History of the Bisley WI Village Hall

The Hall was originally built by the Bisley & Eastcombe Women’s Institute in 1925.  In 1933 the Eastcombe Women’s Institute was affiliated in its own right and thereafter ownership and management of the Hall fell to the Bisley Women’s Institute alone.   In 1991 a portion of the land attached to the Hall was sold to the Church Commissioners for England for the construction of the new Vicarage which now stands opposite the Hall.  As part of the sale the Church Commissioners were required to construct a section of road to connect Manor Street with the new Vicarage.  This section of road remains privately owned and responsibility for its upkeep lies with the Management Committee of the Hall.  A public right of way runs along this road between Manor Street and the Bear car park.

With the proceeds of the sale of land to the Church Commissioners and a Lottery grant, the Bisley WI carried out an extensive refurbishment of the Hall in 2001, bringing it up to its present good state of repair.  Over the years, however, the membership of the Bisley WI had declined and the responsibility of managing and maintaining the Hall had become progressively more onerous for the remaining members.  In 2002, therefore, the Bisley WI offered to donate the Hall to the Village, in return for the right to hold a certain number of meetings there free of charge in perpetuity.  A Steering Group was set up to manage the transfer process and in 2004 the Bisley WI Village Hall charity was established by Deed of Trust to manage the Hall.