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Barkway Village Hall was
built as a Women’s Institute and opened in 1926.
In 1965 the Hall was given to the village, to be run as a charitable trust
(registered charity number 272922).
In 1988 the Hall won an award as the best Managed Village Hall
in Hertfordshire, and in 1992 a handbook on the Management of
Barkway Village Hall won the Parish Challenge award.
The early 1990s also saw improved access,
facilities for the disabled added, a new bar area near the main
entrance and improved kitchen facilities next to the stage.
Those facilities have been improved still
further recently, and during 2004, the heating and hot water
system was completely replaced thanks, in large part, to a
highly successful village bond scheme and numerous other very
well-supported fund-raising events as part of our Heat Appeal.
In 2006 the Hall celebrated its 80th anniversary with a
variety and music hall evening featuring a re-enactment of the
opening ceremony.
And in 2007 the Hall promoted a highly successful “Midsummer
Music” event on the nearby Recreation Ground, which attracted over
450 people. |
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The Milestone -
set back from the road on
the High Street, our milestone is one of the series of Trinity Hall
milestones set up between 1728 and 1732 by Dr William Warren from monies
left by Dr William Mowse and Robert Hare.
The stone sets the distances of 35 miles to London, 14 miles to Ware and
16 miles to Cambridge and unlike most milestones along the B1368 which
are painted white, our stone remains in its natural stone beauty |
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The Church -
there has been a church on the Barkway
site since Norman and possibly Saxon times. The church chancel was
rebuilt in the 13th century and the nave widened, aisles and
clerestory added in the 15th Century, along with a tower. In 1861, the
main part of the church was restored by Mr Vernon Harcourt of Newsells
Park, whilst Colonel Clinton, who lived at Cokenach worked on the
Chancel. During this restoration however the tower collapsed and a new,
larger tower was built in its place.
The tower itself contains a peal of 8 bells, six of them recast in 1787
by Briant of Hertford, and a further 2 added in 1794, with the
inscription, "Give Peace in our Time O Lord".
There is one Priest's bell, inscribed "James Bartlett made me in 1688
TE" The turret bell on which the clock strikes is pre-restoration
and is the only one in Hertfordshire from the Bury St Edmunds Foundry.
The church is well maintained by the generous work of The Friends of Barkway Church who have raised a great deal of funds over the years to
fund the considerable costs involved. |
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The Chapel
Barkway
Congregational Church, known as Barkway Chapel, is affiliated to the
EFCC (Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches). The
present Chapel was built in 1884. Prior to that, the Chapel was
situated where the cemetery is in Royston Road. Two photographs of
the original building can be seen in the present Chapel.
These days the congregation is not large enough to support a
Minister. The services are led by visiting speakers, both Clergy and
Lay Speakers. These are from various Christian denominations and
include C of E, Baptist, Methodists as well as Congregationalists.
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The War Memorial
Erected by the Parish of Barkway in proud memory of
her sons who gave their lives for their King and Country in
the Great War 1914-1919 |
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The
Wagon Wash -
just off the High Street and down
Church Lane, there is what appears to be at first glance a moat. But
this is another part of Barkway's history as a major coaching town.
Coaches would drive through this expanse of water in order to clean
their wheels and name plates before resuming their onward journeys. |
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The Tally Ho
- the last remaining pub in the
village.
In days gone by Barkway boasted its own brewery, several shops and pubs.
But, although population numbers have remained fairly constant, the
Tally Ho is the last remaining pub. And it is a reminder that the
Puckeridge Hunt, amongst others, was prominent in the area. Renowned for
its friendly atmosphere, fine food and extensive wine list, the Tally Ho
is also proud of its range of malt whiskies.
Regular quiz nights take place and popular themed evenings are organised
from time to time. |
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RAF Barkway Mast - you either love it or hate it. It's
either an eyesore or a beacon standing out over the village , visible
from miles away, but always showing you the way home. The steel mast
replaced an earlier wooden one which formed part of the RAF's wartime
and post wartime GEE navigation system. This system was developed by the
USA Air Force into the LORAN system, which was used to improve aircraft
navigation, until GPS made it obsolete. In the cold war years the mast
also formed part of the NATO/USAF/RAF early warning network. Today it
maintains a silent vigil over our beautiful village - a reminder of the
vital geographic and strategic location that Barkway once was. |
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The Reading Room - this building was gifted to the
village in 1897 and has had many uses over the years. A grade II listed
building, it has been used in recent times as the meeting place for
Barkway Parish Council. A book lending service was set up in 2009 but
the building had to be closed for important and necessary remedial work.
Now completed, the Reading Room Management Committee re-opened
the building on 29th January 2011 as a meeting place, book lending centre and for it
generally to become a centre of village activity. There is also a
possibility that the building could be developed as an Internet cafe and
computer training centre. |
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