always in the form of grand gestures; he allowed village
women to use boiling water from the brewery on their
washdays in the days when clothes were scrubbed in
wooden troughs. Most cottages had no sinks, and of course,
no running water or electricity.

The hall was designed by Messrs Hunt and Coates, Architects,
of  Bury  St  Edmunds  and  was  built  by  Messrs  Grimwood  of

Sudbury. It measures  50ft  by 24ft,  the  outside  is rough  cast,
panelled with massive oak posts.  There  is an  entrance which
forms a  cloak room and  leads  through  double  doors into  the

main hall. Behind is a spacious kitchen, fitted with cupboards,
sink, tables, stove and all necessary apparatus for provision of
teas which will be served at whist drives etc. The water supply

The brewery supplied the elderly with whisky, beer and
food at Christmas. David Ward personally bought the
village  cricket  team  a  pavilion  and  was  generally
responsible for funding the construction of the Foxearth’s
Men’s Club in Love Lane, now a comfortable house. Some
years later in January 1928, he donated land to fulfil his
ambition of building a village hall and gave all of the
money required except for £170. The hall was dedicated to
the memory of his dead son, Bernard.

is  laid  on  from  the  brewery  and  sanitary  arrangements  for
both ladies and gentlemen, are  of the most modern  type  and
are connected with the main sewer of the village.

The  hall  is  furnished  with  folding  hard  wooden  chairs  and
folding  card  tables,  it  is  lighted  by  the  Kohler  Automatic
Installation  as  sold  by  Messrs  Dixon's,  Motor  Engineering

Company of Sudbury, the first switch sets the engine in motion
and the hall is immediately flooded with a brilliant white light,
the  installation is of the most up  to  date form of lighting and

Foxearth  Village Hall was  formally  opened by Mrs St Leger
Glyn,  on  Wednesday  evening.  Mr  David  Ward,  chairman  of

obviates the need for storage batteries. The indoor decoration
is cream with a four foot dado.

the building committee, said it was his cherished dream to see
the hall opened, it was only two years ago that they formed the

 The  hall is well lighted and  is ten feet high at the eaves,  the
ceiling is covered in and the acoustic properties are effective.

first  building  committee,  now  they  were  in  their  brand  new
hall.

The business committee was:
Mr    D.Ward    (chairman)    Mr    C.Hurst    (secretary)    Rev

Mrs St Leger Glyn, said that it was with real pleasure that she
came here tonight, she declared the hall opened and Mr Ward

G.H.Basset  (treasurer)  Messrs  H.E.Ward  A.Maxim  F.Levick
E.Harper   F.Woods,  S.Eady.  Contributing   to  the  following
concert   were   F.Cornish   H.Ince   H.E.Ward   (vocal   solos),
W.Coote (comic songs) Mr Broyd (saxophone and violin) The

presented  her  with  a  box  of  chocolates  and  a  bouquet  of
carnations.  The  Rev  Basset,  treasurer,  said  that  they  had

collected  £  754  12s  9d,  by  means  of  fetes,  whist  drives  and
subscriptions, the cost of the hall was £ 787 10s and they had

Foxearth Trio (H.E.Ward-A.Maxim-F.Rush) sang old  English
songs and Pearce's dance orchestra.

paid the builder that amount less £ 100, which they owed him,
they had spent £ 250 on furniture and roughly wanted £ 125 to

be free.
Mr  Basset said he  thought the  reason  that village halls  had

innovation but warnings lay ahead. David Ward must have
been a reassuring figure in those times and comfortably
locked  within  the  village  embrace.  An  acceptable
touchstone for a community struggling to preserve a
traditional  order  in  the  swirling  tides  of  post-war
transformation.

sprung  up  everywhere  since  the  war,  was  that  the  men  in
France  had  got  together  more  than  ever  before.  Mr  Basset

thanked Mr Ward for all he had done, nobody knew how much
time  and  money  Mr  Ward  had  put  into  the  hall,  he  had

doubled what  had  been  collected,  in  conclusion,  the speaker
thanked the anonymous donor of the electric light installation.