Celebrating Your Community Centre Week!

From 11-15 of September, Richmond upon Thames celebrated Your Community Centre Week – as part of the celebrations VisitRichmond in collaboration with the ETNA Community Centre hosted two Vintage Bus tours. There was a delicious cream tea provided by Elleray Hall at the Whitton Community Centre and the Castlenau Community Centre. There were also performances from the Whitton Community Big Band and Carl Speck.

It was a fabulous day out with one participant stating: "That was better than Christmas, I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed myself so much!"

With over 100 participants it was great to highlight the importance of community centres and how they bring the community together whether it be proving support to those in need, those struggling with loneliness or simply those who want to pick up a new hobby.

Not only were the vintage bus tours showing all the amazing community centres but also a tour of the local area with commentary provided by Angela Ivey from VisitRichmond giving us all the fun facts about the area.

Did you know the oldest surviving bridge over the River Thames is Richmond Bridge – completed in 1777?

Your Community Centre Week was all about making the most of the local community centres across Richmond upon Thames. The event highlighted 10 independent community centres in the borough that play a vital role in enhancing community life. These centres offer a wide range of services, activities, support and facilities for residents to enjoy.

The Madam Mayor and Deputy Mayor joined us in the celebrations and also gave a few words during the bus tour.

The Mayor of Richmond upon Thames, Cllr Suzette Nicholson said:

The Deputy Mayor and I took part in the “Big Bus Tours” which visited the borough’s community centres. These centres often have not only social activities for the over 55-year-olds but also some for younger age groups. For example, Linden Hall, Hampton, has activities for both. The Greenwood Centre, in Hampton Hill, has a FLexercise class for the over 55s (which I have enjoyed over many years.) Barnes Green Day Centre is advertising Bridge and Picasso in the park, an art group for those with dementia. The difficulty is choosing which one!”

Here Madam Mayor is pictured with Zillah from the Whitton Community Centre.

This is the first time we have hosted an event like this and what a special one it was, not many people are able to say they have ridden on a Vintage Routemaster bus considering there are only 500 others in circuit.

We want to say a huge thank you to all the community centres involved:

• Cambrian Centre

• Castelnau Community Centre

• Elleray Hall

• ETNA Community Centre

• Greenwood Community Centre

• Kew Community Centre

• Linden Hall Community Centre

• Mortlake Community Association

• Whitton Community Centre

• Hampton White House

*More images from the event can be found on the Visit Richmond Facebook page.

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If you would like to find out more about your local community centres, you can find their information below including a few activities you can look forward to at each one as well as their nearest transport links.

Many of our community centres also have spaces for hire, from rooms for one off meetings to Halls to accommodate larger groups and functions. You might just find that perfect space, at a very reasonable rate, for you to launch your own enterprise, host an event or teach a class.

Community Centre	Address	Contact details	Website	Activities	Nearest Bus stop
Cambrian Centre	Caplan Court, 1 Grove Rd, Richmond TW10 6SN	020 8948 3351	https://cambriancentre.org/whats-on/	Affordable exercise and leisure activities. Yoga, drawing, choir, table tennis, creative writing	371
Castlenau Community Centre	7 Stillingfleet Rd, London SW13	020 8741 0909	https://www.castelnaucentreproject.co.uk/	Gardening club, walking football, Pilates, volunteering	33 209 419 485 533
Elleray Hall	Elleray Rd, Teddington TW11 0HG	020 8977 0549	https://www.ellerayhall.org/	Bingo, chair-based yoga and Pilates, Tai chi, zumba,dominoes	33 R68 281
ETNA Community Centre	13 Rosslyn Rd, East Twickenham, Twickenham TW1 2AR	02088923676	https://etnacentre.org/	Yoga, Pilates, language lessons,	110 969 H37
Greenwood Community Centre	The Greenwood Centre, 1A School Rd, Hampton Hill, Hampton TW12 1QL	02089799662	http://www.greenwoodcommunity.org.uk/	Flexercise, book club, yoga, Pilates,	R68 R70 285
Kew Community Centre	St Luke's, The Avenue, Richmond TW9 2AJ	02089488806	http://www.kewcommunitytrust.org.uk/	Creative writing, film club, line dancing, Pilates, tai chi, yoga	65
Linden Hall Community Centre	Linden Rd, Hampton TW12 2JG	02089412373	http://www.lindenhall.org.uk/	Social clubs, exercise classes and children’s activity groups.	R70 Hampton station
Mortlake Community Association	St Mary’s Rooms, St Mary’s Church, Mortlake High Street, SW14 8JA	07494 297 690	https://www.mortlakecommunityassociation.org.uk/	Community gardening, drawing, gentle exercise	419 33
Whitton Community Centre	Percy Road Twickenham TW2 6JL	020 8894 4452	https://www.whittoncommunity.org/	Yoga, ballet, line dancing, Zumba, arts, games	110 481
Hampton White House	45 The Avenue, Hampton TW12 3RN	020 8979 1884	https://ymcastpaulsgroup.org/centres/white-house-hampton/	Zumba, art circle, patchwork and quilting, ballroom dance class	110 R70