The Hallraisers
St Michael’s Church Hall Upgrade Project
Melanie Edge, in her role as Churchwarden of St Michael’s Church in Amberley, set up the Hallraisers in 2023, to raise money to fund the refurbishment of the Church Hall.
Our ambition is:
To create a modern, welcoming and comfortable Hall that is financially sustainable and sits at the heart of the community.
St Michael’s Church Hall provides an important community meeting place in Amberley village. It was built in the 1960s and whilst it has been well maintained over the years, it now needs significant capital work to ensure it continues to be welcoming and accessible to all villagers.
The first part of 2023 was taken up with benchmarking visits – we visited Bury, Coldwaltham, Pulborough, Rackham, Storrington and West Chiltington Village Halls to see their facilities and learn how they maintained and replaced them.
Next, we ran a survey, to understand the Amberley community’s priorities for the Hall refurbishment – you can see the results of the survey here.
Community feedback identified four priorities and we divided the work into three phases:
Church Hall Upgrade - Phase 1
Unblocking the drains
After several decades, Michael Donovan and the clever people from Coastal Drains solved the mystery of the blocked kitchen drains. They found a hidden pipe buried underground and extracted a calcified sausage of soap and calcium deposits that measured over 12 inches long. It is believed that it took over 30 years to build to its megalithic proportions.
The kitchen sink now flows freely and the issue, now that it has been identified, will be easy to remedy in the future. The work was funded through a grant by Amberley Parish Council and The Hallraisers thank them for their support, which is much appreciated
Upgrading the toilets
Our work to upgrade the toilets was completed in December 2023 – and we held a ‘grand opening’ at the Christmas Village Lunch, where villagers had the opportunity to see the work – and perhaps even use the new toilets themselves.
To fund this work, we won £10,000 in grants from Amberley Parish Council, Horsham District Council and the National Lottery. Our fundraising events, together with donations, raised the remaining £7,000.
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Guided Tree walk (Pam Keeble)
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Wellbeing Fair (Sheena Skinner)
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Michael Blencoe nature talk (Mel Edge)
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Roving Supper (Dave & Lynne Curry and Mandy Fay)
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Scent Soiree (Michael Donovan)
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Eurochristmas Open Doors (Susan Watson and Drewitt’s Farm)
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Christmas in the Square (Mel Edge)
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Knock! Knock! Christmas Theatre Production (Suzie Coates and Chalkpath Theatre Group
See the buttons at the top of the screen to see photos and information of many of these events
Church Hall Upgrade – Phase 2
March 2025 - Kitchen Upgrade Completed
Before After
After a second year of fundraising, we are delighted to report that St Michael's Church Hall now has a new kitchen! The old, tired cupboards and failed appliances have gone and in their place we have an enlarged, modern workspace with hygienic surfaces, a large oven and a hob, a dishwasher, a fridge-freezer and a Quooker tap that produces boiling water for hot drinks.
Again, our fundraising was through a mix of grants, community events and individual donations, with some particularly enjoyable fundraising events:
Our community fundraising events:
- Sound Bath (Sheena Skinner)
- Burns Supper & Ceilidh (Susan Watson and Claire Bruce)
- Wellness talk by Gemma Ogston (Sheena Skinner)
- Scent Soirée II - The Darling Buds of May (Michael Donovan)
- A Midsummer Celebration (Don Gallagher, Jeff Feakins, Sarah Wheeler and Susan Watson)
- Bastille Day Lunch (Catherine Cunningham, Alistair Sherwood, Sarah Wheeler, Susan Watson and Michael Donovan)
- The Sound of Painting (Michael Joseph and Michael Donovan)
- Christmas Fair (Mel Edge and Sheena Skinner)
- Joy Cameron's Christmas cards (Mike Toynbee and Susan Watson)
- A Christmas Cracker - Chalkpath Theatre Group (Suzie Coates)
- Tunics Galore (Stella Kemp and Susan Watson)
- Drewitt's Farm Christmas Around The World (Susan Watson, Sheena Skinner and Drewitt's Farm)
Sheena Skinner, Susan Watson, Michael Donovan, Mel Edge
Sadly, two of the original Hallraisers, Sheena Skinner and Michael Donovan, have now moved away from Amberley. We thank them for their Friendship and the enormous creativity, fun and drive that they brought to the first two phases of the project.
August 2025 - Church Hall Upgrade - Phase 3, The Main Hall
We have now started the final part of our refurbishment project - the main hall itself. Many of us enjoy the space and opportunity that the Church Hall offers to connect with others - but the decrepit heating, poor acoustics, grimy floor (despite regular mopping) and the bottleneck created by the dividing doors during events limits the enjoyment and the hall's potential.
We started the design process at an open day in April 2025, where, over coffee and cake, people were invited to discuss their ideas for how the space could be improved. A Design Group has now been put together and is currently building on ideas from the April open day to create a costed Plan, which will enable us to start fundraising in earnest.
Mel Edge - project management and liaising with the PCC
Catherine Cunningham and Val Galbraith - design
Susan Watson - fundraising and community engagement
We have already held two fundraising events for Phase 3, with more planned.
- Roving Supper (Mandy Fay and Lynne & Dave Curry)
- Amberley Revival (Roger Agate and Mike Toynbee)
If you would like to support the team or donate to a Hallraisers Event, please contact Mel Edge -
SAVE THE DATE!
Thursday, 23rd October, from 6.30pm in the Amberley Church Hall:
Michael's Film and Curry Night
Cosy up and enjoy Churchwarden Michael Davey's delicious curry, as well as a slice of Amberley life from the 1930's in the form of a charming rom-com called The Man from Toronto. Filmed on location in Amberley, it gives a fabulous insight into 1930's rural Amberley and includes a village parade, complete with brass bands and floats.
Saturday, 29th November, from 10am - 4pm in the Amberley Church Hall:
Hallraisers Christmas Market
Why not start the advent season with the Hallraisers Christmas Market, when the church hall will be filled with the fragrant scents of spiced apple juice, mince pies and festive gingerbread? Stock up on festive gifts at local artisan stalls, including the 2026 Greener Amberley Calendar, handcrafted gifts, festive treats and unique decorations. Children can also enjoy visiting Santa's Grotto. What's not to love?
Thank you to everyone who has supported us on our fundraising journey so far!
