The exciting future of a community near Dereham has been celebrated.

Eastern Daily Press: Church warden John Tuckwell looking at the two candlesticks engraved in memory of WWI soldier Thomas Parker. Picture: Ian BurtChurch warden John Tuckwell looking at the two candlesticks engraved in memory of WWI soldier Thomas Parker. Picture: Ian Burt (Image: Archant © 2014)

The Hoe and Worthing Parish Room will be hosting a wide range of groups and activities, including a community choir, jiving, art classes, wedding receptions and christenings after being refurbished with a new toilet and kitchen, funded by a grant of just under £100,000 from Norfolk County Council Community Construction Fund.

An official opening ceremony was held on Saturday.

Sue Malt, from the Hoe and Worthing Parish Meeting, which runs the room, said: 'The parish room was just being used for two meetings a year.

'This community needed a meeting place and in 2012 the building was 100 years old, so that prompted us to look at what can be done to bring it back to life.

'Several talks and events were held here to prove it would be well used if money was spent on it.

'It's been a great community effort and our chairman Trevor Wood has been a real driving force in securing this grant.

'There will now be many exciting times ahead for Hoe and Worthing.'

At Saturday's opening ceremony there was an art and craft show, a display of archive photographs from the two villages, a tug of war and children from the two villages cut a ribbon.

The neighbouring St Andrew's Church in Hoe hosted a flower festival and displays of information and pictures of soldiers from Hoe and Worthing who fought in the First World War.

Two candlesticks engraved in memory of First World War soldier Thomas Parker, from Dereham, who had family in Hoe and was a server in the church, were also displayed there.

Time capsules containing a random mixture of items including a tin of baked beans, a mobile phone, light bulbs, tickets to the 2012 Olympics, a James Bond DVD, Lego, stamps, coins, copies of the Dereham Times and a column from the Times' community editor Chris Hill were placed in the Hoe and Worthing church towers.

Norfolk county councillor Bill Borrett gave an opening speech and Archdeacon of Lynn, the Venerable John Ashe, gave his blessing.