Rathmell Reading Room

The Reading Room is Rathmell’s village hall.

Rathmell Reading Room is located on the corner of Main Street and Hesley Lane, in the centre of the village (Google Map link). It was established in 1901 by a trust deed which gave as its purpose, “a village hall for the use of the inhabitants of Rathmell and the neighbourhood for meetings, lectures and classes and for other forms of recreation and leisure time occupation”, the object of which was, to “improve the conditions of life for the inhabitants”

It is a charitable organisation run by a management committee on behalf of the charity trustees.

2021 Committee

The committee (since the 2021 AGM) is:

  • Sharon Gernon – chair
  • Sue Cariss
  • Christine Chandley
  • John Ketchell
  • Thomas Eagle
  • Sheila Rushton
  • Caroline Sibson
  • Richard Vesey

The charity trustees are Christopher Weston, Bryan Procter, Keith Gerrard, and Duncan Currie

What is it used for?

The Reading Room is available for community club meetings, parties, and celebrations and for all sorts of private hire events. It is also used by Ribble Banks Parish Council for meetings and as a polling station. The hall seats 50 people and has good kitchen and toilet facilities, a car park, and a full size snooker table in the upstairs room.

The Reading Room Committee also organises a calendar of monthly (in normal cirumstances) events that aim to provide a centre for village life and bring the local community together. Events are put on the website ahead of time, so if we’ve been diligent and there’s something planned, you’ll find details here.

How can I hire the Reading Room?

Bookings can be arranged by contacting Sue Cariss at sue.cariss@btinternet.com. The cost of hiring the hall is £12 per morning, afternoon, or evening session, or £20 for two sessions.

How to contact the Reading Room

For general enquiries, you can email us at: readingroom@rathmellvillage.org.uk

AGM 2021

Reading Room AGM was held on Tuesday 26th October 2021.

The minutes of the meeting can be read here.

Item 7 of the agenda which listed committee members retiring and those wishing to stand can be read here.

The Chair’s Report can be read here.

Post-pandemic meetings resume

At the beginning of August 2021 the Reading Room Committee held its first face-to-face meeting since the start of the pandemic. The main outcome of this meeting was the resignation of the majority of the committee, due to a number of personal reasons – advancing years, ill-health etc. However a new committee has now emerged following an Open Meeting, a community-wide questionnaire and appeal for helpers.

The new community has hit the ground running having organised a very successful MacMillan Coffee Morning on 25th September, which raised over £600 for the Cancer Support Charity. Further events are now being arranged for the rest of this year.

AGM 2019

The minutes of the last AGM in 2019 (with 2020’s postponed by the pandemic) can be read here.

The Chairman’s Report for the 2019 can be read here.

“Annual report” from the chair of the committee, for the period October 2018 – October 2019.

Calendar of events – 2019

As a reminder (or for people newly moved to the village), the calendar for 2019 can be downloaded as a PDF.

Photos of the Reading Room

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