About Us & Our History
The Leigh and Bransford Memorial Hall and Recreation Ground is situated alongside the Sherridge Road (postcode WR13 5DE) on land given to the residents of the Parish after the First World War by local landowner Frederick Paget Norbury.
The original Memorial building was completed at the end of 1919. It was financed solely by public subscription to serve as a permanent memorial to all those from the Parish who served and gave their lives in the Great War. It was officially opened on 20 January 1920, which means our lovely community venue is now over 100 years old. As you can see, back in the day it was essentially just one single room, or hall, accessed by an imposing south-facing gabled porch that overlooks our one-acre recreation field. Although it’s not obvious from the outside, there was also stage at the right-hand end of the hall.
A decade or so after opening a ‘catering room’ was added at the back of the building which, for several years, was used by the Local Education Authority for the preparation, cooking and supply of school meals across the district. Then, in 1987, a local farmer and landowner Albert Jones, generously left £11,500 in his will to the Hall trustees – which acted as the stimulus to design and build what is now the Large Hall extension.
On 17 September 1994, following seven years of planning and further fund-raising, the Large Hall extension was completed. The new extension was cleverly integrated into the original building by removing the original stage and installing a set of tri-fold doors linking both the original hall and the new extension. This meant that the two halls could be hired separately by closing the tri-fold doors or hired together by opening through. The new extension also saw the old stage relocated to the northern end of the new Large Hall, the addition of a further set of toilets, a bar-room area and an improved kitchen and entrance lobby.
The Memorial Hall has a large recreation ground that benefits from a south facing elevation, with a truly magnificent view across to the Malvern Hills.
The Memorial Hall and Recreation Ground is a properly constituted and registered charity, (Charity Commission number 523163) managed on your behalf by a Board of local Trustees. You can see our entry on the Charity Commission website by clicking the button below.
The original purpose and aim of this much valued community resource (agreed and published by our parish ancestors 100 years’ ago) are still upheld – they declared that the Hall and its grounds should be managed “in the interests of social welfare, to improve the conditions of life . . . . without distinction of political, religious or other opinions by the provision of facilities for recreation and other leisure-time occupation.”
The Memorial Hall, as such, is an independent resource being neither a Church Hall nor a Parish Hall. Since inception the Memorial Hall has relied on revenue generated through hire fees, together with fund raising activities and the occasional charitable donations and grants to remain financially viable. It has no other source of regular income or support.
The Trustees work hard to keep the Halls, its facilities and surroundings (including the large, adjacent recreational field) in a good state of repair, order and decoration. At the same time, we are always seeking out and applying for grants and awards to undertake further improvements. Since 2013 we have secured over £130,000 of funding to make the following improvements:
The site has parking spaces for about eighty cars; a capacity across both Halls for 310 people, (160 in the Large Hall and 150 in the Small Hall); tables and chairs that are available to hirers included in the cost of the hire; a bar room that has serving hatches to both Halls; a modern, fully fitted kitchen; a curtained stage in the Large Hall and a flexible hiring format that allows us to accommodate a wide range of functions – all of which are available to hire at very competitive rates.
We hope we can look forward to welcoming you at some point in the future either as a hirer or as a guest at one of the many clubs, societies, or public and private functions and training events that are hosted at the Hall each year.
Jon Gamble, Chair of Trustees
Spring 2026