Reading Room: Our Village Hall

Buckland Reading Room

Buckland Reading Room is a community facility, provided for the people of Buckland and surrounding areas.

The Reading Room is leased from Buckland Estates by St Mary’s Church Parochial Church Council, and is managed on its behalf by the Reading Room Management Committee.

The Reading Room is in Old Road, a short distance from the village shop.  For anyone using satellite navigation please enter RH3 7EG.

Availability for hire

The rate for hiring is a minimum of £40 for up to 3 hours, and then £10 an hour for additional time. Please contact the bookings secretary if you would like to hire the room for a regular activity, e.g. once a week, as preferential rates could apply.

To hire the Reading Room, please complete this form which will send an email to Jane Stewart, the Reading Room Bookings Secretary. Please do NOT use the “Contact Us” button in the header or footer of this page as this sends your request to the Webmaster who will not be able to help you as he is unable to accept bookings.

What are the Facilities

The Reading Room comprises one large hall, which can accommodate up to an advisory limit of 55 people and there is a small kitchen with crockery and cutlery. There are currently bookings, amongst other things, for regulars playing bridge, doing yoga and discussing local affairs. It is an ideal venue for small one-off parties (particularly for children up to 8 years) and meetings,

The building had a major refurbishment in 2015, was most recently re-decorated in 2018 and is equipped with efficient heating and other fittings to provide a very pleasant venue.  Please visit the Reading Room Gallery to view photographs of the interior and consider hiring it for your next family party or event.

The Reading Room does not have a car park and on street parking in the village is limited. Visitors are asked to park with consideration for local residents and businesses, to ensure access to driveways to private homes is not obstructed and NOT to park on footpaths or bridleways.

Why is the village hall called the Reading Room?

There is a rather quaint reason for this, dating back to when it was built and opened in 1890.  At that time, newspapers, books and magazines were not generally available to ordinary working people.  The Reading Room provided a quiet place locals could visit to read the publications made available to them.