On the 6th of March 1979 Jenny Stapley called a meeting to raise money for,
and to build the Community Hall, on land sold to Trustees for £150 in July 1970.
A Committee was formed and the Winchelsea Beach Community Association came in to existence and was registered as a charity.
For the next two years, until 26th August 1981 when she officially opened the completed Hall, Jenny’s life was taken over with the paperwork involved with planning, grants etc as well as fund raising with Committee Members and Residents of the Beach.
Fundraising consisted of Coffee Mornings held in the Church Room, raising £50 to £60 each time, a Fete in the Harbour Field on the 7th August from 6 till 10pm when 100 hot dogs and 200 burgers were sold.
On the 5th November a bonfire was lit on the site of the Hall and fireworks, supplied by spectators, were lit and 150 hot dogs were sold. It was a freezing cold night, there had been snow showers during the day.
Jumble Sales, Social Evenings, a sponsored Parachute Jump by five male residents and a £200 grant from East Sussex County Council helped to raise over £10,000 by April 1980.
The groundwork for the Hall was done by for free by a resident in the building trade and many other volunteers helped with the erection of the wooden building. Extensions were added to the Hall in 1982 and 1984.
For two years the Community Association had run alongside the Winchelsea Beach Residents Association which had been in existence for many years. At a special meeting in November 1981 the Residents Association disbanded, transferring it’s property, assets and liabilities to the Community Association.
Written by
Lynne Sutton Committee Member of the WBRA & WBCA since March 1977