Brentor Village Hall

Brentor is fortunate to have a thriving and well-used village hall, partly rebuilt in 2010 at a cost of more than £180,000. We also have a playing field which provides one of the best backdrops to sport in the South West. These facilities are administered by a Registered Charity, the Brentor Village Hall and Playing Field Committee (Registered Charity Number 203375).

The Village Hall and Playing Field Committee
The Committee is made up from local volunteers, including representatives of various regular user groups. As well as running and maintaining these facilities, the Committee spends a considerable amount of time fundraising for day-to-day costs and special projects and helping with regular events such as the monthly coffee morning.  If you would like to join the Committee please contact the Chairperson  Sheryl Burroughs on 870554 - new members are always welcome.

Fundraising and maintenance is assisted by a great number of people in the village. Occasionally large sums of money have been given as legacies or other gifts, enabling improvements to the hall which would otherwise be impossible. The Committee is very grateful for the financial support it receives from the Parish Council and other local funding bodies, and is especially thankful for the  donations from charities, trusts and local authorities towards the partial rebuilding and refurbishment of the hall in 2010.

The Village Hall and Playing Field Committee is always trying to improve the facilities it manages.   Click here to see news of its current activities.

Hire the Village Hall
Charges for hiring the Village Hall are very reasonable!

Click here to see the online Events Calendar for the Village Hall and to find out when it is available for hire.

Further details of how to book can be found on the 'Booking the Hall' page.

The Village Hall - refurbished and extended in 2010

Situated near the centre of North Brentor, the hall opened in 1912 as the ‘Brentor Men’s Reading Room’.  It was built at a cost of £210 and was paid for by public subscription. The site was a piece of glebe (church-owned) land that was bought by the Parish Council in 1901. The Reading Room was provided as a place where the men of the parish could meet and read newspapers etc.  In 1952 the Reading Room became the village hall. The building has a timber frame covered with corrugated steel and is lined inside with pine panelling.

A large number of groups use the hall, enjoying a wide range of activities which include:

  • The Village Show
  • Live music and drama rehearsals and performances, including ‘Villages in Action’ events
  • Yoga lessons
  • Meetings of clubs and groups
  • Skittles, quiz and ‘pub’ nights
  • Parish Council meetings
  • Parties, receptions, and other social events
  • Art exhibitions and classes
  • Corporate lettings

A programme of forthcoming events held in the hall is published every month on the website and on posters around the village.

Facilities at the Village Hall

The main hall is an excellent meeting space with ample equipment for many uses.  It has a wooden floor, good lighting, blackout blinds and infra-red heating.  It incorporates a catering-quality kitchen, toilets (including a toilet for disabled persons and a nappy changing facility), entrance hall and a store.

There is full access for disabled people including an access ramp, toilet and hearing aid loop.

The hall is a very nice place to use and has a lovely friendly and intimate atmosphere for all kinds of events. It can seat 70 or provide space for 120 standing. We hope that more and more people in the village will use the hall for an even wider range of functions – why not consider using it for a birthday party, wedding reception or other family event?  Details of how to book and a scale of charges can be found below or can be obtained from Helen de Carles - tel 811412  email  brentorvillagehall@gmail.com

Extra pieces of equipment are always required for the Hall. Some local societies have donated items, such as a projection screen from the Brentor Garden Club.  If you would like to help in some way please get in touch with Sheryl Burroughs on 870554

Address
The address of the village hall is as follows, but please do not mail directly to the hall and get in touch with the Committee using the email addresses and telephone numbers on this page.
Brentor Village Hall
Station Road
Brentor
Tavistock
PL19 0LR

Telephone
The Village Hall has a telephone but this available only for incoming calls or emergency 999 outgoing calls.  The telephone number is 810988.  There is little or no mobile telephone signal at the Hall.

Broadband
Wi-fi broadband access is provided in the Hall free of charge, funded by a grant organised by Brentor Parish Council from the Devon Town and Parish Fund.  The password is displayed in the Hall.  As with all wired broadband in Brentor, the speed leaves a lot to be desired, but it can be used to call out using WhatsApp, Skype, Apple Facetime etc.

Key Holders
Sheryl Burroughs - 870554  Helen de Carles - 810412

Interior shot of kitchen at the village hall showing the cooker and other facilities

Photograph courtesy of Colin Dawes

Playing Field

The Playing Field was donated to the village by Frank & Mary Ward about 75 years ago. It provides a large field area, football pitch and a play area for children, and was the site of an annual sports day until the 1980s. The field is also used as a general play area and place for dog walking and exercise.

