Monthly Archives: June 2016

Grand Opening of the Refurbished Lavendon Village Hall

The Grand Opening of Lavendon Village Hall will take place on Saturday, 9th July 2016, from 2pm. 

You are invited to come to the Grand Opening of the refurbished Lavendon Village Hall
Lavendon Village Hall was officially opened on 7th May 1955 by Courteney Hope of BBC radio's "The Archers" fame.

Lavendon Village Hall was officially opened on 7th May 1955 by Courteney Hope of BBC radio’s “The Archers” fame.

The present Lavendon Village Hall was originally the site for an ex-Army Officers’ Pavilion that was purchased in 1953 for the princely sum of £650 and officially opened in May, 1955. Since then it has been re-designed several times in order to increase its size and add to its facilities.

Some years ago, it was decided to embark on an extensive modernisation programme and work on the first phase started just before Christmas 2012. Chunks of work for this ambitious refurbishment programme, named Project Diamond, were built as and when funds permitted, using village volunteers or mainly local specialist contractors.

The work was funded from a number of sources: fund-raising events, a generous local Company, local individual and organisation donors, the Milton Keynes Community Foundation, Local Giving and a large international Company. This money has enabled the £110,000+ Project Diamond programme to be completed.

We now have a new boiler house, reconstructed ladies and gents toilets, a new wheel-chair accessible toilet, a kitchen, fitted out to a high commercial standard, a re-configured bar area, a widened corridor, fitted out with attractive doors, an eye-catching entrance to the hall, with circular steps and matching canopy. The tarmacadam surface around the front of the hall will also be resurfaced.

To commemorate the completion of this work, we are organising a Grand Opening on Saturday, 9th July. It will begin at 2pm, with children and adults attired in red, white and blue outfits, marching from the new Salt Box housing development and making its way to the Hall, where William Tusting will perform the tape-cutting ceremony at 2.30.

The general public will then be invited into the Hall, which has charitable status, where refreshments will be served and the red, white and blue outfits will be judged. As well as a variety of displays and activities, regular users of the Hall will be show-casing what they have to offer around the periphery of the Hall.

Do come along with family and friends.
You will be most welcome!

A Lavendon Timeline – Anniversaries in June 2016

Lavendon in the News – Vintage extracts from local newspapers of the past

Vintage newspaper extracts give us a great insight into the daily life and times of our Lavendon village residents in years gone by. They also remind us just how much easier our modern day lives can be now, compared to the past. Some extracts are undoubtedly amusing to our modern eyes, but others can be quite dramatic and sad, often reflecting hard times.

To see the detailed vintage news and anniversaries from many years ago for the month of June 2016 click here: June 2016 Anniversaries (as summarized below).

To see much more vintage news, go to the main monthly listing by clicking here: Vintage Newspaper Extracts

The following is a summary of vintage newspaper extracts and anniversaries for the month of June 2016:

1866: Charles Fairy, a waggoner and native of Lavendon met with a fatal accident at Wellingborough Mills – 1896: Lavendon men summoned for neglecting to have their children vaccinated; report of the first anniversary of the new Union Chapel at Lavendon – 1906: Sunday School anniversary services in the Union Chapel – 1916: Various Lavendon cases at the Newport Pagnell Petty Sessions; Private J Green of the Bedfordshire Regiment wounded – 1936: Old-time dance proceeds to fund Ambulance cadet uniforms; Mrs Shakeshaft of Castle Road fell down the stairs; Church wedding of Miss Frances Tompkins and reception in Ambulance Hall; Hospital Sunday parade from New Row to Harrold Road corner with church service and band playing around the memorial; Mr Bristow, Head Master of Lavendon School, elected to represent East Anglia on the Rural Schools Committee of the NUT; Grand Prix motor-cycle races at Costor Pits south of Lavendon Mill – 1946: Lavendon’s Victory Day celebrations well observed with fancy dress parade, children’s tea party, concert and evening dance; British Legion Whit Sunday parade; an inaugural meeting of the Women’s Section of the Lavendon branch of the British Legion – 19 members enrolled; four Council houses at Lavendon due to be completed in about three weeks.