Bamford Village Institute

Bamford Village Institute

Main Road, Bamford, Hope Valley, Derbyshire, S33 0DY

Bamford Village Institute is the original village hall, erected in 1912 and financed by donations of the village residents.  The Institute is owned by the village residents and held in Trust for them by a registered charity (No. 520410), which also administers the Hall on a day-to-day basis.  The two story building contains a main activity hall (Dorrie Platts Hall) 50 ft by 27 ft. The hall also has audio visual equipment, a kitchen consisting of Cooker, fridge, microwave, cutlery and crockery.  You can also hire the table tennis table and equipment when you hire the hall.  A large meeting room 30 ft. by 17 ft.,  a billiards room with 2 full sized billiard tables, a Craft Room (Rod Wilson Craft Room) which also contains a sink and kettle, and toilets on both floors, the ground floor one is suitable for the disabled.  There is also a stair lift from the ground floor to the main hall. Wheelchairs need to be carried upstairs.

The building underwent a major refurbishment in the winter of 1998/99 at a cost of some £200,000 and is now one of the most modern and energy efficient halls in the Hope Valley area.  Funding for the refurbishment was raised from the National Lottery (21stCentury Halls for England), High Peak Borough Council, Rural Development Commission, Derbyshire County Council, Lloyds TSB Foundation, Severn Trent Water, Duke of Devonshire’s Trust, Hugh and Ruby Sykes Charitable Trust, Pyke Charity Trust and local fund raising.

Dorrie Platts Hall
Snooker and Billiards Room

Financially the Institute is self-sufficient.  Annual running costs are met through membership fees and hire charges with any surplus being reserved for future maintenance of the building.   Currently activities comprise Indoor Bowling, Billiards and Snooker,.  The local History Group & Bamford Art Group,  Bamford with Thornhill Parish Council meet in the building the first Monday of each month (excluding August). We also have Yoga, Pilates, Tai' Chi and Keep Fit sessions run by various qualified instructors. New activities are actively encouraged since they are the only means of generating additional funds for the future care of the facilities.

The Trustees of the Charity that administers the Hall are also the Management Committee.  They serve for three years and consist of elected representatives from all the user groups and the membership.  One third of the trustees retire each year and offer themselves for re-election.  Membership of the Institute is open to all aged 12 and over who live within a ten-mile radius of the Village and the Institute operates an equal opportunities policy.

There is no formal ten-year business plan for the institute, but there is a moving informal plan for its future development.  A car park for 10 cars on the plot of land adjacent to the building was constructed in 2002 and a single storey extension to the rear of the building to provide a wet and dry crafts room was completed late 2004.   

It is the Trustees intent to give sympathetic consideration to any proposals, which continue to provide for the development and sustainability of the facilities necessary for the Institute to remain a viable entity for the benefit of the residents of Bamford and the surrounding communities

In 2017 we purchased a very large screen and an overhead projector, which can be booked with the hall.  Please enquire when booking for prices. We also have a large screen in the meeting room, which can be used when hiring the meeting room, unfortunately there is no projector with this screen.

January 2022. We had the wooden floor in the upper hall replaced and add sound proofing.  It has worn well but after 21 years it was in need of replacement.  We had two further projects for 2022 one was to redecorate the upper hall and the second was to refurbish the Snooker room.  We were fortunate and we were able to do both in 2022.

2023 - We puchased a new stair lift as after 22 years our Stannah stairlift needed to be replaced. We have two further projects that need tackling.  One is the replacement of the stair covering, which is going ahead in August 2023 and the other is to redecorate the entrance hall and the stairs.  This may well have to wait until 2024.

Dogs, with the exception of guide dogs, are NOT permitted in the building at any time.

Prices

One year Membership Subscriptions for October 2022 to September 2023 are:

Rooms to be booked by calling 07891 985599

Room Hire Rates 2022 to 2023:  The room rates will increase from 1st January 2023

Trustees and Committee Members

Sue Beckett (Hon. Chair, Treasurer & Room Bookings) - Trustee

Kath Hearnshaw - Trustee         

Vic Poke - Trustee

Mark Knight (Hon Secretary) - Trustee


Committee Meetings

Committee Meetings are held every two months (except August) and are arranged at each meeting.