A Short History of the

Verwood Memorial Recreation Ground Trust

The Conveyance

1.                  The original indenture (any deed, contract or sealed agreement between two or more parties) was made 4 December 1920 between Job Brewer and the Parish Council of Verwood.  At a public meeting, it was resolved to purchase the land known as “Verwood Green” for £300 raised by public subscription as a memorial to the officers and men belonging to or connected with the Parish who fell in the Great War.  The Parish Council (Verwood Town Council being the successor authority) was to hold the land to the benefit of the inhabitants of the Parish of Verwood for use as a Public Recreation Ground.

The New Village Hall

2.                  The old village hall at the Cross Roads needed replacing. A Parish meeting held in 1936 approved the setting up of a committee to examine the provision of a new Public Hall for the village and suggest possible locations.  However, the war years intervened and a new hall was not considered again until October 1945 when fund-raising began in earnest. A special parish meeting was held on 21 May 1954 to consider a site for the new village hall. The Chairman of the Verwood Parish Council explained that efforts had been made to identify alternative sites for the new hall but the only feasible solution was to build along the frontage of the Recreation Ground. A motion was carried 107 votes to 15 to seek permission to use a portion of the Recreation Ground as a site for the new village hall.

3.                   In 1954, the Recreation Ground Trust came under the Ministry of Education. The Minister granted approval for the erection of a new village hall on the Recreation Ground provided the site remains vested (having a present right to the immediate or future possession and enjoyment of property) in the Parish Council.

4.                   Meetings of the Verwood New Hall Fund Committee began in 1955. By 1958, the Parish agreed that;

a)       The land to be used as a site for the proposed hall (to be known as Verwood Memorial Hall) would be conveyed on sale to the Memorial Hall Committee for a nominal sum of £1.

b)       The existing hall would be sold and proceeds put towards the new hall project.

c)       The land conveyed to the Memorial Hall Committee should include an additional 12 ft strip of land on the northern and eastern sides of the proposed building.

d)       A “right of way” across the forecourt of the Memorial Hall land to the Recreation Ground shall be reserved for all time.

5.                  Advised by the National Council of Social Service, the Vesting Deed under which the Memorial Hall was established was signed 7 March 1959. The use of the hall was for the purpose of physical and mental training and social moral and intellectual development through the medium of reading and recreation. The hall was dedicated to those who fell in the Second World War. The Verwood Memorial Hall was opened 9 May 1959. Thus, both the Memorial Hall and Recreation Ground were classified as recreation facilities and are dedicated to the fallen in the two World Wars. The Verwood Parish Council remained as Trustees under the Deed with the Memorial Hall Management Committee responsible for day-to-day management.

6.                   In 1962, the Charity Commission began preparing a central register of charities following the 1960 Charities Act. Similar action was taken by the Ministry of Education regarding the Recreational Trusts which, up to that date, it administered. The Memorial Hall and the Recreation Ground were registered on 25 October 1962 and the trusts transferred back to the Charity Commission. The Verwood Memorial Hall, for reasons unknown, was created the main charity and given reference number 301194. The Verwood Memorial Recreation Ground was made a subsidiary charity to the Memorial Hall with number 301194-1.

New Scheme for Memorial Hall

7.                  It became clear that the appropriation of part of the Recreation Ground as the site of the present Memorial Hall appeared to have no binding legal authority although the building of the hall was approved by the Minister of Education and registered under section 4 of the Charities Act 1960 as a separate charity by the Department of Education and Science. On 8 January 1974, in order to regularise the position, the Charity Commission changed the legal status of the Memorial Hall and produced a new scheme through which a separate charity, called the Verwood Memorial Hall Trust, was established.

8.                 This scheme recognised that the land on which the hall was built now belonged to the Memorial Hall Trust despite the provisions set in 1954 by the Minister for Education. No changes were made to the Recreation Ground Trust and, as far as Charity Commission records were concerned, it remained a subsidiary to the Memorial Hall Trust. Since the Verwood Town Council looked after the recreation ground and paid all expenses, the situation never came to notice. As a subsidiary and unlike the Memorial Hall, there was no requirement to make annual returns to the Charity Commission.

Registration of the Recreation Ground Trust

9.                  The uncertain position of the Recreation Ground Trust continued until 1993 when the Verwood Town Council questioned the “subsidiary” status of the recreation Ground. Initially, the Town Council suggested the Recreation Ground should not be registered as a charity. However, the Charity Commission pointed out that money was raised and provided for charitable purposes and, therefore, it cannot be argued that the Recreation Ground was the council’s corporate property.

10.              The Verwood Memorial Recreation Ground (to give it the full name) was registered on 2 May 1996, charity number 1055101. The only document governing the management of the Recreation Ground remains the original 1920 conveyance. The first annual return was submitted to the Charity Commission for year ending 31 March 1996.

11.             Despite becoming a charity in its own right in 1996, up to 2001 the management of the Verwood Recreation Ground trust continued to be seen as a normal part of Town Council business and was dealt with by either full council or the appropriate committee under normal standing orders. An inaugural meeting of the Verwood Recreation Ground trustees was held 14 June 2001 and it now acts as a separate body to the Town Council.

Management of the Recreation Ground Trust

12.             The Trustees of the Verwood Memorial Recreation Ground Trust are made up of the 18 elected members of the Verwood Town Council. In accordance with the original 1920 Conveyance, there are no outside members.  Although normally using the Council Chambers for its meetings, they do not meet as Town Councillors but as Trustees. Charity Commission guidelines are quite specific about the role of Verwood Town Councillors as Trustees. They are required to act solely in the interests of the trust and must set aside corporate concerns when doing so.

13.             The Town Clerk does not attend trustee meetings and is not responsible for any trustee business. The Trust Secretary deals with enquiries from the public. Additionally, the Mayor does not automatically become Chairman of meetings. The Chairman, Vice-chairman and Secretary are elected by the trustees at the AGM. Meetings are held in accordance with the Charity Commission rules published in the booklet “Charities and Meetings”, reference CC48. Other aspects of the trust are covered by additional Charity Commission publications.

14.             There is no requirement for the Recreation Ground Trust to hold its meetings in public. However, the trustees have agreed to do so and publish approved minutes in the Verwood Library and on a link to the Verwood Town Council web site.

15.             The day-to-day upkeep of the Verwood Recreation Ground is administered by the Recreation Ground and Open Space Committee of the Verwood Town Council. Maintenance costs are paid by the Verwood Town Council but are included in the annual returns to the Charity Commission made by the Trust.