Somerton Village Hall

Hayward Smart were appointed by the Parish Council to prepare designs for a replacement village hall for Somerton in North Oxfordshire.

The ‘Barnes Memorial Hall’ was constructed in 1924 and was well used by the local community for regular groups and social events due to the village having no other amenities. With significant expenditure needed to carry out a refurbishment of the existing building, and a Big Lottery Fund grant obtained, it was decided that a replacement building would be the best route forward.

With a sloping site and no pavement to the road edge, the setting out of the building to maximise useable space and provide easy access was critical to the generation of the building form. The gabled roof structure replicates that of the existing building with flat roofed areas used for the service elements towards the rear of the site. The main hall makes full use of the pitched roof volume and includes a series of feature Oak trusses and exposed purlins. Ancillary spaces such as stores, kitchen and toilets are located off the main hall.

Exposed, highly detailed, Oak structure is visible externally, with large areas of glazing ensuring high levels of natural light internally. Oak weatherboarding to external walls sits over a blue brick plinth and the roofs are finished in natural slate. The overall form and materiality reflects the context of this rural village and ensures the building sits well as part of the street scene.