History of the Centre

Back in 1971 over 100 people attended a public meeting as Kingsley had started to see housing developments in the village, and with more planned over the next few years, residents felt that the village was missing a social centre where organisations could meet.

Although some grants were received, additional funding to meet the estimated building costs would have to be raised by the Kingsley Community Association.

It was then that Kingsley Community Association decided to investigate the feasibility of the Association building the Centre itself, using local tradesmen and volunteers within the community. For areas which could not be covered by local people, specialist firms would be brought in to undertake the construction. Many offers were forthcoming and it was concluded that it was feasible to build a centre using this approach.

On 15th February 1975, the ceremony of cutting the first turf was performed after which further development of the centre continued with many local tradesmen giving their time free of charge, along with an army of volunteers from the local community. Eventually, after 18 months, the building was completed and on 4th September 1976, Kingsley Community Centre was officially opened.

Over the years, the Community Centre has been regularly used by many of the village organisations and has provided a social centre for the community of Kingsley and the surrounding areas.

Unfortunately, in the early hours of 6th March 2004 Kingsley Community Centre was destroyed by fire. The Centre was at the heart of much of the village life, however, amongst the sadness and adversity, the community spirit of Kingsley raised itself again. Thanks to a new team who volunteered to supervise its rebuilding, the Centre was restored to its former glory.

The history of Kingsley Community Centre shows what a wonderful community spirit existed in Kingsley in the 1970s and how that spirit has continued right through to the present day. One of the original aims was to provide a social centre for the village and 50 years later, the Kingsley Community Centre continues to thrive at the heart of the village community.