The shelter

Main field
This area is excellent for impromptu games and can be used for a variety of events and activities.  It has been the site of the Brentor Fireworks Night celebrations, village picnic, village sports day and other events.  Dog walkers are asked to 'bag it' and take it home with them!  If you want to hold a large organised event at the field please contact our bookings secretary, Helen de Carles, tel 810412, email brentorvillagehall@gmail.com .  There is a shelter and compost toilet for the use of playing field visitors.

Football
The football area is marked out for seven-a-side football and has goalposts with nets.  It is ideal for an informal kick-about or more formal games.

Playground
This area will be redesigned and reopened in due course.

You can help
We rely on everyone who uses the playing field to keep it clean and tidy.  There are regular maintenance days advertised on this website and in the Brentor News

The Committee
If you would like to help with the work of the village hall and playing field why not join the Village Hall and Playing Field Committee? Meetings are held about once per month. We always need more help to fund raise and run events, as well as practical help with repairs and maintenance.

Contact
If you need to contact the Village Hall and Playing Field Committee to report an issue about the village hall, please contact us by email at brentorvillagehall@gmail.com. 

You can also contact the Chair of the Committee, Sheryl Burroughs, by email at sheryl_burroughs@hotmail.com .

Brentor Village Hall and Playing Field Committee -        Environmental Policy

Village Hall
Brentor Village Hall exists to provide a local venue for people of all ages from Brentor and its surrounding parishes to meet and enjoy both social and educational activities.  In fulfilling this role the Brentor Village Hall and Playing Field Committee will strive to:

  • Comply with all relevant environmental legislation, regulations and any other requirements which are in force
  • Minimise our energy consumption and carbon emissions wherever practical through the use of efficient insulation, efficient low carbon heating and energy saving lighting
  • Minimise waste, reusing and recycling where possible
  • Encourage users of the hall to travel to it using low-carbon-emission transport wherever possible
  • Avoid the use of environmentally damaging chemicals and materials in the maintenance of the building
  • Introduce small scale energy generation such as solar water heating panels, photovoltaic panels etc when practical
  • Plant native or other appropriate trees and other plants in the site where possible
  • Maintain the watercourse flowing through the site

Playing Field
Brentor Village Playing Field exists to provide a venue for people of all ages from Brentor and its surrounding parishes to enjoy outdoor sporting activities.  In fulfilling this role the Brentor Village Hall and Playing Field Committee will strive to:

  • Comply with all relevant environmental legislation, regulations and any other requirements which are in force
  • Minimise our energy consumption and carbon emissions in any buildings or equipment installed on this site wherever practical through the use of efficient insulation, efficient low carbon heating and energy saving lighting
  • Minimise waste, reusing and recycling where possible
  • Encourage users of the site to travel to it using low-carbon-emission transport wherever possible
  • Introduce small scale energy generation such as solar water heating panels, photovoltaic panels etc when practical
  • Minimise the carbon and other emissions from equipment used to maintain the site
  • Avoid the use of environmentally damaging chemicals and materials in the maintenance of the field and associated buildings
  • Maintain areas of the site as refuges for wildlife
  • Plant native or other appropriate trees and other plants in the site where possible

This policy has been communicated to all Committee members.

In December 2018 Brentor village residents were invited to fill in a survey asking for comments and suggestions for the future of the Brentor playing field.  Disappointingly, only 20 responses were received.    The results of the survey were as follows:

50% asked for the field to have more of a community feel with seating, barbeque and toilets installed
35% suggested relocating the field closer to the village hall (if possible)
5% suggested selling the land for affordable housing
5% suggested leaving it as it is
5% wanting the committee to decide.

Since there survey there have been lengthy deliberations by the committee,  to discuss the way forward based on the above results.

What happens next?
The committee has been looking at external shelters, compost toilets and seating to enable it to take things forward.  It will require some fundraising and looking into grants available.

How can you help?
Would you like to get involved in making our playing field a more usable, sociable place?  If you have ideas for fundraising, can help with applying for grants, or have further suggestions/comments or even wish to make a donation, please contact Sheryl, tel 870554, email sheryl_burroughs@hotmail.com or Clare, tel 810322, email mrsclarep@gmail.com .