History

Proposals for a village hall in Roade originated in the 1920s, and were revived after 1945, although in 1958, after the assembly hall at the new secondary school became available, a fund-raising committee decided to use the money in hand for equipment at the recreation ground.

The question was reopened in 1961 and in 1967 a public meeting voted in favour of what was now called a community centre, a project merged the following year with a scheme for larger playing fields.

In 1970 plans were approved for a hall of about 2,000 sq. ft. In 1974, facing rapidly rising costs, the Community Centre and Playing Field Association decided to erect a prefabricated wooden hall, which was rebuilt in brick in the 1990s.

The playing fields, opened in the 1960s, were also gradually upgraded, notably after the Charity Commission in 1991 allowed the sale of part of the property, which funded tennis courts and other improvements.