MAYORS open a lot of things: fetes, jumble sales, exhibitions are the staple fare.

The Mayor of Winchester Barry Lipscomb has had an unusual one: he just formally ‘opened’... a set of windows.

He snipped the ribbon to open the celebration for Hyde Parish Hall on completion of a project to revamp the windows at the 19th building.

The grade II listed hall had its Victorian oak-timbered windows replaced as the originals had almost collapsed. Decades of weathering had damaged them, leading to dry and wet rot. The windows could not be opened in fair weather, nor closed properly when it rained.

The project has costs a total of £32,600 including a grant from the Veolia Environmental Trust. Funding also came from St Bartholomew’s Church.

Local groups regularly use the hall for a wide range of activities and events, including meetings, coffee mornings, lunch clubs, badminton, exercise and dance classes. Music groups, Brownies, Guides and Scouts also use it.

Rev Canon Cliff Bannister, rector of St Bartholomew's, said: “The new windows guarantee that the many regular users can be assured of a warm, clean, and dry building whenever they wish to come here in the future. We are so grateful to all those who have contributed to the substantial cost of the work, in particular the Veolia Environmental Trust, who helped us clear the final, financial hurdle.”