The Waterloo Room
The Waterloo Room is the Trust’s Function Room
The Waterloo Room hosts a wide range of activities throughout the year. Most are organised and run by the volunteers and supporters of the charity.
Here the Trust holds its
Annual General Meeting
and two of its major Fundraising Events of the year, our
Garden Party
that is held early in August held at The Elms, and then rounding of the year with our
Christmas Fair
that is very popular.
Maintenance of The Waterloo Room
The Grade II* Listed status extends into the whole building of The Elms and Waterloo Room, both internally and externally. This in effect means that materials used in maintenance have to be consistant and compatible with what was originally used 200 years ago.
For any building, the essential priority of maintenance has to be the consideration of the weather proofing first, assuming the fundamental structure remains sound.
All buildings require to be mainitained as the detrimental effects of the harsh weather extremes of temperature and wind, rain, snow and frost all take their toll.
The amount of maintenance also depends on the quality of the original contruction, and many old buildings like this one, were not necessarily built for the enjoyment of people 200 years later.
Previous plans (2018-19) for the Waterloo Room roof have had to be shelved as too costly to take on as whole project, and Covid-19 has meant any planning, surveying and costing had to be put in abeyance until the epidemic was under control.
The slate roof of the Waterloo Room is old and in need of some repair. It is thought that problematic areas could be attended to on a phased basis.
The northern wall of the Waterloo Room, accessed via the neighbour's garden has a coating of render, which is in need of repair. We are grateful for the neighbour's co-operation for access.
When the Trustees have been able to fully assess the extent of the works needed to the roof, they can turn their attention to the interior of the Waterloo Room that is long in need of redecorating,
but also attention is indicated to some damp ingress lower down as ground level.
The project will need expert help and that will be costly. The Trustees can pitch for a grant. Our applications previously to the Heritage Lottery Fund for two grants have both been unsuccessful.
To apply for any grant, the extent of the project will need to be costed beforehand and there will be three objectives, the roof, the north wall, and the interior redecoration.
The objective of The Manor Trust is to preserve The Elms and Waterloo Room and as charity with only limited endowments, we have to rely on the generous support of the public's donations and any future legacies received.
This drive can be helped in a less painful way for the donors by giving smaller amounts regularly, probably best monthly.
If you would like to become a donor towards this cause, you are welcome to make your donation here
or you can send a cheque payable to The Manor Trust and send to The Trust Manager, The Elms, 2 Lower Road, Old Bedhampton, Havant PO9 3LH.
Thank you.
Hire the Waterloo Room
The Waterloo Room is available for hire for meetings, lectures, training sessions, and other events that the room lends itself to.
For more details please contact our Trust Manager, Paula Humby on 023 92 484444 or
trust.office@manortrust.org.uk
For more details on line please click
here
History of the Waterloo Room
The volunteers who run the Manor Trust's small museum called the 'Bedhampton Historical Collection' have researched the history of the Waterloo Room and put together a leaflet detailing the various owners through the years and something of their history.
This leaflet can be read on-line by clicking
here
.
Monthly Cafe with Pre-Loved Books for Sale
This is held on the second Tuesday of each month from 10am to 12noon
Funds raised go towards the maintenance of The Waterloo Room
The Elms Community Cafe
Our Community Cafe is held on the second Tuesday of the month from 10am to12noon in the Waterloo Room
All are welcome, to meet with and to make new friends and the Elms Library of pre-loved books will be open.
There's always coffee or tea and a selection of cakes and biscuits.
What is the Community Cafe all about?
Well, firstly it’s about your enjoyment of some good coffee, with perhaps a cake or biscuit in a pleasant Regency Banqueting Hall, and an opportunity to unwind for a while and meet people to chat with, or just to sit and muse on whatever is your pleasure. Along with this brief interlude in one’s life comes the opportunity to find a book to read and to enjoy, very economically, for after all, ‘reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.’ A chance to gain one’s enjoyment and mental stimulation from elsewhere than a screen.
All proceeds go to the Manor Trust - this small friendly charity that is keeping The Elms and Waterloo Room, one of only four examples of the 'Strawberry Hill House' Neo-Gothic Revival architecture in the country, 'all up-together' - and that is a costly enterprise.
