Morham | Leisure

Facilities were limited to the village hall (built 1929).

At the end of the period, use of the hall was beginning to revive, having slumped in the 1970s and 1980s. It provided a venue for many social events to about the mid 1970s, such as dances and whist drives and even concerts. It was upgraded in 1963 when the men of the village and surrounding farms, and the parish minister, worked hard and installed a men’s toilet near the main door instead of it opening off the kitchen and made many other improvements. More work was done in the 1990s. Occasionally the hall was hired for a party but mostly it depended on the community council (from 1976) and the regional councillor’s monthly surgery. Since the school closed, elections are held in the hall.

In 1972, after a campaign by villagers, the council built a small play park to the rear of the hall. The chute was deemed unsafe in December 2001 and was removed, leaving just the swings.

The Women’s Rural Institute (formed October 1929) met monthly from September till May, and ran the children’s Christmas party. In 1989 the Morham SWRI celebrated 60 years with a party, but by 2000, there were just eight members remaining. It closed in 2002.

The Young Men’s Recreation Club (or the Carpet Bowling Club) ran for many years but ended in 1996. The annual Burns suppers were discontinued in the 1980s. The youth club was short lived and finished at end of 1977 season. Woman’s Guild and Mother’s Union meetings were mostly held in the manse and ended around 1967.

The Christmas tree still appears outside the hall each year, and is supplied by Beechhill estate; in 1993 the community council paid for a safe outdoor electrical point to be installed, which was a better option than passing the cable through the window.