Lost village hall key to feature in centenary celebrations

Shelia Forster said she feared the 1925 key might hae been lost forever

A long lost village hall key is to get pride of place as a community prepares to mark the centenary of the original building.

The village hall in Manea, in rural Cambridgeshire, was opened in 1925 by the Isle of Ely MP Sir Hugh Lucas-Tooth - thought at the time to be the youngest MP in the country at the age of 22.

Sir Hugh was presented with the hallmarked and inscribed silver key at the time, but it disappeared for more than 80 years until it was found in a tin of old keys by his granddaughter in Berkshire in 2002.

She returned it to Manea - but it lay forgotten in the village hall safe for more than two decades.

Shelia Forster, 69, the secretary of Manea village hall, said the key would be put on display as the hall marks its 100th birthday at the weekend.

"Unfortunately the key does not fit the lock any longer, as we have had the main doors changed over the years," she said.

The silver hallmarked key was found by the granddaughter of the late Sir Hugh Lucas-Tooth in 2002 - almost 80 years after it was presented to him at the opening of the hall

Sir High Lucas-Tooth, second from the right at the official opening of the Manea village hall in October 1925

Mrs Forster said Sir Hugh came down to the village in the summer of 1925 to lay the first stone for the newly commissioned hall in School Lane.

"When the building was officially opened in October, Sir Hugh Lucas-Tooth came back and was presented with his own silver commemorative key, complete with an inscription, the then keepers were given a master key to access the hall," she said.

A new blue plaque will be unveiled outside the village hall by the guest of honour for the celebrations, BBC wildlife television presenter, Ajay Tegala

His granddaughter, Ms Brims, contacted the village hall in 2002 after finding a box of old keys at the back of a cupboard in her Berkshire home.

"I don't know why we had them," she said, "but perhaps my mother brought them home after my grandparents died.

"Most of the keys gave no clue about what they fitted, but one was engraved and mentioned Manea."

She admitted she had never heard of the rural Cambridgeshire village but found it on a map near the city of Ely, before the penny dropped that it had a connection to her grandfather.

"I contacted the village hall and they were so enthusiastic about getting the key back, I sent it," she added.

Janet Tweed, 83, says that Manea village hall is just like her second home

Janet Tweed, 83, who has been involved in the village hall for nearly half a century and its chairperson for three years, said the hall "really is the heart of the community".

She said it continued to be used daily for girl guides, brownies, keep fit, yoga and bingo - and could be hired at weekends for functions and parties.

"I spend a lot of time here, it is like my second home," she added.

But it was a challenge to attract younger people on to the committee to allow it to keep going for another 100 years, she said.

Mrs Forster said the whole village were joining in with celebrations to mark the village hall's centenary