North Wootton Village Hall
At the heart of our Somerset community since 1906
North Wootton Village Hall sits proudly in the centre of our small Somerset village, offering a warm, welcoming space for community life, local events, and village celebrations. Originally built as a Church Room and opened in 1906, the building was leased to the village in 1963. Since then, it has been lovingly run by a dedicated volunteer committee who raise funds, maintain the Hall, and organise a wide range of events that bring our community together.
A Hub for Village Events & Community Spirit
Throughout the year, the Village Hall hosts a variety of much‑loved events, including:
Quiz evenings
Guest talks
Village Day food, drinks, dog show, and amusements
Easter egg hunts
Christmas gatherings & Wassail
New Year’s Eve bonfire and fireworks
These events play a vital role in strengthening the friendly, close‑knit spirit that defines North Wootton.
A Space for Groups, Gatherings & Everyday Village Life
The Hall is used regularly by the church for refreshments, children’s Messy Church, and seasonal activities. It also provides a venue for:
The weekly village café / Church cream teas
A toddlers group / A home‑schooling group
Meditation and wellbeing sessions / Dance groups
Band practice / Children’s parties
Wedding receptions / Private hire events
With income from hall hire, community fundraising, generous donations, and grant support,
the Hall continues to be well maintained and remains an essential part of village life.
The Village Green — A Gift for the Millennium
In 2000, as part of the national millennium campaign to create new village greens, part of the orchard opposite the Hall was donated to the community.
Today, the Village Green is cared for by volunteers and offers:
A peaceful space to sit and enjoy views of the Mendip countryside
Traditional cider apple trees
Open space for games, picnics, and gatherings
A venue for the New Year bonfire and fireworks
The annual September Village Day
Occasional weddings and village celebrations
It is open to everyone and remains a cherished part of North Wootton.
A Community Effort for Over 60 Years
We are fortunate to have such a well‑loved Village Hall, and we thank the many volunteers over the past six decades,
whose dedication has ensured the Hall remains a welcoming space for all.
North Wootton is easily accessible from surrounding towns and villages and offers convenient parking for visitors.
The village is also home to The Crossways, a hotel with a public bar and restaurant.
Local Attractions Near North Wootton
Wootton Vineyard - Just a short walk from the Hall, Wootton Vineyard grows Seyval Blanc grapes and produces sparkling white wine.
Visits are available by appointment.
The Monarch’s Way - The 625‑mile Monarch’s Way long‑distance footpath passes directly through the village,
following the escape route of King Charles II after the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
Somerset Art Weeks - Each September, local artists and makers take part in Somerset Art Weeks.
The Village Hall proudly serves as a venue, showcasing beautiful work from talented craftspeople.
Somerset Levels & Wetlands - Just beyond the village lie the Somerset Levels, home to rich wildlife,
wetland reserves, and stunning birdwatching opportunities.
The Mendip Hills - To the north, the Mendips offer dramatic landscapes, including Wookey Hole Caves, Cheddar Gorge,
and several Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Historic Wells - Only 4 miles away, the City of Wells features its magnificent Wells Cathedral, the 13th‑century Vicars’ Close,
the Bishop’s Palace and gardens, a thriving High Street, and a twice‑weekly market.
Glastonbury - Just 6 miles away, Glastonbury offers the iconic climb to Glastonbury Tor, the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey,
and a vibrant mix of shops, cafés, and spiritual attractions.
Gallery
Explore our gallery to get a true sense of North Wootton Village Hall through photos of past events, celebrations, Harvest Homes, and community gatherings.
Village Hall Chairman’s report, 2025 - 2
A summary Village Hall users over a year is a helpful way of looking at its contribution to village life, and the importance of keeping that meeting place viable.
The Village Hall has been the venue for a variety of hire events including
One off hires include
Funds for Hall maintenance and improvements are also raised by the Village Hall team throughout the year. These also provide opportunities to bring the community together.
