The History of Hopton's Village Hall

There have been several village halls in Hopton. The first was more of a “village room” situated on the old C600 (Lowestoft Road), and was managed by Hopton Parish Council. This became too small for the expanding community and in March 1974 a Deed of Exchange was entered into with Moodys Holiday Village for their site and buildings.

The Moody’s site was off Station Road, where the health Centre and current village hall are situated. However, back in 1974 there were two halls on this site. The first was a small hall that could hold around 30 people. It had no toilet or catering facilities (other than a kettle in the corner), but the hall was well used by local groups. The land also housed a number of outbuildings mainly used for storage purposes. The larger of the two halls was a three sectional building, used over the years as the dining hall for Moody’s Holiday Camp, and a mess hall during WW2.

Hopton celebrated the grand opening of its new community venue in September 2010

Despite the inclement weather, around 100 invited guests turned out on Sunday 26 September 2010 to witness the Mayor of Great Yarmouth, Councillor Michael Jeal officially open Hopton’s new village hall complex.

Champagne flowed as people gathered in the marquee for a short speech followed by The Mayor cutting the ribbon. After entering the smaller of the two halls, guests watched a short DVD showing the construction of the new build. The delights of a delicious buffet with refreshments were then served in the main hall.

A special award was presented by the Mayor to Ken Hicks, Project Team Leader for the many hours of voluntary work he has given to the project.

The Village Hall Management Trust (registered charity no. 266474) would like to say a huge thank you to the following:
The Big Lottery Fund, WREN (Waste Recycling Environmental), Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Hopton on Sea Parish Council, Norfolk Association of Local Councils and all residents/local businesses who made financial contributions towards the build. Henry Kelf – Architect, Tony Salmon – Quantity Surveyor, John Youngs builders, Hopton Holiday Village for the bubbly, The Village Hall Management Trustees and Committee, Borough Councillor Sue Hacon and Hopton in Bloom for the wonderful flower arrangements.