The first village Reading Room facility was established towards the end of the 19th Century, with support from the current Rector, the Worth Townsend family amongst others, but this did not involve a dedicated building. A provision was made in either the Rectory, the Village School or one of the village properties in either village for adult locals to study, possibly complementing the night school facility, and probably on a single sex basis.
The users of that facility would put on occasional entertainment shows, typically held in the schoolroom, as detailed below.
By the start of the twentieth century the need for a dedicated facility for such studies, as well as village events and a meeting place for village groups was recognised, and the search for a suitable site, along with suitable funding began – with the new Reading Room opened in 1912 as shown in the plan below and detailed further down.
The concept of a Village Reading Room had been seen as an important asset for the two villages towards the end of the Nineteenth century, with the initial provision being made available in the Rectory or in a village cottage, but only at certain times, and focussed on the male population.
The need for a more permanent facility that could be available year-round to all those from both villages was raised at the start of the twentieth century.
A brick building was constructed in a reasonable central position in the two parishes – given the distance to the various farms to the north and south. The sponsors were the Worth Townsend sisters – Misses Lizzie, Susan, Alice and Julia W Townsend, of Kings Newnham, who had proven many times they had the welfare of the people in the two villages at heart.
In 1910 the long-standing Lord of the Manor, the 6th Duke of Buccleuch (William Henry Walter Montagu Douglas Scott), transferred his Rugby district properties to his son, the then Earl of Dalkeith (John Montagu Douglas Scott). It was the Earl of Dalkeith, who donated the land to be used for this new facility, in the same way his Great-Uncle Lord John Scott had built the Village School. The site and the building were handed over to trustees for ongoing management.
The Reading Room was opened in May 1912, as detailed below. More details on the Townsend family and their contributions to Village Life can be found here.
A rule of the new club / Parish Room was that it would be entirely non-political.
A transcribed version of the above Opening Ceremony in 1912 report is in this link, and the article below is from the early years of the operation of the new building, with a suggestion that the actual Reading Room facility was still confirmed to village men and boys.
This clip from the Rugby Advertiser of December 1920 illustrates the early use of the new Reading Room.
A further donation from the Worth Townsend Family to the Reading Room was made in 1967 in the will of Mary Bertha Townsend (the first baby to be baptised at the new church in 1873).
The Reading Room was a part of village life for almost a century, with a number of upgrades and enhancements during that period – as discussed here.
Towards the end of the 20th Century the need for a replacement for the Reading Room became more urgent, as the original facility was in need of increased maintenance, car parking facilities and additional space – and the alternative facility in the next-door village school was lost shortly after that school closed. Details of that period can be found as part of the discussions relating to the new village hall – here – which opened in 2008.