About Us

Company about

Dorchester on Thames Village Hall is on Queen Street just a short walk from the Abbey. It is an excellent spacious venue that boasts a vaulted main hall with a sprung wooden floor, ideal for dancing. The main hall was built in 1872 and was designed by the well respected architect Sir George Gilbert Scott, originally as a girls infant school, although Scott is best known for his Gothic revival churches (he also worked on our own Abbey). Scott felt that St Pancras station was his most successful project, but we like to think that our hall came a close second! in August 2021 the Scott family approved the name 'Gilbert Scott Hall' in recognition of the historic nature of our building. Thus, we are extremely fortunate in having an outstandingly historic and attractive Village Hall that's highly flexible and adaptable for hire or use as a regular meeting place, special occasion, celebration, wedding reception, exhibition, theatrical production and any number of other activities.

Dr Malcolm Airs and his son Thom have made a short series of films about some historical aspects of the village, including this film on the history of the hall.

Facilities

Main Hall

The main hall has a superb vaulted ceiling and an open, unobstructed layout that can seat up to 100 people for sit-down eating, with meals available from our own kitchen, The White Hart Hotel or local catering companies. It is regularly used for theatrical productions, race nights, fitness and Pilates classes, private parties and weddings.

Bar & Back Room

We have a permanent equipped bar facing a reception area that leads to a second, self-contained meeting room at the rear of the building through double doors. This light, airy room can be used even when the main hall is hosting a separate event. From the meeting room, double doors open onto an enclosed outdoor courtyard that has been used for barbeques and pig roasts.

Additional Services

The building has gas central heating; free wireless broadband; an excellent acoustic; a sound system and hearing loop, padded seating for up to 100; standing capacity for 140 people; flipchart and projector; tables, plus crockery and cutlery for hire.

Flexibility

Rooms can be set out in various styles to suit all occasions and rooms can be hired individually or you can opt for exclusive use of the whole building. Please look at our floorplan for details: Floorplan

Pricing

Hall Hire Prices
The following are the basic hire prices.

Basic Hire Service Time Included Standard Fee Village Fee
All Day Function 9am to 12am Hall Backroom and Kitchen £265.00 £160.00
Daytime Function 9am to 6pm Hall Backroom and Kitchen £140.00 £ 85.00
Evening Function 6pm to 12am Hall Backroom and Kitchen £140.00 £ 85.00
Main Hall only £17.50 per hour £10.50 per hour
Back Room £8.25 per hour £5.25 per hour
Kitchen £6.50 per hour £4.25 per hour
Bar Facilities* £35.00 £30.00
Crockery Hire £35.00 £30.00
Cleaner (subject to availability) From £60.00 From £50.00

*If alcohol is served, you MUST either book the Bar Facilities as this includes use of our licence, OR book The White Hart OR obtain your own licence/licencee.
Email our bookings officer for further details.

The 200 Club Quarterly Prize Draw

The Committee manages a prize draw called The 200 Club, so called because that is the limit on how many annual tickets are available for sale. In March, June and September we draw prizes of £75, £45 and £25 per draw and then in December the first prize is increased to £100 - a handy sum to win and a good way to support a village charity and amenity.

Membership is only £12 per person per ticket a year. You are welcome to purchase more than one ticket and funds raised help us maintain the hall for the benefit of the village. If you would like to join, please either send a cheque payable to Dorchester on Thames Village Hall to Elaine Williams, 20 Abingdon Road, Dorchester on Thames or complete the enclosed Standing Order and send it to Elaine. We will take a copy and send it on to your bank. If you set up a standing order via online banking, please e-mail Elaine.

Best of luck!

Committee Members

about
The village hall is owned and managed by a Trust for the benefit of the village. The Trustees form a Management Committee which is supplemented by additional members covering specific roles. The committee meets every few months and is governed by a constitution based on the Trust set up in 1973 and updated in 2018. The village hall is also a charity, registered number 900244 and so is regulated by the Charity Commission. The current committee is Chaired by Keith Russell. Key contacts are below. Jane Brooks, Edward Metcalfe and Geoff Russell are also committee members. Sadly, Maurice Day, our longest-serving Trustee and committee member, passed away on 18th March.

Keith Russell

Chairman

Mark Williams

Treasurer

Emily Moore

Bookings Officer

Elaine Williams

200 Club Organiser

Portfolio

Contact Us


Bookings
Bookings Officer - Emily Moore (Interim). Please email Emily. Please note that Emily is a volunteer and may take a day or two to respond.
e-mail: bookings@dotvh.org.uk

Check the Bookings Calendar below to see when the hall is available and then submit either a Standard Booking Form or a Village Booking Form.

Hall Location
7 Queen Street, Dorchester on Thames, Oxfordshire. OX10 7HR

Administration
e-mail: admin@dotvh.org.uk
Registered Charity No. 900244
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Bookings Calendar

Here you can check to see what's on and if dates are available for your event. Please note this is a guide only, DO NOT ASSUME A DATE IS AVAILABLE TO BOOK. You must confirm with the bookings officer. For advance bookings, please e-mail to discuss your requirements.