RORY SUPPORTS LOCAL VILLAGE PROJECT

Rory Stewart MP At Watermillock Village Hall

Rory Stewart, MP for Penrith and the Border, gave a passionate talk on the ‘Middleland’ to a full house at Watermillock Village Hall, in support of the fundraising efforts to secure the building’s future.

Watermillock Village Hall was built in 1926 and has been run by dedicated volunteers ever since. The Hall, which is made up of a large function room with a stage, reading room, and modern kitchen, is a licenced facility and can accommodate up to 120 people. The venue is used by a variety of groups and holds regular activity sessions. Mr Stewart’s talk was the first in a series of events run by the Village Hall committee in order to raise money to maintain the building’s exterior. The committee are looking at Grant funding opportunities to develop the building with a possible extension and re-landscaping. The grant will also allow for new guttering and painting the exterior of the building.

As a keen walker with a passion for Hadrian’s Wall and its history, Mr Stewart recounted the history of ‘The Middleland’, from the time before the arrival of the Romans and Hadrian’s Wall, when this area was a country with its own kings, languages and traditions extending from the firth of Forth in the north to the Humber river in the South. Mr Stewart went on to vividly describe the changes brought by the arrival of the Romans, who brought many diverse cultures, which had a significant impact upon the local area. Rory finished his talk with a question and answer session and happily supported the raffle by giving a signed copy of his book ‘The Marches’ as a prize.

After the event, he commented ‘It is truly wonderful to see so many people working together to keep their community alive. I am honoured to have been asked to launch this series of events, and thrilled the event raised over £450. I hope that this facility continues to go from strength to strength”.

If you would like to book any of the facilities at Watermillock the details can be found on www.watermillockvillagehall.co.uk

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