Thorpe Hall is the new community centre for the parish of Ashwellthorpe and Fundenhall. It was built and contributed to the community by Mr Peter Muskett as part of a new property development on Wood Farm.

Thorpe Hall is operated on behalf of the community by the Ashwellthorpe & Fundenhall Community Centre CIO, a registered charity.

Thorpe Hall gained its name in two ways. Firstly it brings together two parts of the villages it principally serves: Ashwellthorpe and Fundenhall.

Secondly, it actually describes its primary function, that is the word ‘thorpe’ is an Anglo Saxon word for settlement or village. Therefore, the name Thorpe Hall literally means ‘village hall’.

The Ashwellthorpe and Fundenhall Community Centre (the Trust) owns and manages Thorpe Hall on behalf of the local community.

The Trust is a private charitable organisation. Specifically, it is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and is registered in England and Wales with the Charity Commission (No.: 1189935).

The Council for the parish of Ashwellthorpe and Fundenhall has been instrumental in the creation of Thorpe Hall. It worked with the developer on the design to create the community centre and set up the Trust as a completely separate legal entity to manage it on behalf of the community. Several parish councillors also sit on the board of Trustees.

The council retains responsibility for maintenance and development of the village pond, village green, and the path from The Street up to the corner of the green.

Ashwellthorpe and Fundenhall is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, situated some 6 km south-east of Wymondham and 20 km south-west of Norwich. The parish includes the villages of Ashwellthorpe and Fundenhall, which lie about 1 km apart as the crow flies, although rather farther by road.

The civil parish has an area of 9.74 km2 and the 2011 census had a population of approximately 750 people in 301 households but it has increased to approximately 1,000 people since.. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of South Norfolk.

Fundenhall was a separate parish until it was combined with Ashwellthorpe in 1935. The conjoined parish was known as Ashwellthorpe until 2003, when it adopted its current name.