As a Village Hall Team, we have supported the community by organising events to which all in the village are welcome, and we have continued to run and maintain the fabric of the Hall for both village resident use and those in the local wider community.
One of our aims for 2025 was to continue to try to build more regular users of the Hall, and to encourage local residents, supported by the committee, to run ‘interest’ evenings.
One such evening was given by L Dosanjh on turtle conservation in Guatemala, a charity programme he had previously worked with. It was a well-supported, and successful fundraising evening and we hope to encourage similar future events.
The format for the event on the Green/village day, continues to evolve with the new team. We are grateful, for their contribution to village life, and the funds raised for the Village Hall. It was well supported by local people of all ages, and we hope it will continue to thrive.
Hall usage continues to increase slowly, with feedback from new hirers consistently very positive. Regular users include The literacy group, Story Imaginory, for preschool children, activities run by village residents - Song Circle sessions, Celebrations of the seasons and Sound bath evenings have joined other regular hirers. The Banty Rooster band regularly arrange practice sessions, and the café continues to be a successful weekly meeting place in the Hall.
The Village Hall website has continued to direct Hall Hire enquiries to us, provides information about the Hall and village, and is a platform to advertise events if we wish to attract support from outside the village. The village Facebook page also gives an opportunity to inform the village community of what is happening in the Hall, in tandem with the North Wootton News.
We are grateful to the Parish Council for their financial support. We asked for help in 2025 towards the cost of installing acoustic panels to improve the experience of those using the hall. These were installed in April 2025. The PC grant helped to support this improvement to the hall, together with our own funds saved towards this project.
Running costs for the Hall continue to rise and in 2025 a problem with the off peak electricity supply for the storage heaters, involved not only the cost of storage heater specialists to try to identify what was causing the problem, but also a lengthy wait for replacement by EDF. It was difficult to heat the Hall sufficiently at times, but we managed to keep the hall open, and mostly warm enough for hirers, who were understanding of the problem.
We are also grateful again to a group of residents and friends, organised into a team by Ian Lester, to steward festival traffic through the village in 2025. The traffic does cause some disruption to residents but a stewarding donation of £2,400 helps keep the Village Hall viable. We hope village residents will continue to be tolerant, so that this income strand continues to help us.
We have secure finances at present, though any major work on such an old building is expensive. Repairs to the church end windows are our next planned major maintenance job.
Our thanks go to the many people who help the Village Hall Team in various ways throughout the year, and at events. Things such as
This voluntary help means most of the funds raised can actually be used for the function and maintenance of the building.
Much goes on behind the scenes to put on events, and as Chairman I would like to thank the present VH Team, for the time they put into maintaining the Hall, and organising events to help keep a sense of community in North Wootton. Without a core team, all that is noted above would not happen. The new event team for the Village Day is a welcome addition, bringing together some new residents to continue this community part of village life.
Village support by joining in events is obviously essential for those events to be successful, both in bringing the community together and in fundraising. We look forward to that continuing in the future.
Sarah Laing,
VH Chairman
5/5/26
The Village Hall has been the venue for a variety of hire events including
- Weekly Thursday Café
- A preschool literacy group 1 morning a week
- Song circle
- Sound bath evenings
- Band practice evening session
- Parish Council meetings
- VH meetings
- VH events – see below
- Seasonal celebrations on the Green
- Church meetings/post church service gathering – these are hired free of charge as part of the lease conditions.
One off hires include
- Birthday parties – old and young
- Family gatherings
- Weddings using the Green and the Hall
- Glastonbury Festival ticket collection
- D of E meeting point and training for walks
- Funeral gatherings
- Pilgrimage stay
- Christening celebrations
- A French Dance evening
Funds for Hall maintenance and improvements are also raised by the Village Hall team throughout the year. These also provide opportunities to bring the community together.
