Reconstructing the rural community: Village halls and the National Council of Social Service, 1919 to 1939

Rural History

Volumn 10, Issue 2, 1999, Pages 193-216

  Burchardt, Jeremy ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY; RURAL AREA; RURAL HISTORY; VILLAGE;

UNITED KINGDOM;

EID: 0032750385     PISSN: 09567933     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/s0956793300001783     Document Type: Article

References (90)

1. Robert Malcolmson, 'Leisure', in Gordon E. Mingay (ed.), The Victorian Countryside, vol. 2 (London, 1981), pp. 613-14; Hugh Cunningham, 'Leisure and Culture', in F. M. L. Thompson (ed.), The Cambridge Social History of Britain 1750-1950, Volume 2, People and their Environment (Cambridge, 1990), pp. 305-6.
2. Robert Malcolmson, 'Leisure', in Gordon E. Mingay (ed.), The Victorian Countryside, vol. 2 (London, 1981), pp. 613-14; Hugh Cunningham, 'Leisure and Culture', in F. M. L. Thompson (ed.), The Cambridge Social History of Britain 1750-1950, Volume 2, People and their Environment (Cambridge, 1990), pp. 305-6.
3. Pamela Horn (ed.), Oxfordshire Country Life in the 1860s: The Early Diaries of George James Dew (1846-1928) of Lower Heyford (Sutton Courtenay, 1986), pp. 6, 8, 10-11 ; Sheila Stewart, Lifting the Latch: A Life on the Land (Oxford, 1987), pp. 97-8.
4. Pamela Horn (ed.), Oxfordshire Country Life in the 1860s: The Early Diaries of George James Dew (1846-1928) of Lower Heyford (Sutton Courtenay, 1986), pp. 6, 8, 10-11 ; Sheila Stewart, Lifting the Latch: A Life on the Land (Oxford, 1987), pp. 97-8.
5. Peter Dewey, British Agriculture in the First World War (London, 1989), pp. 44-7, 109.
6. Alun Howkins, Reshaping Rural England: A Social History, 1850-1925 (London, 1991), pp. 267-9, 277.
7. John V. Beckett, The Aristocracy in England, 1660-1914 (Oxford, 1986), pp. 477-8.
8. Sir John Cripps, Christmas Coals to Community Care: The Countryside - Past, Present, and Future. The Sir George Haynes Memorial Lecture 1984 (London, 1985), p. 4; Margaret Brasnett, Voluntary Social Action. A History of The National Council of Social Service 1919-1969 (London, 1969), p. 33.
9. Sir John Cripps, Christmas Coals to Community Care: The Countryside - Past, Present, and Future. The Sir George Haynes Memorial Lecture 1984 (London, 1985), p. 4; Margaret Brasnett, Voluntary Social Action. A History of The National Council of Social Service 1919-1969 (London, 1969), p. 33.
10. Brasnett, Voluntary Social Action, p. 33.
11. Brasnett, Voluntary Social Action, p. 33; Cripps, Christmas Coals to Community Care, p. 5.
12. Brasnett, Voluntary Social Action, p. 33; Cripps, Christmas Coals to Community Care, p. 5.
13. First Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service 1919-20 (London, 1921), p. 5.
14. Reconstruction and Social Service. Being the report of a conference called by the National Council of Social Service (London, 1920), pp. 165-72, 181.
15. Brasnett, Voluntary Social Action, p. 32.
16. Second Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1921 (London, 1922), p. 5; The Social Service Bulletin. A Monthly Index to Information. series 2, no. 7, January 1922, pp. 78-9; ibid., series 2, no. 10, April 1922, p. 110; Third Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1922 (London, 1923), pp. 4-5.
17. Second Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1921 (London, 1922), p. 5; The Social Service Bulletin. A Monthly Index to Information. series 2, no. 7, January 1922, pp. 78-9; ibid., series 2, no. 10, April 1922, p. 110; Third Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1922 (London, 1923), pp. 4-5.
18. Second Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1921 (London, 1922), p. 5; The Social Service Bulletin. A Monthly Index to Information. series 2, no. 7, January 1922, pp. 78-9; ibid., series 2, no. 10, April 1922, p. 110; Third Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1922 (London, 1923), pp. 4-5.
19. Second Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1921 (London, 1922), p. 5; The Social Service Bulletin. A Monthly Index to Information. series 2, no. 7, January 1922, pp. 78-9; ibid., series 2, no. 10, April 1922, p. 110; Third Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1922 (London, 1923), pp. 4-5.
20. Third Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1922 (London, 1923), p. 5.
21. Constructive Citizenship: The Anual Report of the National Council of Social Service (Incorporated) for the year 1930-31, n.d. [1931], pp. 9-10.
22. Constructive Citizenship: The Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service (Incorporated) for the year 1930-31, p. 8.
23. 'Better Living in Rural Areas', The British Institute and National Council of Social Service Monthly Bulletin, 2nd series, no. 6, pp. 65-6.
24. 'Wheatley Village Social Council', The Social Service Bulletin. A Monthly Index to Information, III, 3 (March 1923), 30.
25. Reconstruction and Social Service, p. 167.
