A REVAMPED church hall will be renamed after a former vicar who saved it from destruction after devastating floods.

Work is well under way on turning the 180-year-old Grade II-listed St Thomas’ church hall in Monmouth into a modern community hub as part of a £500,000 redevelopment.

And when it reopens in July, it will be known as the Ty Price – St Thomas’ Community Hall in tribute to Rev Norman Price, vicar of Overmonnow from 1964 to 1993.

“Ty” is Welsh for “house or hall”, and Rev Price is fondly remembered for his pastoral work in the community and for helping to save the building after 1979’s floods.

It took 20 men to just carry the sodden carpet out into the garden to dry out, and the church had no funds for repairs.

But Rev Price galvanised the community, saying “Have faith, it will all come right”, and with the aid of a Youth Opportunity Scheme, donations and other help, the hall was saved.

Work has been ongoing since last year, and will see an enlarged main hall seating 60, three function rooms, new toilets, modern facilities and an improved entrance. It will also include more efficient heating and lighting, solar panels and other features to ensure basic running costs are kept low.

Rev David McGladdery, vicar of Monmouth, said: “People always tell me how they were helped by Norman and his wife Eira, and it is fitting to name the hall in recognition of him. We hope the whole community will benefit from the new work done to extend and improve the hall.”

A new logo, designed by David Evans of Platform One, Monmouth, will feature a group of people and the ancient Overmonnow Market Cross to reflect the hall’s role as a community meeting place.

A market cross is thought to have stood in Overmonnow since at least 1039, while the church itself, dedicated to Thomas a Beckett and overlooking the historic Monnow Bridge, dates back to the late 1100s.

Ty Price will provide a lunch club, drop-in support and other community activities once it reopens, and will be available for booking on a regular or one-off basis.

During preliminary work last year, nine metres of unsafe garden wall had to be taken down before the pile driving for the extension foundations started, which had to be done by hand. The bricks have to be re-instated as the building is listed.

Last year, the church was provisionally awar­ded £340,000 towards the cost of the revamp from the Welsh Government Community Facilities Programme. 

Thought to date from the 1830s, the hall was originally attached to Overmonnow House, which was then the church vicarage. Early in the last century, it developed as a meeting place for church and community, and was used as a ‘British Restaurant’ to provide meals on behalf of the Ministry of Food during the Second World War, before being used by the WRVS as a Meals on Wheels distribution centre.

Team vicar, Rev Catherine Haynes, said: “We are looking forward to working with partners to provide a range of activities for the community at the hall.”

Fundraising is continuing for equipment and furniture. If anyone would like more information about the project or to make a donation, contact Steve Martin (project co-ordinator) at info

@typricehall.co.uk or on 01600 772466 or visit www.typricehall.co.uk