The building we now know as St. David’s Centre started life as the Moreton Boys School. It was opened in June 1881, to provide secondary education for those who did not qualify for the grammar school at Campden. In 1908 it was enlarged to cater for girls as well, and over the years various extensions were made to the building - at one stage there were as many as 500 pupils.
This is the earliest picture of the school we have been able to uncover, dating back to around 1910, taken from the corner of Church Street. In those days the building consisted of what is now the main hall, but over the years various additions were made. During World War 2 the school served as a base for the Moreton and Stow ATC Squadron, and after the war the school expanded and there are still many local people who attended and have fond memories of their time there.
The School itself closed in 1966, as a result of comprehensive education coming to Chipping Campden. At this point the Youth Department of the County took over the building, and for nearly 40 years ran a thriving youth club. However by the turn of the millennium it was becoming increasingly obvious that major work was needed to bring the building up to standard, and the County did not possess the resources necessary. They began to look for someone to take on the responsibility.
In Spring 2002 St. David’s Church purchased the old Youth Centre in Moreton from the County Council. The aim was to preserve and develop its use both for the town, and for the church. By July 2007 it was being extensively used by a whole variety of community groups – pre-school Playgroup, Youth Club, Brownies, Young Carers, After-School Club, amongst others – as well as being central to church life.
However, as was the case with so many other buildings in Moreton, the flood of July 20th had a devastating effect. St. David’s School next door received four feet of water throughout, and the Centre about two and half feet. As a result it was unusable for over a year. For eight months both school and Centre had to make do with Portacabins. However the rebuilding on the School was completed in April, and work on the Centre started around the same time.
As it turned out, the flood gave us a wonderful opportunity. We had always intended to improve the facilities of the Centre, and make it more flexible, attractive and suited to its purposes. The sad events of July 20 gave us a window to do that work, albeit much more hastily than we had intended.
The rebuilding progessed well, and the Centre was formally opened by Susanna Peake on October 31st. We are incredibly grateful that all the money needed was raised - around £650,000 - in less than a year, and that we now have a fully-equipped and modern Centre for the use of both community and church!
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| Old Centre Entrance | Centre in 2007 |
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| Flood of July 2007 | School & Centre under water |
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| The Destruction begins | More Destruction |
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| Work on replacing the Tiles | New Roof |
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| Gallery Roof | Underfloor Heating |
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| Main Hall | Foyer |