- Fish & Chip Quiz evening
- Turtle talk evening
- Boules evenings on the Green
- Village day. As reported last year, this was run by a separate team in 2025 with support from the VH team – BBQ, dog show & other afternoon activities including skittles, tombola, egg throwing, children’s fun activities and a children’s inflatable slide. Teas and music provided by a local folk group with village roots and the Somerset Levellers
- Christmas fun quiz (new)
- Christmas gathering – music, readings, mulled wine and mince pies, carol singing
- NYE fireworks
- Wassail (new, following the change of venue by previous Wassail organisers, Mid Somerset Show)
- Village 100 club
As a Village Hall Team, we have supported the community by organising events to which all in the village are welcome, and we have continued to run and maintain the fabric of the Hall for both village resident use and those in the local wider community.
One of our aims for 2025 was to continue to try to build more regular users of the Hall, and to encourage local residents, supported by the committee, to run ‘interest’ evenings.
One such evening was given by L Dosanjh on turtle conservation in Guatemala, a charity programme he had previously worked with. It was a well-supported, and successful fundraising evening and we hope to encourage similar future events.
The format for the event on the Green/village day, continues to evolve with the new team. We are grateful, for their contribution to village life, and the funds raised for the Village Hall. It was well supported by local people of all ages, and we hope it will continue to thrive.
Hall usage continues to increase slowly, with feedback from new hirers consistently very positive. Regular users include The literacy group, Story Imaginory, for preschool children, activities run by village residents - Song Circle sessions, Celebrations of the seasons and Sound bath evenings have joined other regular hirers. The Banty Rooster band regularly arrange practice sessions, and the café continues to be a successful weekly meeting place in the Hall.
The Village Hall website has continued to direct Hall Hire enquiries to us, provides information about the Hall and village, and is a platform to advertise events if we wish to attract support from outside the village. The village Facebook page also gives an opportunity to inform the village community of what is happening in the Hall, in tandem with the North Wootton News.
We are grateful to the Parish Council for their financial support. We asked for help in 2025 towards the cost of installing acoustic panels to improve the experience of those using the hall. These were installed in April 2025. The PC grant helped to support this improvement to the hall, together with our own funds saved towards this project.
Running costs for the Hall continue to rise and in 2025 a problem with the off peak electricity supply for the storage heaters, involved not only the cost of storage heater specialists to try to identify what was causing the problem, but also a lengthy wait for replacement by EDF. It was difficult to heat the Hall sufficiently at times, but we managed to keep the hall open, and mostly warm enough for hirers, who were understanding of the problem.
We are also grateful again to a group of residents and friends, organised into a team by Ian Lester, to steward festival traffic through the village in 2025. The traffic does cause some disruption to residents but a stewarding donation of £2,400 helps keep the Village Hall viable. We hope village residents will continue to be tolerant, so that this income strand continues to help us.
We have secure finances at present, though any major work on such an old building is expensive. Repairs to the church end windows are our next planned major maintenance job.
Our thanks go to the many people who help the Village Hall Team in various ways throughout the year, and at events. Things such as
- mowing the Green,
- keeping the outside of the Hall tidy,
- running the phone box library,
- keeping the accounts,
- auditing the accounts
- keeping the Hall Hire diary
- helping with small maintenance jobs
- cleaning,
- and many things at events, small and large.
This voluntary help means most of the funds raised can actually be used for the function and maintenance of the building.
Much goes on behind the scenes to put on events, and as Chairman I would like to thank the present VH Team, for the time they put into maintaining the Hall, and organising events to help keep a sense of community in North Wootton. Without a core team, all that is noted above would not happen. The new event team for the Village Day is a welcome addition, bringing together some new residents to continue this community part of village life.
Village support by joining in events is obviously essential for those events to be successful, both in bringing the community together and in fundraising. We look forward to that continuing in the future.
Sarah Laing,
VH Chairman
5/5/26
© North Wootton Village Hall 2026 - North Wootton Village Hall is an English registered charity (304597)
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