Riding Mill
Village Halls
About Our Halls
Halls and facilities
Riding Mill has two village halls – the larger Parish Hall and the modern Millennium Hall. Both are available to hire, please visit our diary page [click here] for further details.
Parish Hall
The Parish Hall is a large, spacious hall which can seat up to 110 persons theatre style. Well maintained, warm and recently redecorated, it is a perfect venue for larger groups and functions. Modern, comfortable chairs and tables are available. A stage is available for performances, together with additional separate modular staging for hire if required.
A smaller meeting room known as the ‘supper room’ is also available for hire either separately or together with the main hall. The kitchen has been completely refitted in 2018 and is equipped for catering. WIFI and black out blinds to the main hall. Our male, female and disabled toilets are also fully re modernised. This hall is surrounded by beautiful lawns and gardens.
The Parish Hall has the benefit of a premises licence for the sale of alcohol and music performances (details must be provided by the hirer when booking).
Warm Hub.
The Parish Hall has been awarded Warm Hub status from Community Action Northumberland (CAN).
This is a place within the local community where people can be assured of finding a safe, warm and friendly environment in which to enjoy refreshments, social activity, information and advice and the company of other people.
Riding mill Parish Hall has been deemed ‘fit for purpose’ with the required risk assessments, energy audits and accessibility checks; appropriate governance and policies are in place; and the necessary insurances and licences are in place.
Millennium Hall
The Millennium Hall is a modern purpose-built building with a spacious, light, open-plan area ideal for children’s events and smaller groups accommodating up to 60 persons. Well appointed with a kitchen and separate seating area, together with male and female (including disabled) toilets.
Additional facilities
Additional facilities available to hire include a projector with sound system; dishwasher; hot box for food catering; piano. Also available for external hire are staging, a marquee, tables, chairs, cutlery and teapots. Please contact the hall for prices.
Accessibility
Level, disabled access is available to both halls. Disabled toilets are also provided. A hearing loop induction system is installed in the Parish Hall to assist the hard of hearing.
Parking
Six car parking spaces are available at the Parish Hall including a disabled space. Further limited parking is available along the roadside adjacent to the Parish Hall. (Please note that Millfield Road is a private, residential road) Parking at the Millennium Hall is served by the nearby ‘Old Playground’ tarmacked area off Church Lane.
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Parish Hall
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Millennium Hall Pictures
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Excerpt From Riding Mill a Village History, Booklet
In the 1920s a great community spirit was present in this growing village, and a need for a meeting place larger than the Reading Room or schoolrooms was felt. As a consequence, on the old Butt Green, in Millfield Road, the Parish Hall was built in 1926, largely by public subscription. Unfortunately, the total was not quite reached so the Church kindly added the necessary amount and maintained control over it. This continued until changes were taking place at the Reading Room in the early 1970s.
The original caretakers, Mr. and Mrs. Hepple, had to heat water in a copper. They occupied a caretaker’s flat on the premises. This ensures supervision at all times. The main hall has a good stage which the Drama Club supplement with a stage extension which practically doubles its size. This is stored beneath the permanent stage. The Club put on two excellent shows a year and have installed excellent lighting for these productions.
Modernisation has continued through the years, with gas central heating finally superseding solid fuel and oil. The kitchen service area has always been in good use for all meetings but the recent modernisation took place when it became necessary to cook meals on the spot for the Meals-on- Wheels service. This was a service to the elderly whereby meals were
collected twice a week from Stocksfield Community Centre in the early 1960s and taken to their homes by car. That Kitchen became overloaded and unable to provide for us, so we approached ‘Age Concern’, who gave us advice and financial support to add two new cookers, and a lockable pantry. This was obtained by taking part of the space from under the caretaker’s stairs. From 1976 we provided our own twice weekly meals for distribution in the village and also for a Luncheon Club, to which the elderly come to the Supper Room. All the work done is by voluntary effort.
The ‘Supper Room’ is the small meeting room behind the Hall, used fully for meetings and coffee mornings.
RIDING MILL - A Village History
In explanation: - In 1965, the Jubilee year of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, member Institutes made scrap books illustrating the life of their village in that year. Many of these have since been up-dated. Riding Mill Institute, under the instigation of Angela Allen, developed theirs into an historical record. In assisting with this, I became fascinated by the reflection this village gives, of the nation’s history — in a quiet way. There were also large gaps in our work. I therefore have attempted to fill these, though not always successfully. My apologies for mistakes and omissions.
My sincere thanks to my Institute for permission to use any material from their one-off ‘Broomhaugh Past and Present’,
to Angela Allen, Myra Dixon, my other friends who listened, and the patience of the archivists at Northumberland Archives who delved amongst the old boxes for me, and, finally, obtained permission from the owners, for the printing of excerpts from certain documents deposited with them. .
These include the ‘Riding of the Bounds of the Barony of Bolbec’ from the Lorraine papers (ZLO) in the Archives, excerpts from the papers relating to the late Major Bainbridge’s estate of the Riding and Lee from the Bell collection in the Duke of Northumberland’s archives at Alnwick, and details from Esther Allgood’s will owned by the Society of Antiquaries.
Marion Cooke,
Wenduyne,
Long Rigg,
Riding Mill.
February, 1987.
Copyright — M. Cooke.
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This is a reprint of the 1980’s original
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To purchase a copy of the above booklet please email Mike Bridges on mikebridges359@btinternet.com
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Copy's are also available at the Parish hall £8.00 for a limited time... speak to Susan Laws.
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A small charge will be made to cover postage if you don't live local.
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Any profits made will be used for future projects of the Regeneration Group