A Brief History of Kelsey Hall

Kelsey Hall started life as a brick garage! Charles Richardson was the first owner of the plot of land named ‘Kelsey’, and from 1948 the Ifold Gardening Club (IGC) was allowed to use the garage.
In 1953 the land was bought from Charles Richardson by Ifold Freeholders & Residents Association (IFRA) after much fundraising. This enabled Kelsey Hall to be officially recognised as a community centre.
The brick garage was subsequently annexed by the addition of an ex-army hut, purchased via fundraising by IFRA and IGC. The brick garage then served as a library, supported by WSCC.
IGC helped out again in 1971 when the army hut had to be replaced by 3 prefabs.
In 1978, supported by local councils and charitable trusts, a permanent structure was built.
In 1980 Kelsey Hall was registered as a Charity (No. 281056) and this was also when Kelsey Hall Management Committee (KHMC) was formed.
In 2002, more fundraising and a lottery grant enabled an extension to each wing to form the present-day venue.
In 2009 the land was vested in the name of Official Custodian of Charities.

More information about the history of Kelsey Hall and Ifold itself can be found in the archives of the Plaistow, Ifold & Kirdford Local History Society which are stored at Kelsey Hall. Find out more.