Manorbier village hall thrives after old one closed by flood

The Giraldus Centre in Manorbier opened its doors on April 1, 2023 and is run by a group of local volunteers and the trustees of the South Ridgeway Community Association (SRCA), a registered charity set up in 2012.

The charity’s objectives were to fund, build and run a community centre following the closure of Manorbier’s old community hall due to flood damage, resulting in the loss of a venue for clubs and societies in the area.A place for everyone. (Image: Giraldus Centre)

And the result was the Giraldus Centre, a place for everyone - local residents, visitors to the area and tourists alike - with a large hall and meeting rooms for hire for sports, exercise classes and social gatherings.

It took over a decade for SRCA to raise the money to build the centre, partly through holding fundraising events including a race night in the local pub, a boot fair and having a stand at local shows.

The centre's programme this month includes bingo, a quiz night and a stand-up comedy evening. (Image: Giraldus Centre) But ultimately it was through a series of successful grant applications to organisations like Enhancing Pembrokeshire, WCVA and Social Investment Cymru that resulted in the centre being built.

As the centre does not receive any funding, for its substantial running costs it relies entirely on income from people hiring the hall and three meeting rooms for exercise classes, children’s birthday parties, wedding parties and other family occasions.

And it lends itself to all kinds of occasions. (Image: Giraldus Centre)

Over the last 18 months, the Giraldus Centre has become home to a number of well-attended activities, including twice weekly Pilates classes, weekly line dancing, Dance Fit and Sit-Fit, a subsidised after school club for children aged 10+ and a free parents and toddlers group.

It is also the venue for Manorbier and District Gardening Club talks and Manorbier and District French Twinning Association meetings.

The other main source of funding are the social events organised and run by the centre.

November events

November events include a live stand-up comedy night with pizza on Wednesday November 13; a Christmas chilli and quiz night on Friday November 15; cash bingo on the afternoon of Saturday November 16 and the Giraldus Fair – a table-top sale and craft fair on Saturday November 23.

These events are promoted on Facebook and tickets are sold on the www.giralduscentre.com website. The Centre has a premises licence for serving alcohol and a commercial kitchen for catering at these events.

Gareth John, vice chair of SRCA said: “The key to our success has undoubtedly been our tremendous volunteers.

“Thanks to them, the centre is cleaned weekly, we have a productive community garden, maintenance work is undertaken, events are run, our website was developed and is run in-house, and the trustees are also volunteers, devoting many hours every week to keeping the centre running.

“I really can’t thank them all enough.”