The Village Centre is a Methodist Church located on Victoria Street in Englefield Green. In 2010 it was converted from an operational Church into a community building.
We pride ourselves in being an integral part of the Englefield Green community and endeavour to offer as many community services as possible.
Our community cafe is the heartbeat of the Village Centre and a warm welcome to everyone is always guaranteed. Our staff are friendly and approachable and we pride ourselves in knowing the majority of our customers by first name. For those coming in alone, we are more than happy to chat with you and introduce you to others – many friends have been made in our Cafe! We have a children’s play area including a ball pit which is free to use and no booking is needed to attend. Please feel free to log onto our free WiFi and indeed many people come in to work whilst their child plays or whilst enjoying a hot cuppa. We have a varied adult and child menu as well as barista coffee and speciality teas. Our cakes are homemade and donated from a selection of local cakemakers and all menu items, including our hot specials are freshly made on site. A takeaway option is also available. You will find baby changing facilities on site as well as high chairs.
We have many regular activities running in our Hall, from Pilates & ballet classes to children’s music sessions and sensory classes. Please take a look at our Weekly Activities to find out more information on class descriptions and times.
Englefield Green Child Contact Centre – The Centre provides facilities for children to meet with the parent with whom they no longer live due to family break down. The aim is to provide a warm, friendly, toy-filled neutral meeting place where contact can take place during what can be a very emotional period. Please see our Child Contact Centre tab for more info.
Baby Basics project – Baby Basics provides the basics needed in life for vulnerable women or families with a newborn. We work with midwives, health visitors and other local organisations to provide starter packs for those in need. We can help vulnerable groups such as teenage mums, families on low incomes, and women fleeing domestic abuse and trafficking. For further information, please see our Baby Basics tab.
Village Centre Community Fridge & Kitchen – Our Community Fridge is a social site of food education and sharing. It is housed at the back of the Village Centre building and we make fresh food that would otherwise be wasted, freely available to the community. Surplus perishable food is donated by local businesses or members of the public, and collected by people who need it. Our Community Fridge exists to reduce food waste and foster a spirit of sharing and mutual support within our community. A Community Fridge is open to EVERYONE! Volunteers within our Community Kitchen cook some of the surplus food items to make tasty homemade meals. These meals are portioned and made available to everyone via the Community Fridge, as well as being delivered to vulnerable members of our community. Please see our Community Fridge tab for more information.
In the early 1800’s Methodists, led by the Pocock family, prayed in the Salvation Army Hall in South Road. Increasing numbers led them to buy a small piece of land in Alexandra Road and build a chapel called the Wesleyan Chapel. As its popularity continued to grow, the Pocock family bought a large plot of land in Victoria Street, where another chapel was built. This chapel, also known as the Wesleyan Chapel, was added to in 1904, thanks again to the Pocock family, when the present church was built.
The cottages behind the building were a gift to the church from the Pocock family and the sale of one of these cottages helped to finance the refurbishment of the Methodist Church building as the Village Centre, which opened in September 2010.
Today, The Village Centre is part of an ecumenical partnership with the Anglican Church, St Jude’s in Englefield Green and the Staines & Feltham Methodist Circuit and is the main community outreach for these two churches. We share a charity number 1169401 with St Jude’s Church, however the Village Centre manages its own finances and is governed by an independent Management Team. The Village Centre is a non-profit organisation and all funds raised through grant making bodies, donations, cafe income and hall rental is fed back to support the ongoing community work at the Centre.
To help financially support our building and the community work undertaken, we set up the Friend of the Village Centre scheme. In return for a monthly donation by standing order of £10 or more, you will receive a loyalty card which will entitle you to 10 free teas & coffees in a month at our community cafe. You will also receive regular updates by email about our work at the Centre and an invitation to our annual Staff & Volunteer evening.
Every donation given will make a difference.
Your regular donations will help finance:
To become a Friend please click on the link below to complete the standing order form. If you are a UK tax payer please also complete the gift aid section. We will then be able to reclaim tax back on every donation made (25p in every pound) making your gift go further.
Friend of the Village Centre application form
Completed forms should be returned to The Village Centre, Victoria Street, Englefield Green, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0QX.
Please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you…
Contact:
Email – Manager@villagecentre.org.uk
Phone – 01784 471110
Address –
The Village Centre,
Victoria Street,
Englefield Green,
Egham,
Surrey,
TW20 0QX
Socials:
You can follow or get in touch with us via Instagram or Facebook – see homepage.
Carparking is available on Victoria Street, free of charge for up to two hours. Alternatively, there is a carpark at the top of Victoria Street, or all other local roads can be parked in free of charge with no time restriction.
Charitable donations are a huge part of making the work we do at The Village Centre come alive.
Every pound you donate allows us to enrich the services we provide to babies, children and young people, the elderly & isolated, vulnerable families and the hungry.
