Our History

The earliest reference to a building on the present site of Wheatsheaf Hall is in 1880 when there was a small villa standing in its own gardens.

The villa and land was brought by Mr William Sproston Caine, a well-known Philanthropist and temperance reformer. As Social, religious meetings and societies flourished a new mission hall was commissioned with much of the £4000 it cost to build being paid for by subscriptions and donations. The hall was designed by a Mr Williams and built by Messrs Higgs and Hill.

The Wheatsheaf Hall opened in 1896 as the Wheatsheaf Congregational Church Mission.

Until 1939 it was used as a mission hall and pioneer library, the first free public library in Lambeth. In the first year the library of 1000 books were issued nearly 7,000 times. Once the stock increased to over 4,000 volumes a house was rented on South Lambeth Road to hold them and provide rooms for readers.

The Wheatsheaf hall was granted Grade 2 Listed building status on 10th November 1975.

 

Lambeth Council apply for planning permission to use it as a tenants’ hall and community centre.

Wyvil Tenants Associations and members of the Stockwell and Vauxhall Neighbourhood council make grant applications for internal and external renovations. Inner city Partnership awarded a grant and the Council issued notice to quit to the tenants Cinebuild. Cinebuild contested the Notice and legal processes took until December 1984 when the council finally won the case.

On Saturday 7th May 1988, The Wheatsheaf Hall Community Centre was opened by the Mayor after major refurbishment costing £117,000.

The building is currently used for community and business meetings, meditation groups, faith groups, council surgeries, rehearsal space, weddings, christenings, birthday parties and bingo.

A volunteer management committee manages and maintains the hall and is made up from representatives from the Mawbey Brough and Wyvil Estates, user groups and local residents.

Plans are underway to secure the building for the foreseeable future by establishing a registered charity and a board of trustees to care for the building and ensure its future.