Much Hadham Recreation Trust News

We would like to share some important updates regarding the Much Hadham Recreation Trust.

After a decade of dedicated service, John Dodsworth has stepped down as Chairman and Trustee. Throughout his tenure, he played a pivotal role in our events and, alongside his wife Catriona, was instrumental in establishing the Kennel Club-registered Much Hadham Dog Show. This beloved event drew dog owners from across the country and became the highlight of the annual village fête. We extend our heartfelt thanks to John for his unwavering commitment, hard work, and steady leadership.

Following a vote, we are delighted to welcome Max Eagle, Elliott Hart (Ells), and Hugo Clarke as new Trustees. They bring enthusiasm, fresh ideas, and a passion for community events and fundraising activities.

Max has been appointed as the new Chairman, while Ells will take on the role of Treasurer, succeeding Ashrafa Sutton. We would like to express our gratitude to Ashrafa for her excellent work as Treasurer over many years.

The current trustees of the Much Hadham Recreation Trust are:

Max Eagle, Elliott Hart, Hugo Clarke, Tony Bond, Ashrafa Sutton, Bill O’Neill, and Ian Devonshire.

YOUR VILLAGE NEEDS YOU!
Published 17th August 2024

The Much Hadham Recreation Trust is a charitable organisation which for a long time has added to the life and sense of community of Much Hadham and the wider parish.

The Recreation Trust helps to support the Much Hadham village hall and recreation ground and other recreational and social clubs and societies within the parish. These have included the Bowls Club, the Tennis Club, local football teams, the Scouts, Busy Weeks, the Toddler Group, Badminton Clubs, Drama Groups, the Photographic Society, the Horticultural Society and the Forge Museum.  Since 2017 grants have been also been awarded to cover the annual servicing costs of the defibrillator at the Much Hadham Fire Station.

Historically, the Recreation Trust has raised funds through a combination of private donations, the profits from the August Bank Holiday Fete and more recently from outdoor cinema events. In bumper years we have had close to £20,000 to allocate to local causes. In addition to the monies raised, events like the Fete and the outdoor cinema evenings bring residents together and contribute to the character and community of the village. The Recreation Trust offers a number of advantages to those looking to organise events and fundraise for the village: it has existing charitable status; has significant working capital to put on events; and owns a large store of handy equipment including gazebos, tables, chairs, outdoor games, signage and fencing.

The current trustees of the Recreation Trust have been involved for well over 10 years on average. So we are looking for people - or a group of people – to take over the running of this important local charity. Time commitment can be as little or as much as you can manage and of course the current trustees would be happy to stay on for a transitional period, to help with handover of relevant information and expertise.

Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are interested or you would like further information.

In the meantime, we are hugely grateful to the group organising the Picnic in the Park on 1st September – please do support this great community event!

Embrace Community: Get Involved Today!

- 2022 Event Information -
Published 25th February 2022

There has been a village fete and dog show at the Much Hadham Recreation Ground on the August bank holiday for many years (bar the last couple of years where it has not been possible for COVID 19 reasons).  In good weather years, the fete was very successful and attracted thousands of visitors.

Whilst being a local event, it attracts large numbers of visitors from outside the village and the majority of these arrive by car. This means our ability to park and safely manage large numbers of vehicles using ground with good access and multiple exit routes is a key requirement to running the event, without it we simply cannot accommodate the number of visitors needed to sustain an event of this size.

We are extremely grateful to all those landowners who have helped make the event possible over the years, however, at this stage we no longer have permission from the relevant neighbouring landowners to use their land for access/exit and parking for the fete.  We have considered many alternatives but we do not believe any of them are feasible for an event of this size and nature.  So, with regret, we have decided we cannot hold a village fete this year.

We are, however, intending to hold other smaller events over the year, including another outdoor cinema event following the very successful showing of Mamma Mia last year.  Further details about the event will be published soon.

In the meantime, following our 2021 request for grant applications from local groups and societies, we awarded Much Hadham Bowls Club the requested sum of £250 towards maintenance of the bowling green.

In addition we have agreed to fund the service and maintenance of the defibrillator located at Much Hadham Fire Station for the next FOUR years, ensuring this important community asset is kept in tip top condition should it be needed in an emergency.

We hope you will continue to support these events, which raise funds for local clubs and societies.

Best wishes, The Fete Committee

- Emergency Grant Allocation - Staying Connected Initiative -
Published 5th April 2020

On the 24th March 2020 the Trustees agreed unanimously to allocate an emergency grant of £300 to CareBank, for the printing of literature to be distributed to those in the Parish who need help and assistance during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown. The first batch of literature contained a timetable of virtual events and activities along with activity sheets containing knitting patterns, recipes, quizzes and things to do, and a vital list of assistance contact numbers. The social diary of virtual events and activity packs were delivered to over 400 households across the Parish!

The Trustees applaud the work being carried out to assist those in need of help.

Claire Uwins of CareBank commented:

"• Several of our self-isolating residents have been enjoyed our daily morning service with Rev. Steve via Zoom.

• A virtual cuppa via Zoom one afternoon and a virtual cookery demo of fresh tomato soup using our local Green Tye tomato farm product both went down a storm! It has got us thinking of doing a tomato run for those self isolating residents who love tomatoes.

• The number of self isolating residents joining the virtual activities has gradually increased as the week has progressed and Week 2 of the diary promises to be even more exciting with new activities such as barre ballet and chair yoga on offer.

• Self-isolating residents have been knitting baby hats, making lemon puddings and doing quizzes and brain teasers from our week 1 activity pack."

- 2019 Grants Awarded -
Published 19th November 2019

The Trustees met in November to consider grant applications for 2019/20.  With the profits from this year’s Fete and many private donations, we were able to make grants of just over £15,600.   Full details can be found on the Grant Awards Page of this website or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

On behalf of the community organisations, for many of whom these grants are important for their continued success, we would like to thank all those who contributed so much to the Fete this year and to those who made very generous donations, which enabled these grants to be made.

The Fete is entirely run by volunteers. Many people volunteer their time on Fete day itself and with set up and dismantling, for which we are very grateful. However, we still need more people to join the Fete Organising Committee to help spread the roles and responsibilities for all of the advance planning and organisation. Something of this scale does not just happen by itself! Please do contact us if you would like to help.