The Chedworth Society

WELCOMES YOU

Chedworth is a living village with a vibrant community enjoying the benefits of an active church; an excellent primary school; a traditional village pub; and numerous leisure activities, sports clubs / associations / societies. The village is within the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Within this environment the Chedworth Society which is a registered charity (Charity No  259277) plays a valuable role within of the community.

It fulfils the role of an amenity group as well as a having a social side. The Society has a strong working Executive Committee to oversee the running of the Society, plus several active sub committees.

The Planning committee is concerned with planning issues affecting the conservation of the village and its surroundings.

The Water Wheel committee is tasked with the maintenance of the Water Wheel opposite the 7 Tuns pub.

Other sub-committees are busy with for example: investigating the options for a Parish Information Point; organising talks and workshops of interest to the village; arranging visits and trips.

This is combined with a social side, including the Annual Supper with a sit down meal in the village Hall when up to 90 members and their guests have a most enjoyable evening. And finally the Society has recently agreed in principal to take on the role of the village archivist.   

MEMBERSHIP

The Chedworth Society  welcomes new members.
We currently have over 170 paid up members. Membership is open to anyone who lives within the village and its adjacent parishes or anyone who has an interest in the village of Chedworth and its environs. The annual membership fee for 2011 is just £3.00 per person or £5.00 a household and is probably the best value around. 

Our sub-committees also welcome new members particularly anyone who has specific skills or who have an interest in their subject.

To join or for a chat, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Frank Beer (Hon Sec): Tel 01285 720 426 or any of the committee members listed below.

ACTIVITIES

We organise outings to places of interest and occasional talks for members and friends: such activities, plus the annual dinner and the obligatory open AGM, make up a full diary of local events and interest.

PROGRAMME OF SOCIAL EVENTS (2011)

The programme of events for 2011 is being developed, confirmed events include.    

OBJECTIVES OF THE CHEDWORTH SOCIETY

The following objectives are extracted directly from the Constitution document:

The objects of the society shall be to promote and encourage the following  objects  by charitable means but not otherwise: Objectives of The Chedworth Society

• To preserve and enhance the character of the parish of Chedworth and its surrounding countryside and to improve in every way possible its appearance and amenities.
• To secure the support of and cooperate with bodies local and
  national, whose functions or interests affect, or are compatible
  with  the objectives of the Society.
• To stimulate public consciousness and appreciation of the
  beauty, history and character of Chedworth and its
  surroundings.
• To encourage the preservation, development and improvement
  of features of general public amenity or historic interest.
• To encourage a strong public opinion in support of the above
  objectives.
• To pursue these ends by means or meetings, exhibitions, lectures and the promotion of schemes of a charitable nature.

PLANNING COMMITTEE

We have an active planning sub-committee which reviews all planning applications posted on the Cotswold District Council web site that affect Chedworth village and its surroundings, all of which is situated within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and in particular the conservation area within the village. The Society’s considered opinion is often solicited by Cotswold District Council as an informed voice of the community and we engage in dialogue with CDC to help ensure that the visual appeal of the village is protected. The fund of local knowledge within the society is an important element in debating planning issues. 

For information, or to join the society or any of the visits and social occasions please contact any of the Committee or see announcements in the Hill & Valley magazine. We will be producing a Spring 2011 newsletter for members in April after our AGM.

AUTUMN NEWSLETTER

NOVEMBER 2010

In early October, Mike Tovey ran a fascinating workshop at the Village Hall that took his audience back to Chedworth at the turn of the 20th Century. Basing his theme on the 1901 National Census, Mike painted an extremely clear picture of the social and economic structure of the Parish. Notably, the number of residents in 1901 was about the same as now, but the housing stock was about half that existing today. Examination of the Census forms soon identified how this equation was squared – families of 6-8 or more occupying 2- bedroomed cottages was indeed very prevalent. At the time of the Census, about 50% of the working population was directly employed by the railways, a dramatic shift from the almost wholly agricultural community that existed some 50 years earlier. Mike likened this social change to that repeated from the mid-60 until the present, and finished by asking his audience, ‘So how do you see Chedworth in the next hundred years’. Now there’s food for thought.

Meanwhile, opposite the Tuns, the waterwheel is still turning. Hopefully, this is now without the groaning that was an early feature after the wheel came back to life a month or so ago. The Society is now in the process of forming a small project team to figure out and set in place the wheel’s long-term future. So if you are interested in getting involved, I’d be very pleased to hear from you. Having completed our initial research, we are more optimistic about retaining the wheel as an aspect of the Village’s unique character. But the state of the overgrowth and thickness of the Tufa, which covered and encased the Wheel until this Summer, provided graphic evidence of the basic long-term requirement – routine and on-going maintenance.

Progress with our other project – the Parish Information Point – is also continuing apace. We are in contact with a very experienced cartographer who is producing a draft map that, hopefully, will serve to illustrate what the Society is aiming to achieve. Equally, we are putting together some designs for a wooden framework and perhaps stone structure. Our thoughts about its location focus upon the area adjacent to the Village Hall, but, overall, much rests on wide community agreement about both the concept and detail. At the moment, we are working to a target completion date of mid-2011, but let’s see how it all goes.

Finally, I would mention that our Annual Supper will be held on Saturday 20th November (7:30 for 8:00pm). Our committee is looking forward to greeting members of the Society on this our 41st year. We would also be delighted to welcome any non-members who share our charitable objects. If you wish to come along, do please give Ted Broughton a ring on 720440.

David Musgrave (Chairman),
720198                                                                      davidmusgrave@btinternet.com

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

THE 2009 REVIEW OF THE CHEDWORTH SOCIETY

The Chedworth Society has developed over the past 40 years on an informal basis during a period of rapid change.  In these circumstances, it was timely to carry out a full review of its principles and output, with the aim of determining how best the Society should continue to support the Parish.  . . . . . . . . Please click here for the Summary of The Review