St. George's Hall Our Story
Thoroughly refurbished and modernised in 2012, St. George's Hall is the community hub at the heart of Bewdley. Built in 1901, 2026 marks the 125th anniversary for a facility that has seen it's ups and downs over the years, and is now operating at high level for the whole community.
The History of St. George's Hall, Bewdley
The Beginning
St George’s Hall is built by Mrs Sarah Woodward, the proprietress of the adjacent George Hotel. After unsuccessfully petitioning the Bewdley Corporation to provide the facility as a public asset for the town, Mrs Woodward paid the building cost herself, using it as an adjunct to the George Hotel for large balls and parties.
Through the Wars
in 1909 ownership of St. George's Hall and Hotel passes to John and Helena Cooper. During the Boer War and World War One The Hall is used as a Drill Hall. During the Second World War, the Hall houses a needle manufactory.
A Fresh Start
1957: The George Hotel is sold by Mrs Cooper, and by this time the Hall had lapsed into poor repair and was largely unused. During the early 1960’s, the Anglican Church in Bewdley invited other local churches to form a group, under the leadership of local industrialist George Clancey of Beaucastle, with the view to purchasing the Hall and making it available as a meeting place for the different church denominations. A trust was formed by the five denominations which had signed up (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Quakers and Christadelphian) and each provided two trustees although the latter two eventually left the Trust.
A New Purpose
The Trust purchases the Hall. The £25,000 needed for this and a total refurbishment and extension was almost entirely provided by Mr Clancey by way of an interest free loan. Many fund-raising events were held with the view to repaying Mr Clancey's generous gesture, but a large proportion of the loan was forgiven. The Trust registered as a charity "Bewdley Christian Community Hall"
Another Crossroads
The charity trustees approach Bewdley Development Trust and Bewdley Festival to work with them on redeveloping the Hall, which had been in a poor state of repair for some years. Bewdley Development Trust was engaged to develop the project, obtain funding and manage the build programme. Funding was obtained of £69,000 from Community Builders for design work, and £805,000 RDPE from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for construction costs. The DEFRA funding was used to renovate the fabric of the building, demolish the 1960’s extension and replace it with a modern three-story building with an entrance foyer, refreshment area, a lift, exhibition areas and more lettable spaces to create a sustainable and vibrant facility.
A Full Upgrade
In 2012 a new charity – St George’s Hall Venue Management - is established with Trustees from local groups, including Bewdley Development Trust and Bewdley Festival, to operate the Hall on a lease from the original owning charity. Wyre Forest District Council and Wyre Forest Community Housing loan £150,000 to underpin cash flow for the duration of the build contract. Bewdley Town Council grant funded £10,000 to help pay legal fees and other ancillary costs. The refurbishment is completed during 2013 and St. George’s Hall re-opens in August.
Queen's Award
The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service recognised outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, and is the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK. St. George's Hall Volunteers received the Award in 2022.
A Community Hub
St George's Hall is now a thriving Community Hub with 160-seat main hall, surround sound cinema, and hosts public and private events daily.
Recognition
Queen's Award for Voluntary Service
The highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
National Lottery Awards for All
Supported our project for new event seating in the main hall.