26. 'The Village Clubs Association', The National Council of Social Service Monthly Bulletin, series 1, no. 1 (July 1920), 6.
27. Fifth Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1924 (London, 1925), pp. 6-7.
28. Co-operation in Social Service: Being the Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1929-30 (London, n.d. [1930]), p. 15.
29. Constructive Citizenship: The Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service (Incorporated) for the year 1930-31, p. 9.
30. Voluntary Service: Being the Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service (Incorporated) for the year 1931-2 (London, n.d. [1932]), p. 15.
31. Fifth Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1924, p. 7.
32. Report by A. H. Griffiths of his visit to Chinnor, 8 September 1935, in box labelled 'ORCC Miscellaneous', Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, Accession No. 2689, Oxfordshire Archives.
33. Fifth Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1924, p. 7.
34. Co-operation in Social Service: Being the Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1926 (London, n.d. [1927]), p. 35; Voluntary Service: Being the Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service (Incorporated) for the year 1933-4 (London, n.d. [1934]), p. 32.
35. Co-operation in Social Service: Being the Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1926 (London, n.d. [1927]), p. 35; Voluntary Service: Being the Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service (Incorporated) for the year 1933-4 (London, n.d. [1934]), p. 32.
36. Co-operation in Social Service: Being the Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1929-30, p. 15.
37. R. J. Morris, 'Clubs, Societies, and Associations', in F. M. L. Thompson (ed.), The Cambridge Social History of Britain 1750-1950, Volume 3, Social Agencies and Institutions (Cambridge, 1990), p. 440.
38. Village Halls in England 1988: A Summary of the Ronseal Village Halls Survey (Cirencester, 1991), p. 10.
39. Oxford Times, county edition, January 1919 and January 1939, passim.
40. Fifth Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1924, pp. 6-7; Reconstruction and Social Service, pp. 167-8.
41. Fifth Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the year 1924, pp. 6-7; Reconstruction and Social Service, pp. 167-8.
42. Survey of villages around Oxford in 1937, Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, Accession No. 2689, Oxfordshire Archives.
43. Partnership in Social Effort: The Eighteenth Annual Report for the Year Ending 31 March, 1938 (London, n.d. [1938]), pp. 67-75.
44. H. E. Bracey, Social Provision in Rural Wiltshire (London, 1952), pp. 67-8.
45. Partnership in Social Effort: The Nineteenth Annual Report for the Year 1938-9 (London, n.d. [1939]), p. 35.
46. Trevor Rowley, Villages in the Landscape (Gloucester, 1987), p. 15.
47. Partnership in Social Effort: The Eighteenth Annual Report for the Year Ending 31st March, 1938 (London, n.d. [1938]), pp. 70-1.
48. Oxford Times, county edition, January 1919 and January 1939, passim. The residual 51% of venues in 1939 consisted mainly of halls of an unspecified nature (some of which may have been village halls), privately-owned halls, former school rooms, church and chapel rooms, pub rooms, and rooms in private houses. The greater prominence of these predominantly small venues in 1939 as compared to 1919 probably reflects an editorial decision to lower the threshold for the inclusion of leisure events in the Oxford Times more than it does an actual increase in the volume of leisure in smaller venues. There were reports on 33 village leisure events in January 1919, but this had risen to 272 events in January 1939.
49. Sheila Stewart (ed.), Lifting the Latch: The Life of Mont Abbot - Oxfordshire Farm Boy, Labourer, and Shepherd (Oxford, 1988), p. 125; Mary Toms, Barkby Village Hall 1929-1979 (Barkby, 1979), p. 2.
50. Sheila Stewart (ed.), Lifting the Latch: The Life of Mont Abbot - Oxfordshire Farm Boy, Labourer, and Shepherd (Oxford, 1988), p. 125; Mary Toms, Barkby Village Hall 1929-1979 (Barkby, 1979), p. 2.
51. Owen Stinchcombe, 'Recording Village Reading Rooms', Local History 20 (1990), 155-7.
52. Crowthorne Reading Room Committee minute book, 1912-21, CPC 102/B/3/1, Berkshire Record Office; Mortimer Men's Club minute book, 1892-1902, D/EX 165/Z1, Berkshire Record Office; Yattendon Club minute book, 1904-21, D/P159/28/1, Berkshire Record Office; Oxford Times, county edition, January 1919 and January 1939, passim.
53. The Labourer's Friend Magazine, CLIII, 1843, p. 179.
54. Voluntary Service: Being the Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the Year 1932-3 (London, n.d. [1933]), p. 31.
55. Flyer titled 'Proposed Wolvercote Public Hall and Institute', issued by Wolvercote W.I., n.d., Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, Accession No. 2689, Oxfordshire Archives; letter from A. Richmond, assistant secretary of the N.C.S.S., to E. Joseph, secretary of the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, dated 24th March 1932, Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, Accession No. 2689, Oxfordshire Archives.
