The Jessie Hughes Institute (Charity Number 510073), known on a day-to-day basis as ‘The Jessie Hughes Village Hall’, was established under a lease and trust deed dated 10 October 1975. The charity’s objectives are ‘the provision and maintenance of a village hall for use by the inhabitants of the Parish of Rushton in Cheshire without distinction of political, religious or other opinions including use of meetings, lectures and classes and for other forms of recreation and leisure time occupation with the object of improving the conditions of life for the said inhabitants’.
The Village Hall was rebuilt during 2008, replacing a dilapidated wooden building beyond economic repair with rapidly falling community use. The cost of building the new Hall was approximately £220,000, financed by a grant of £180,000 from Vale Royal Borough Council and £40,000 from the WREN Landfill Communities Fund. Local fundraising paid for equipment and car parking.
We estimate 200 different local people of all ages and backgrounds regularly use the Hall each month; footfall is about 1,700 per month for weekly/monthly activities. We estimate 80% of regular Hall users live within a 3 mile radius.
The Village Hall Management Committee (Charity Trustees) has 12 members who are all volunteers giving their time and energy to help with the day-to-day running of the Hall. Additionally, about 10 other local people help to run social activities, serve refreshments and organise fundraising events in the Hall. Also, several assist with general maintenance such as grass cutting, hedge trimming, and tending to flower boxes, which all helps to save money.
