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ABINGDON MEMORIAL PARISH HALL 

IWERNE MINSTER  DORSET

 

 

 

 

Abingdon Memorial Parish Hall has a very long history.

 

In 1808 a meeting house, which is now Abingdon Memorial Parish Hall, was built for Anabaptists and was completed in 1810.  The building is loosely described at Georgian in style.  During 1832 the Baptist Union was formed and the Meeting House became the Baptist Chapel and was named the Ebenezer Chapel, hence the plaque under the eves on the gable end which reads Ebenezer Chapel, Built 1810, Enlarged 1860.

 

The baptistery (or baptismal tank) remains under the floor and can be seen in the delineation of the floor boards.  At a later date a "schoolroom" was added to the western end of the original building (now the kitchen).

 

The building continued to be used as a place of worship by the Baptists until 1960 when the un-expired residue of the lease was sold to a Iwerne resident.  Immediately after that the part of the lease relating to the building (not the burial ground) was assigned by way of a Deed of Gift to Trustees for the use as a Methodist Chapel.

 

In 1978 as the rent due under the lease had not been paid or demanded for at least 20 years, the 1000 year lease became a "simple fee" which meant the land and buildings became a freehold property.

 

In 1979 with declining congregations the Methodist Church Trustees decided to dispose of the building and it was acquired by a Mr Tahu Ronald Pearce Hole of Oak House, Iwerne Minster, with the intention of donating the building to the community for use as a Parish Hall.

 

In April 1980 by a Deed of Gift Mr Hole conveyed the freehold property, being the former Methodist Chapel and Schoolroom to the Custodian Trustees of the Charity and the property was to be known as Abingdon Memorial Parish Hall (named after Lady Abingdon a close personal friend of Mr Hole's wife) and to be used for the benefit of the Parishioners of Iwerne Minster.

 

Since then the hall has been run and maintained by the Trustees and has been used for various functions within the Village and hired out to residents of the Village and surrounding areas.