[Credit: All images and text provided by, and used with the permission of, Ingram Village Hall Committee (2019). All images and text were first published on their respective dates on the original IngramBreamishValley website.]

Background

INGRAM VILLAGE HALL was opened in 1928 to serve as a Church Hall and a local community facility. It is a registered charity, organized and managed by a volunteer committee whose aim is to maximize the use of the Hall for social, recreational and educational functions. Apart from a few improvements and repairs over the years the building remained in its original state until 2010, following the village’s selection to join British Gas Green Streets project.

Ingram Village Hall Refurbishment

The Ingram Village Hall and Community bid was chosen as the winner for North East England in the British Gas Green Streets project, following a presentation by the Village Hall Committee at Gosforth Park Hotel as part of the selection process on 27 October 2009.

As well as providing funding to add to the considerable amount already raised (Action with Communities in Rural England £7,500; Northumberland National Park Sustainable Development Fund £20,000; Ingram Show £4,000; Councillor Murray’s Capital Programme £1,000), monies were made available to support renewable energy improvements for 20 buildings in the community. The process was as follows.

• Each of the 20 households were assessed as to their energy efficiency and potential for improvement by a British Gas representative.    
• Recommendations were made and decisions reached about what would be done, in agreement with each householder.    
• Each householder had to sign up to British Gas as their energy supplier for the duration of the project. This was because all improvements were monitored, and data fed back on how much energy was saved in the following year.   
• The cost of the improvements was negotiated with each householder and funded by British Gas.   

[Above: Ingram Village Hall Committee members on 12 December 2009, having received the cheque from the National Parks Sustainable Development Fund Project Team. (Photographs courtesy of Northumberland National Park).]

Ingram Village Hall Refurbishment in Pictures

Work began in January 2010 and by July 2010 Ingram had an operational ‘green’ village hall. The following is a photographic record of the refurbishment.

6 January 2010

After the old internal wall cladding and floors have been stripped out, a gang of local volunteers, young and old alike, turned out to complete the stripping out and leave the hall ready for Chris McCann’s men to prepare the walls for waterproofing the building. The work was ably supervised by a cock robin, who had taken advantage of the open building to seek shelter.

19 January 2010

Chris McCann’s men beginning the job of lining the internal walls.

25 January 2010

The volunteer team barrow in the hoggin for Chris McCann’s men to spread.

1 February 2010

The new floor is taking shape.

16 February 2010

The floor insulation is complete and covered in concrete. The wall lining is in progress and the building team take a moment to pose for the camera.

15 March 2010

First fix electrical work in progress, wall insulation is well underway, and roof insulation has arrived, awaiting reinforcing works to be completed.

26 March 2010

Stripping off of the old roofing is quickly finished and the new roofing insulation material installed. Jack Welch, Green Streets project manager discusses progress and options with local builder, Chris McCann. Meanwhile inside the building, new wood panelling is fitted to the lower part of the walls.

11 May 2010

The village hall was sufficiently complete to allow it to be used as a polling station for the recent general election. Fantastic progress has been made as you will see from the images below. We particularly love the refurbished roof ventilation cone which is part of the character of the hall and is looking magnificent.

The Photovoltaic panels are now all in place on the roof, tiling is complete on the North side and the interior wall panelling is nearly complete.

18 July 2010

These pictures show the underfloor heating in place and the new flooring being laid. The roof beams have been reinforced to take the extra weight of the PV panels and have been stained to the original colour. Outside, on the North side of the building (tucked away from public view) the heat exchanger and the little cabin housing (containing the heat pump controls and ‘buffer’ hot water tank for the air to water system) are all smartened up and operational. The roof vent is back in its proper place and will also be operational again. With the dado in place and the interior paintwork complete, the hall looks smart and inviting.

The air to water heating system has been installed, underfloor heating all in place and new flooring laid. With the wood panelling and walls painted the village hall looks fresh and welcoming and feels warm and dry. Only a few minor jobs to be done and the work will be complete. Congratulations to everyone involved.

Ingram Village Hall Committee (2010)