After the shattering experience of the Great War 1914 – 1918, when over 100 young men of Cranleigh were killed and the lives of others were changed for ever, there was much discussion of how this momentous happening could be fittingly commemorated here. In 1919 a committees suggested that a War Memorial should be erected, and a Village Hall built. The existing Village Hall was definitely inadequate for a growing village.
The War Memorial was unveiled in 1920, but funds for building a Village Hall were slow to come in. The 1920s were a time of considerable unemployment here, with consequent poverty and hardship. The site for the projected hall was donated in 1922 by the Trustees of Frederick Greene of Rydinghurst, who had died in 1914, but then the plans seem to have stalled.ystem.
In 1927 a committee chaired by Gerald Chadwyck-Healey started more active fundraising. The Cranleigh Carnival of 1930, held on the Common on Whit Monday, gave the proceeds to the cause. The Chadwyck-Healey family gave generous gifts to supplement the funds raised by the public, and in August 1932 a contract was signed with the local firm of Auchterloine and Reeves for the construction of the hall. Thomas Wade, a local architect, responsible for the design of several fine buildings in Cranleigh, drew up the plans, at an estimated cost of £3,637. The Cranleigh Village Hall was built by local labour, using oak and materials from the surrounding area.
The Village Hall was opened on 03 May 1933 by Sir Gerald Chadwyck-Healey and all 400 seats were filled.
In 1992, the Village Hall had toilet facilities and a balcony added at the front of the hall. The stage height was lowered in readiness for a future rake seating system.
As a result of a successful application to the Community Ownership Fund in 2023, the Parish Council has been able to refurbish the Village Hall and provide the latest technology for theatre lights and sound, DDA accessible toilet, commercial kitchen and community café.
