Thornton Community Centre

The trustees of Thornton Community Centre would like to give huge thanks to all residents and visitors who have supported the various fund-raising events at the hall over the past couple of years.

These include regular quiz nights, scarecrow festival, art exhibition, carol singing, ceilidh, fashion show and much more.

The money raised has gone to assist the community centre make improvements and purchase new equipment for the hall.

The hall was erected in 1973 thanks mainly to the fund-raising efforts of residents Bill Welsh, Leonard Chaplin, Iris Gleeson and many others; but forty-seven years on and there is much to do to upgrade the hall.

Whilst many of the improvements can’t be seen by the public, they include a new kitchen, purchase of sports equipment, a portable public address system and microphones, new crockery, new interior noticeboards and more; culminating in the purchase and erection, at substantial cost, of two, new, large noticeboards at the entrance to the hall.

Another huge thanks here to resident, wildlife artist Alexia Swirkowski, who has given hours of her time to produce a beautiful village logo for us which has been used to great effect on the new noticeboards.

To find out more about this very talented artist – check out her website https://www.alexiaclaire.com/

Hopefully you will gradually see this logo appear around the village not just at the Community Centre.

Other ongoing projects to be financed at the hall include the purchase of a projector and screen, the refurbishment of the toilets, installing a hearing loop, construction of an area of decking off the patio doors at the hall, and doubling the size of the car park.

Would you like to offer your help for a few hours a month by becoming a Trustee at the community centre? Meetings are held once a month (Covid permitting) on a Thursday evening.

The Community Centre events sub-committee have worked tirelessly for months to bring ‘entertainment’ to the village, trying hard to find something for all age groups, whilst raising much needed funds.  

But we had also become very aware that we really need to make improvements in other areas of the village too, which we can’t do under the ‘umbrella’ of the Community Centre (one charity is not allowed to help another financially), and we had just made the decision to form an independent group of village fundraisers that could help not just the Community Centre but also the church, and any cause that needed help locally; including raising funds for a seating area behind the hall, flower troughs, Christmas decorations, annual seniors Christmas party and more.

This has been discussed with the Parish Council and we have the full support of our local parish councillor Colin Harris.

Then Covid19 struck and brought all our plans to a halt.

We are hoping to start up again in the New Year once we can get together again in person.

If you would like to become involved and help the village in any way, whether it be to raise funds, or grow plants for the new planters the Parish council are purchasing for us (with a grant from Bardon Quarries), or to help fund raise in general/apply for grants or sponsorship, have any fresh ideas then email thorntonvillage@aol.com and with your permission I will keep a database of ‘helpers’ to call upon once we have beaten Covid and can begin to get back to normal.

To keep up to date with what is happening in an around the village check out and become a follower of the village website www.thorntonvillage.org.

If you have information relevant to Thornton or immediate surrounds don’t just put it on FB or Nextdoor remember to send it for inclusion on the website too.