Mary Esther Hollway Memorial Trust
Stanhoe’s Reading Room was set up in the late 1800s “to provide a village reading room and club for the use and mental improvement of the male inhabitants”.
The Reading Room is now administered – with a more inclusive remit – by a charity, the Mary Esther Hollway Memorial Reading Room (registered charity number 208302), generally known in the village as the MEHM Trust.
The MEHM Trust also looks after the playing field behind the Reading Room.
As of June 2019 the trustees are (chair), Jill Husselby, Anne Jackson, Nick Lyons, Mark Roche and Roddy Rowe.
The Reading Room improvement project
In recent years the MEHM Trustees have worked hard to modernise and improve the Reading Room. The result is a welcoming multi-purpose hall that attracts users from outside Stanhoe as well as within the village.
At the beginning of 2015 we installed electric radiators to replace the old radiant heaters. In the same year the Trust was able to buy the freehold of the playing field next to the Reading Room, making sure that this valuable amenity will always be under the direct control of the village.
This was followed by new flooring, furnishings, lighting and redecoration, plus a second phase of maintenance work on the adjoining Caretaker’s Cottage.
Ideas for the future include internet access, a kitchen refit, and a partition to separate the old Reading Room from the extension.
The improvements have been paid for by a generous bequest from the former Stanhoe Sports and Social Club and a grant from the Jack’s Lane Wind Farm Community Fund, as well as fundraising activities in the village.
You can support the ongoing success of the Reading Room by becoming a Trustee (see above) or a Friend of the Reading Room – one of an informal group of people who help with particular activities without the responsibility of being Trustees.
If you’d like to join the Friends, become a Trustee, or just find out more about the modernisation project, contact MEHM Trust chair .
We welcome donations, which we use to improve the Reading Room and promote activities for the enjoyment of Stanhoe and Barwick residents.