A COMMUNITY welfare hall has been recreated as part of major plans to allow people relive the 1950s.

The hall is a replica of Leasingthorne Colliery Welfare Hall and Community Centre, near Bishop Auckland, which opened in 1957.

Beamish Museum, near Chester-le-Street, has worked closely with the community members at the original hall, now known as Coundon and Leeholme Community Centre, who shared memories, stories and objects.

The hall will host 1950s activities for visitors to enjoy, including music, dancing, crafts, keep fit and amateur dramatics, and it also features an NHS clinic.

Pam Hymas, trustee and treasurer of Coundon and Leeholme Community Centre, said: “We have felt proud and privileged to have worked with Beamish and the community. They have welcomed the help received from past and present members and the wider community in collecting information, memories and the history from 1957 to 2019.

“This has preserved the heritage of what the miners, their families and villagers achieved and now so many more will be able to see the hall at Beamish.”

The 1950s welfare hall, the first completed building of the £20million Remaking Beamish project, will be officially opened on Saturday, during a weekend of celebrations.

Celebrations will continue on Sunday with songs from Journey Skiffle Folk, a group from charity Journey, which has been working with Beamish and a tea dance will be held from 2.30pm to 4.30pm.

When complete, the 1950s town will include a cinema, houses, shops, café, fish and chip shop, hairdresser’s and bowling green.

The Remaking Beamish project also features a 1950s farm and an expansion of the Georgian area, including a coaching inn, where visitors will be able to stay overnight.

Director of Beamish Richard Evans said: “It’s a fantastic addition for visitors to experience and a lasting tribute to the hard work of all our staff and volunteers. “It’s an important milestone for us as we move into a new time period and expand the stories we tell of everyday life in the North-East.”