The structure of the Waterloo Room is complex and unusual in its juxta-positioning to The Elms, which itself is already complex having been extended and improved over the many years since the 17th Century core of the house was built. The trustees want to make major and long overdue refurbishments to The Waterloo Room, having sent £100,000 on The Elms in 2018, both internally and externally. If interested to know further details, please '
Contact Us
' and one of the Trust's team will get back to you.
Fancy to join our team of volunteers that run the Community Cafe or help general at our fundraising events, and help this charity without digging into your pocket or purse, please let us know (see '
Contact Us
') or you can phone Paula on 023 9248 4444.
Our Talks
Talks are held on occasions during the year on a wide range of topics. They are arranged on behalf of the Manor Trust by the trust's volunteers. PLease watch our News page and Facebook.
There is a small charge to attend our Waterloo Room Talks and the proceeds are all put towards the maintenance of this lovely historic Regency Banqueting Hall. The Waterloo Room is by way of being the community heart of the Conservation Village of Old Bedhampton.
Your ongoing interest and support is very much appreciated by the trustees and the volunteers at The Manor Trust.
For more details of how you can support the trust, please go to our '
Fundraising
' page or please go to '
Contact Us
' page on this website.
The Waterloo Room laid for dining in 2015
New Look - in 2016
On the right can be seen the new look tables and chairs - the tables are lighter for moving and fold to give more open space at events, and the new chairs are more comfortable and also stack to give more space when required.
Importantly, the new furniture is more fire-resistant.
With very many grateful thanks to our very active supporting organisation, the Secret Bookshop, its proprietors Nigel and Wendy Gossop were able to gift to the trust a complete set of new folding tables with fine light oak wooden tops and sturdy folding legs.
Here we see the new tables and seats all ready prepared for the Thursday Luncheon Club.
The Luncheon Club meets each Thursday at 12 noon.
It is visited for a 2-course freshly cooked and served (and washed up) by volunteers and is enjoyed by up to 25 elderly locals every week; a luncheon for a very modest contribution followed by a cup of tea!
The damask table covers, replaced after the meal is over, were kindly donated by a supporter, who wishes to remain anonymous,
Past Events held in the Waterloo Room
The Thursday Luncheon Club
This club meets Thursdays at 12 noon in the Waterloo Room to enjoy a freshly cooked 2-course meal followed by tea or coffee, all for a modest sum.
To know more and possibly join in, please contact the Trust Manager
here
The club is a happy gathering of retired people living locally, who come to enjoy luncheon and getting together.
The Trust’s residents are also invited to come and enjoy these excellent two-course meals, all prepared and served by volunteers, and the company the club offers.
Local Heritage
If you have an interest in the local heritage of villages such as Old Bedhampton and in particular its heritage buildings, then we would like to hear from you.
The Manor Trust is the charity that was set up to maintain The Elms, which is a Grade II 'Star' Listed Building with 'Strawberry Hill House Neo-Gothic' Elevations with its Waterloo Room and its Tower.
Your support for this project will be much appreciated whether it be as a active volunteer helping with the building or fund-raising or just with a donation.
To read more please
click here
Please
click here
to find how to contact us and we will look forward to meeting you.
Tuesday 13th February
Save Old Bedhampton Petition
In the Waterloo Room at 2 pm a petition of 1,785 signatories was handed to the Deputy Mayor (Peter Wade, next years Mayor, as Madam Mayor was indisposed) by Bradley Barber (7yrs).
This was followed by a marvellous speech by Eden Hillier-Smith (10yrs) describing growing up in the area and imploring the deputy Mayor to use the petition to get the Council to reconsider their plans and safeguard the Conservation Area for the future.
The Deputy Mayor responded, visibly touched.
Tea, coffee, cakes, chocolates galore and fresh pancakes were enjoyed thanks to a small army of volunteers.
Richard Jones took the photos and Cllr Peter Wade and his wife walked the Conservation Area with Ron Tate before leaving after just over an hour.
The petition will now be added to the submissions (H22) to the Draft Local Plan consultation.