56. Partnership in Social Effort: The Eighteenth Annual Report for the Year Ending 31st March, 1938, p. 69.
57. Letter from F. D. Gilbert to Mrs C. Kreyer, secretary of the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, dated 19th November 1937, and from the [unnamed] secretary of Taynton village hall to T. F. Thompson, town planning surveyor, Witney and District Joint Town Planning Committee of the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council and Witney Urban and Rural District Councils, dated 26th May 1938, Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, Accession No. 2689, Oxfordshire Archives.
58. Voluntary Service: Being the Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the Year 1933-4 (London, n.d. [1934]), p. 36.
59. Co-operation in Social Service: Being the Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service for the Year 1928-9 (London, n.d. [1929]), p. 35.
60. Reconstruction and Social Service, pp. 166-7.
61. Reconstruction and Social Service, p. 181.
62. Flyer titled 'Proposed Wolvercote Public Hall and Institute', issued by Wolvercote W.I., n.d., Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, Accession No. 2689, Oxfordshire Archives.
63. Margaret Massey, Burton Joyce and Bulcote Village Hall 1925-1975 (n.p., 1975), pp. 2-5.
64. Toms, Barkby Village Hall, pp. 2-3.
65. Nick Mansfield, 'Class Conflict and Village War Memorials, 1914-24', Rural History 6 (1995), 77-8.
66. Timothy Cawkwell and Elizabeth Ogden, Long Live the Village Hall ! A Survey on the Use of Village Halls by the Northamptonshire Rural Community Council (n.p., n.d. [1982]), p. 4.
67. Bracey, Social Provision in Rural Wiltshire, p. 68.
68. Checkendon Village Hall Minute Book 1913-90, Oxfordshire Archives O/174/A1/1; letter from Mary E. Stokes to Mrs C. Kreyer, secretary of Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, dated 14th July [1935?], Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, Accession No. 2689, Oxfordshire Archives.
69. Checkendon Village Hall Minute Book 1913-90, Oxfordshire Archives O/174/A1,1, unnumbered folios for 1916.
70. Checkendon Village Hall Minute Book 1913-90, Receipts and Building Fund account 1913, Oxfordshire Archives O/174/A1/1.
71. Note in file relating to Alvescot village hall in records of Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, Accession No. 2689, Oxfordshire Archives.
72. Checkendon Village Minute Book 1913-90, Oxfordshire Archives O/174/A1/1, unnumbered folios for 1914; ibid., Receipts and Building Fund account, 1914 and 1929. See also Penny Jetzer, History of Stoke Bishop Village Hall (no place of publication, 1985), p. 12.
73. Checkendon Village Minute Book 1913-90, Oxfordshire Archives O/174/A1/1, unnumbered folios for 1914; ibid., Receipts and Building Fund account, 1914 and 1929. See also Penny Jetzer, History of Stoke Bishop Village Hall (no place of publication, 1985), p. 12.
74. Checkendon Village Minute Book 1913-90, Oxfordshire Archives O/174/A1/1, unnumbered folios for 1914; ibid., Receipts and Building Fund account, 1914 and 1929. See also Penny Jetzer, History of Stoke Bishop Village Hall (no place of publication, 1985), p. 12.
75. W. H. Pedley, Labour on the Land: A Study of the Developments Between the Two Great Wars (London, 1942), p. 145; see also Stewart (ed.), Lifting the Latch, pp. 4, 25-6.
76. W. H. Pedley, Labour on the Land: A Study of the Developments Between the Two Great Wars (London, 1942), p. 145; see also Stewart (ed.), Lifting the Latch, pp. 4, 25-6.
77. Checkendon Village Minute Book 1913-90, Oxfordshire Archives O/174/A1.1, management committee, 12th February 1931.
78. Cunningham, 'Leisure and Culture', p. 312.
79. Oxford Times, January 1919, passim; [Trevor Hickman], Wymondham Village Hall 1928-88 (Wymondham, 1988), p. 11.
80. Oxford Times, January 1919, passim; [Trevor Hickman], Wymondham Village Hall 1928-88 (Wymondham, 1988), p. 11.
81. Malcolmson, 'Leisure', pp. 606-9.
82. Stewart (ed.), Lifting the Latch, pp. 23-9.
83. Alan Armstrong, 'The Countryside', in F. M. L. Thompson (ed.), The Cambridge Social History of Britain 1750-1950, Volume 1, Regions and Communities (Cambridge, 1990), p. 146.
84. Malcolmson, 'Leisure', pp. 613-14.
85. Oxford Times, 25th January 1919, p. 5 col. 4.
86. Voluntary Service: Being the Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service (Incorporated) for the year 1931-2, p. 31.
87. Copy letter headed 'Wolvercote Village Hall', February 1936, from H. Morris-Smith, treasurer of Wolvercote Village Hall, in records of Oxfordshire Rural Community Council, Accession No. 2689, Oxfordshire Archives.
88. Constructive Citizenship: The Annual Report of the National Council of Social Service (Incorporated) for the year 1930-31, p. 18.
89. Stewart (ed.), Lifting the Latch, p. 124.
90. Howkins, Reshaping Rural England, pp. 292-3.