Aultbea All The Way!

Often a small BBC orchestra came through to officiate.  After the war the land on which the hall stands, was handed back to the landowner, together with the hall.  In 1961 the hall was placed in trust for the local community, and transferred to community ownership.

 

Aultbea Village Hall was the focus of a thriving social life in the early 1960's.

 

In 2001, the hall committee had planned a refurbishment programme, but were informed by funding groups that a satisfactory structural appraisal of the hall would be necessary if they were to receive any grants.  A structural survey was carried out and the result received in January 2002 stated that the main hall and dressing rooms were in poor structural condition with a very limited remaining lifespan.  The Hall committee then decided that the best course of action was to concentrate on building a new hall as no grants would be available for improving the old hall.

 

The New Hall Steering Group was formed in 2002 to bring this forward and to raise funds for the project.  To date the sum of approximately £60,126 has been raised, thanks to the support of the community.

The Hall was built around 1942 as a cinema for the Naval Base HMS Helicon, for the entertainment of the servicemen and women stationed in the area.  Built out of a Nissen Hut by the Royal Navy, it is complete in every detail with a large stage, tea-room and cloak-rooms.  It is capable of seating hundreds of people, and the weekly dances were widely known and patronised.