As I promised I have now uploaded a copy of the “constitution” however now that we have it, its not what we expected, its not the sort of document maintained by the usual committees around the village. It is in fact the Scheme of the Charity itself and is a legal document involving the Charity Commissioners themselves.

Understanding the first three sections is proving very difficult because it is using references, understandings and terminology going back initially to the document’s origin in 1982 but referring in turn to the conveyance of 1920.

The key thing to bear in mind on reading the document is that all the references to the village hall are nothing to do with the current hall. The 1920 reference is Sir Walter Gilbey signing over the various properties which together formed the Elsenham Village Hall Charity, that is the original hall, the land and the cottages.

On the sale of the property all the money passed to the Charity. The first problem comes with reference to an “Official Custodian” who received the money in the name of the charity. It does not appear to have been a specific person, it is the charity itself. Its written like this apparently so that subject to later paragraphs a committee of management working subject to the rules and conditions of the Charity Commissioners can give the Official Custodian substance as in a formally appointed group of people. If however that committee disolved the charity would live on and the Commissioners could establish a new committee and start again.

In other words the charity was property but is now money but money managed by a set of rules administered still by the Charity Commissioners.

Paragraph 22 gives authority to apply to the Commisioners to spend not more than £41,750 which they apparently subsequently granted. Added to the above was a grant of £10,000 from the Sports Council plus interest accruing which finally totalled the £55,666 which was our share in the new hall. My problem is that I cannot reconcile those figures with the schedule, which totals £61,780. Unless the balance is what formed the initial working funds.

More work is required!