Calendar bid to boost Farndale village hall appeal (From Gazette & Herald)

Calendar bid to boost Farndale village hall appeal

2:10pm Thursday 13th September 2012 in News By David Jeffels

A BID by residents in Farndale to build a new £200,000 village hall has reached £30,000, and fundraisers are hoping that the coffers will swell further with the sale of the 2013 calendar.

Featuring views of the spectacular remote beauty spot, the calendar will hopefully raise more than £1,200, said James Thurtell, the village hall chairman.

The existing hall, at Church Houses, was a wartime building given by the Earl of Feversham’s Duncombe Park Estate in 1956.

Now, said Mr Thurtell, it needs to be replaced, although it is still extensively used.

“It was put up as a temporary building all those years ago,” he said.

Despite its condition, residents have rallied round to provide it with a new kitchen and toilets, as well as painting the interior to enable it to continue to be used by a string of organisations and to hold fundraising events.

Domino drives, the Women’s Institute, parish council, harvest festival suppers, Christmas parties, the local show committee and a new children’s club all use the village hall.

“It is a vital asset to our comunity because Farndale is such a scattered area,” said committee member Janet Campling.

People travel from Bransdale and Kirkbymoorside to events at the village hall, and now building tycoon Sir Lawrie Barratt has given a piece of land near the existing hall to enable a car park to be provided.

The residents are now trying to raise money to provide a septic tank for the hall, which will also be used for the new building when it goes ahead, said Ms Campling.

A pub quiz is being planned to raise further funds, at the nearby Feversham Arms this month. Meanwhile, sales of the new calendar are already going well said Ms Campling. Copies can be bought at the Feversham Arms and the BATA store at Kirkbymoorside.