The story
A hall for a village, by the architect of the big house.
Around the turn of the last century the Curres of Itton Court had an architect on their hands. Guy Dawber, an Arts and Crafts man with a name for quiet Cotswold houses, had been adding a billiard room and long gallery to the Court.
They also asked him for something much smaller: a place for the village. What he built on the Chepstow road is one storey of local stone under a deep roof of stone tiles, with a chimney like a little tower and long white windows. Nothing about it is grand, and that is its charm.
Dawber went on to design the Reptile House at London Zoo, to be President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, to be the first President of what is now the Campaign to Protect Rural England, and to be knighted. He also drew a similar hall at St Arvans, just down the road. Cadw listed the one at Itton in 1993 as a good Arts and Crafts building that has kept its character, and as a Welsh example of his work.
Read the building
What to look for next time you are passing.
Part 1 of 8
The chimney
Cadw singles this out: a distinctive square stone stack, set forward at the angle between the hall and its cross wing. It is the first thing you see from the road, and the reason the building looks so settled.
A small mystery
Three dates, and they do not quite agree.
1901
Cadw's listing gives this as the year the Village Institute was built, to Guy Dawber's design, for the Curre family.
1913
The plaque on the wall beside the porch reads 1888-1913, for Edward and Augusta Curre's silver wedding. Was it built for that, or marked later?
1956
The hall's own account says it was given to the villagers this year, by the owners of the Itton Estate. It is the year the last Lady Curre died.
Somebody knows. It might be in the deeds, in the Curre papers, in the parish magazine of 1913, or in a shoebox in Howick.
If you have old photographs of the hall, memories of the Institute, or a document that settles it, the trustees would love to see them. The best answer will go up on this page, with your name on it.
I think I knowFourteen centuries
The parish, in order.
6th century
St Deiniol
The parish dates a church here to the 6th century, dedicated to Deiniol, first Bishop of Bangor. It is why Itton is Llanddinol in Welsh.
1133
A papal bull
The church at Itton is mentioned in a papal bull, its first firm date on paper.
1200s
Edyton, Hedyngton, Edeton
The English name appears in records under several spellings.
1300s
An outpost of Chepstow Castle
The entrance tower of Itton Court probably dates from now, when the house was a fortified outstation of the castle.
1540–50
Howick Farmhouse
A new house at Howick, built entirely of stone, which was unusual in Monmouthshire. It is now listed Grade II*.
1702
The bell
Evan Evans casts St Deiniol's one bell at the Chepstow foundry. It is still there.
1749
The Curres arrive
John Curre buys Itton Court. His family stays for more than two hundred years and shapes much of what you see in the village.
1869
The church rebuilt
St Deiniol's is mostly rebuilt, with Henry Woodyer overseeing the work. The date is on the rainwater heads.
1888
Edward and Augusta
Edward Curre marries Augusta Crawshay Bailey of Maindiff Court on 11 September. The date is on the hall's plaque.
1894
Electric light
The Curres put electricity into St Deiniol's, probably the first church in Monmouthshire to have it. Guy Dawber is at work on Itton Court around now, adding a billiard room and long gallery.
1896
The white hounds
Sir Edward Curre starts his own hunt, with kennels at Itton. It becomes known for its all-white pack.
1901
The hall
The year Cadw gives for the Village Institute, built for the Curres to Dawber's design.
1913
The plaque
The Curres' silver wedding year, recorded in stone beside the hall's porch.
1930s
A novelist at the Court
The Canadian writer Gabrielle Roy spends time at Itton Court in 1938 and 1939, and later describes it in her autobiography, Enchantment and Sorrow.
1956
Given to the village
The last Lady Curre dies and the family's two centuries at Itton come to an end. The hall's own account says it was given to the villagers this year.
1993
Listed
Cadw lists the hall at Grade II, as a good Arts and Crafts building and a Welsh example of Dawber's work.
1997
A registered charity
Itton Village Hall joins the charity register, for the use of the inhabitants of the parish.
2026
Lights, sound and a monthly bar
A National Lottery grant brings new sound and lights, the hall is on the internet at last, and a trial bar night becomes a fixture on the third Friday of the month.
The dates in yellow belong to the hall itself.
Where this comes from
Sources sometimes disagree, particularly about who built what at Itton Court. Corrections are very welcome.