More can be seen on the
village page
on this website and on the village's own website
Monday 12th February 2018 at 7pm
General The Lord Richards, Patron of The Manor Trust, gave his talk to a capacity audience. Using maps of various parts of the world, he described the various political situations where tensions exist and explained their countries' leaders short and long term aspirations.
Clearly very knowledgeable on a wide range of geo-political issues, it was a treat for us all to be given such insights that we never normally read in the newspapers of hear on the TV, let alone in 'social media.'
His views on the poor statesmanship in so many countries were refreshingly interesting and he gave his thoughts on the possible causes.
His talk was concluded by answering some very apposite questions including one from his wife, Lady Richards. We hope to hear him speak again.
Saturday 7th October 2017
Unveiling of the 50th Anniversary Plaque
A very special occasion for the trust was held on this morning, the culmination of the 50th year - Golden Anniversary celebrations of The Manor Trust - at which a plaque in commemoration was unveiled by the Trust Patron General The Lord Richards of Herstmonceux in the company of the Mayor of Havant Cllr Elaine Shimbart, her Consort Cllr Gerald Shimbart, and the Member of Parliament for the Havant Constituency Alan Mak. Also present were the Trust Vice-President Richard Pratt, the trustees and previous trustees, Jenny Wride, Mike Sellis and Margaret Stanger, and trust staff.
We were especially delighted to see key trust supporters of very many years Mr Rob Hoy and his wife, and Angela Maxwell and her husband, being son and daughter respectively of Cynthia Hoy, joint founding trustee with Bernard Stanley and donor of The Manor House to the trust, 50 years ago.
It was with some sadness that Founding Trustee Bernard Stanley was not well enough to attend in person, but he was able to see the event as it unrolled by the use of a direct video link. The assembled party was able to give him 'three cheers' and wish him well.
After the unveiling the guests all moved into the Waterloo Room for refreshments.
The event Master of Ceremony was Nigel Gossop who made all the introductions and proposed a toast to 'The Manor Trust' that was roundly applauded.
50th Anniversary Celebration of The Manor Trust
Bedhampton 1st & 2nd July 2017
Over the weekend of 1st and 2nd of July the 50th Anniversary of the founding of The Manor Trust was celebrated.
Formed in 1967 by Cynthia Hoy (Dec'd) and Bernard Stanley (Trustee) after acquiring The Manor House, which otherwise would have demolished for the building of flats.
The central part of the Manor House is Elizabethan and the two wings are Victorian. Subsequently the Manor House became a Grade II Listed Building so preserving it for posterity.
The trust went on to acquire The Elms in Lower Road also in the village of Old Bedhampton and also a Grade II Listed Building, and later acquired the Lodge, next door to The Elms and where the Trustees created a Registered Residential Care Home.
Sadly, the Trust could no longer afford to keep the Manor House open and run as Sheltered Housing that it had done for 47 years for up to 7 residents. The building was sold on the understanding the purchasers were going to live in the Manor House as their private residence (see more about the Manor House further down the
News page
).
To celebrate this occasion approximately 40 Members and Friends of the Trust together with active volunteers of the charity came to a 'tea with cake party' in the Waterloo Room where the most senior in terms of age as 'Guest of Honour' was Mr Bernard Stanley, Founding Trustee, fortunately able to be present whilst convalescing from an illness.
We were also very pleased to be able to welcome to the party the Patron of The Manor Trust, General The Lord Richards and his wife Lady Richards.
There was a toast to 'The Manor Trust' proposed by trustee Sue Maclaurin-Pratt and the Vice-President asked Nigel Gossop to accept a gift of a bottle of his favourite tipple as his special treat after his and his wife Wendy's very many labours for and on behalf of the Manor Trust.
News - October 2015
Restoration of the Waterloo Room Tower at The Elms.
The photo on the right shows the poor condition of the paint and stucco taken in February 2015.
The restoration of the tower was finally completed on Saturday 10th October by putting the finishing touches to the painting of the moulds and features in white.
On Friday 23rd October a small celebration of the safe and satisfactory completion of the works was held in the Waterloo Room.
An account of the whole project is available on this website's
Fundraising page
.
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