Community

The earliest known mention of Rodmersham was about the year 1100. It is known there was a community here before the Norman Conquest, as place names ending in ‘ham’ are of anglo-saxon origin. The name Rodmersham derives from the settlement of a man named Hrothmaer. It is believed he may have lived between 700 and 800 AD. His dwelling is believed to have been sited near to the area which is now Rodmersham Church.

In early times Rodmersham appeared to be a parish made up of a small village centre and a number of small hamlets including The Green, Upper Rodmersham, Dungate and Rawling Street but over time the main population has moved towards the Green.

The first village hall was erected in 1922, before this time local meetings were held at the Church. It was called the Rodmersham War Memorial Hall and was built after the village formed a committee in 1918 to create a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives in World War I. Fundraising took place and an ex-wartime military hut was donated to the parish and placed on a plot donated by a local landowner. This site is the northern end of what is now the village hall car park. It was also at this time the charitable constitution was adopted to manage the running and hire of the building.

The hall became the centre of community life with dances, family parties, jumble sales, WI meetings and even a library. However by the 1960s the building’s structure and facilities were in need of improvement and so in 1966 a village vote was taken on whether to refurbish or rebuild. The majority voted for the latter and so 6 years of hard work fundraising began led by the Chairman of the hall Cyril Barrett along with the Secretary Connie Williams and the Treasurer Dennis Williams.

The new hall was built and opened on 22 February 1972. This is the same hall that stands today although it had a small extension added in 1996. The activities it’s used for have changed with sports clubs, school events, plays and local societies meetings. It is still run as a charitable trust and the committee works as hard as ever to keep it maintained for use by the community.