You can donate at any time to our community work through the DONATE button on our Home Page or you may wish to make a more regular donation to support us:
Would you like to help support our community work by becoming a Friend of the Village Centre?
To help financially support our building and the community work undertaken, we set up the Friend of the Village Centre scheme. In return for a monthly donation by standing order of £10 or more, you will receive a loyalty card which will entitle you to 10 free teas & coffees in a month at our community cafe. You will also receive regular updates by email about our work at the Centre and an invitation to our annual Staff & Volunteer evening.
Every donation given will make a difference.
Your regular donations will help finance:
To become a Friend please click on the link below to complete the standing order form. If you are a UK tax payer please also complete the gift aid section. We will then be able to reclaim tax back on every donation made (25p in every pound) making your gift go further.
Friend of the Village Centre application form
Completed forms should be returned to The Village Centre, Victoria Street, Englefield Green, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0QX.
Maybe:
Get in touch so we can tell you all about how you can get involved at The Village Centre. We have opportunities in our Community Cafe, Child Contact Centre and Community Fridge!
Contact: manager@villagecentre.org.uk or 01784 471110
We’ve recently been given the opportunity to collect surplus food from Aldi in Chertsey on Thursdays and Sundays. Collection would need to be done before 1pm.
ALSO we’re looking for someone who’s free for a couple hours on Thursday evenings, to help our collection volunteers process surplus food that they collect.
Please email communityfridge@villagecentre.org.uk if you can help us out!
A HUGE thank you to the team from CAP Worldwide who visited us and provided volunteering support at The Village Centre last week.
Arranged by the CEO, Jo Layton who lives in the village, it was a pleasure to welcome her 20 strong team from around the world
It was a delight to meet such an enthusiastic team and to receive such positivity and genuine interest about the work we do here for the community.
Through the team’s hard work, they were able to provide us with:
⭐️Completed Baby Basics baskets, ironed clothes and sorted donations
⭐️A decorated hall & toilet
⭐️A weed free driveway and side passage
⭐️Unblocked drains
⭐️Cakes to sell in our Cafe
⭐️Multiple meals for our Community Fridge and Cafe, all labelled
⭐️Community Fridge donations weighed out and labelled
⭐️Support in our Cafe, clearing tables and loading the dishwasher.
We so appreciate your support to our charity, and very much look forward to working with you again in the near future!
Thank you CAP Worldwide ❤️⭐️
Following the success of the recent pilot bus service before Easter, we are delighted to announce that the Englefield Green Community Bus Service to BROOKLANDS M&S and TESCO is now available to book!
The idea is to offer older residents or those with a disability (or just those without a car) an occasional shopping opportunity to these large, out of town stores, where they will find a wider range of goods than might be found locally.
This is a collaborative community led service and costs £5 per return trip (which can be paid by cash or card on the bus). Collection points are Hannover Close, The Hub, Schroder Court & The Village Centre.
Book your place on:
07783 910497 or email
Communitybus@villagecentre.org.uk
Spread the word amongst your family members who may not have access to social media. Posters & leaflets to be distributed soon!
As part of Surrey County Council’s “Let’s Talk About Food” initiative, we’re happy to host a children’s drop-in workshop on Thursday April 25th.
Stop by from 3.30pm to learn how to make some delicious, chocolate-y and healthy energy balls. These perfect little sweet treats will be packed with lots of nutritious ingredients such as dates, walnuts & flaxseeds.
Kids will be able to make some energy balls and then take home a recipe kit to make more at home!
No booking required, just pop into the Village Centre. See you there 💚
1 May is Zumba Day!
Get ready to join Cinti at her brand new Zumba class, starting on 1 May at 6.40 pm at the Village Centre. Email Cinti or book via her Instagram account
Some dates for your diaries. Citizens Advice will visit and be available to talk to at Englefield Green Foodbank (at the Village Centre) on 10 April, 8 May and 12 June between 1 and 3 pm.
THE FOODBANK NEEDS…
Englefield Green Foodbank runs at the Village Centre on Wednesdays between 1 and 3 pm.
Here is the latest needs list from the Foodbank, for anyone who wants to donate items, and we have a donation basket in the foyer of the Village Centre.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support
We were happy and grateful to be able to send these two wonderful Baby Basics bundles to their new homes. Thank you for your amazing generosity – your donations make all the differences to local new families.
A BIG thank you to all who joined our adult’s cooking class last month! We focused on what foods to eat for good brain & mental health, and everyone had a great time 💚
If you’d like to join our next class on Monday April 29th (12.45 – 2.45pm) please email communityfridge@villagecentre.org.uk to register.
Screen In The Green is your local film club. Enjoy regular screenings at the Village Centre in Englefield Green.
Membership is open for the upcoming summer months … to join the club and receive updates for what’s on, head over to:
http://www.screeninthegreen.wordpress.com
where you’ll find details on how to become a member (it’s free to join).
