| Next MSC TRUSTEES meeting is on Monday 7th April 2008 |
The Memorial Social Centre (MSC) is at the heart
of Wickhambrook and provides a venue for many of the clubs and
societies to hold their meetings and events. The Centre is made
up of a Foyer, The Dulcie Smith Room which has two snooker tables,
the Main Hall with a stage, a Club Room with a bar, Pavilion
with bar together with toilet and kitchen facilities. The local
football pitch, play area, tennis courts, bowls green, skatepark
and recreation ground are all located near to the MSC.
With the W.I. Hall
located on the opposite side of the car park, Wickhambrook has
excellent facilities for the many events that take place throughout
the year. |
View the latest :-
>>
NEWS
AND PROJECT LISTS for improvements and
updates to the MSC
>>View the latest Meeting Agenda, Minutes of Meetings and Reports
>>Click
here for Summary of Charges - updated June 2007
>>VIEW FULL LIST OF DIARY DATES updated REGULARLY - if you cannot view this
file download the free Adobe Reader - 
All MSC Booking Diary entries are now displayed on the hall
Notice Board and updated almost daily. |
|
| MSC Bookings -
Each time it is updated the listing of the MSC booking diary is
emailed to committee members and to both regular and casual hirers
so that they can check that their hirings are correctly noted and
to see what future dates are available. If anyone would like to
be included in these emailings, please send an email with 'diary
dates' in the subject line, to the
booking manager |
| COMMITTEE
MEMBERS |
Chairman |
Patrick Colvill |
Vice Chairman |
Steve Taylor |
Treasurer |
Margaret Colvill |
Secretary |
VACANCY |
| Booking Manager |
Steve Taylor |
|
|
|
Licensing Act 2003
The Memorial Social Centre's new licence to operate as a village
hall with 'public entertainments', 'stage shows', private and
club hire etc until midnight on most days (11.30pm Sundays) was
granted with effect from 24th November 2005. The new all-encompassing
licence now includes an 'on licence' for the sale of alcohol
until 11.30pm (10.30pm Sundays). The official Licence Summary
(all 3 pages of it), is on permanent display on the hall's notice
board.
Hall users may note that, thanks to our bar service provider Chris
Gray, Greene King have renewed and upgraded the bar equipment.
|
| Notice from the
MSC: "Dogs are now
permitted on the recreation field, provided they are kept under close
control (on a lead) and are not taken onto the grassed sports and
play area. Please keep to the perimeter of the field." |
| The MSC is available for hire for weddings,
dances, private parties, etc. As you can see from the above photo,
there is ample parking available. The Centre is currently used for
the following: |
| Monday (alternate) |
evening |
Wic-Kids |
Main Hall & Club Room |
| Tuesday |
morning |
Bowls
Club |
Bowls Green |
| |
evening |
Carpet
Bowls Club |
Main Hall |
| Wednesday |
evening |
Badminton |
Main Hall |
| |
evening |
Bowls Club |
Bowls Green |
| Thursday |
morning |
Daycentre |
Dulcie Smith Room & Club Room |
| |
afternoon |
Carpet Bowls Club |
Main Hall |
| |
evening |
Body
Rock Dance |
Main Hall |
| Friday |
evening |
Dog Training (see below) |
Main Hall |
| Saturday |
afternoon |
Football
Club |
Pavilion |
| Sunday |
morning |
Body Rock Dance |
Main Hall |
| |
morning |
Tennis
Club |
Tennis Courts |
| |
| Every day |
various |
Snooker Club |
Dulcie Smith Room |
| Fridays from 2nd September, 7pm to
9pm in the main hall, Dog Training. |
Farmers Markets
A new venture in Wickhambrook… In the MSC Main Hall, Bar Room and Car Park from 9am to 3pm. First one on Sunday 15th July, then on Saturdays thereafter until December: 11th August, 15th September, 13th October, 10th November and 8th December. Then in 2008 the plan is to have the Farmers’ Markets on the first Sunday in the month throughout the year. Enquiries for stall-holding to Ray on 01440 710614. Indoor tables are: one 6ft table £10, two 6ft tables £15, a 4ft table £10. |
| Only parts of the Hall are used
for some of the above and so please feel free to enquire of
the Booking Manager whether arrangements can be made to accommodate
your function |
Booking Manager
|
01440 820520 |
|
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|
The MSC
|
The Tennis Courts
|
The Playground
|
|
The History of the
Memorial Social Centre
It all began on 27th November 1944. A public meeting was called, the
venue unknown, the W.I. Hall
perhaps. The instigator of this meeting was William Underwood
ably assisted by Leonard Harbutt. It was decided that a village hall
was needed and that it should be called the MEMORIAL Hall in memory
of those that had died in the First World War and for those still
giving their lives in the Second. The aid of the Suffolk Rural Community
Council was sought. A second meeting was held on the 22nd January
1945, a committee was formed and the planning of the Memorial Hall
began. Unfortunately there are no members of that committee alive
today.
A further meeting chose the site, the corner of the recreation ground,
it also chose the format of the committee. It was decided that every
organisation in the village should be represented on it; this with
slight adjustment still exists today. Fundraising began and grants
were obtained. It took five years to raise the funds and construct
the building. It was formally opened on 13th April 1951 by its Chairman
Mr Griffiths Woollard. They were obviously not superstitious! We can
be proud of their achievements.
Since those early days much has changed. The Hall and Recreation Ground
Committees have amalgamated to become the Memorial Social Centre.
However all was not easy in the early sixties monetary crisis loomed
and there was talk of ‘putting the hall on rates’ or even
closing it and using it as a barn to store corn.
The Community Council was formed in 1966 with the intention of saving
the building, modernising and extending it. Once again the fundraising
began and grants were obtained. The building as it is seen today is
the end result. It gained a refurbished kitchen, a clubroom, a snooker
room and a front foyer with modern toilets. It was formally opened
in May 1972 by Mrs Eldon Griffiths the wife of the local Member of
Parliament.
The pavilion at the rear of the building was added at a later stage,
being built mostly by the local football
club assisted by other sports clubs.
The Memorial Social Centre is part of an excellent leisure complex
which comprises a tennis
court, and a bowling
green together with a Teen
Project Skate/BMX/Sports Park and a children’s
play area. Wickhambrook has some of the best recreational
facilities in the area and the village hall is second to none.
We can be proud of our Memorial Social Centre and thank those far
sighted villages who, in 1944 during the dark days of the war decided
that Wickhambrook should remember its fallen heroes with a living
reminder of their deeds. Let us hope the complex continues to thrive
and to serve future generations a fitting memorial to those who gave
their lives for our freedom. |
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