisbury.

For many years, it was the only hall in the village so most of the important functions such as wedding receptions

were held there. The one below shows the reception of the parents of one of the founder members of the Friends

Why the wedding was delayed for two years is an  Interesting story in itself. In its time the Hall has housed the

library, Saturday cinema shows, the District Nurse, a canteen provided for soldiers by the WI, the Tug-of-war team,

dances to the music of Billy Bolting and his Band, in fact any activity you can think of. We now have quite a

collection of photographs and also stories which have been put into a booklet. If you are interested in the history of

the Hall, we will be very pleased to tell you what we know and show you our archives.                                           ‘

   In 1998 the Hall was threatened with closure by the Environmental Health Department of the Borough Council.
Too many people loved the Hall to let that happen so the Friends of Bursledon Village Hall formed and began
fundraising. In 2000, to our great joy we found that our Lottery bid had been successful. (It was not as easy as it
sounds. It was a great deal of hard work.) In Spring 2001, the refurbishment began and in Autumn 2001 we moved
back. We had improved the best bits and replaced the tatty bits. Now we have a Hall which has retained all its
character, but has all the facilities demanded In the 21st Century.

The Friends of Bursledon Village Hall

The Friends were formed originally to raise funds to refurbish
the Hall.  It proved very successful and was supplemented by a
grant of £285,000 from the National Lottery. We thought our
work was over, But building costs went up and we found we
still needed many more thousands. In fact, some of the work we
planned has yet to be financed although it would take an expert
eye to spot the gaps! As well as raising money, we found we
enjoyed working together as a team. We continue to put on a
programme of events including dinner dances, jazz nights and
professional entertainments, publish a regular newsletter, run
a 100 Club, produce a calendar and anything else which might
turn an honest penny. We are very good at catering, so food
often takes a prominent part.
   We are always happy to welcome new people to our events and
if we can interest them in helping us to organise our various
activities, then that is even better.
There is never any need to be bored in Bursledon.

NEWS ABOUT THE CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS