WI Spotlight M - R

WI Spotlight

M - R

MARDEN

Marden village is rich in history from the Romans to the present day. The manor was a royal estate and there has always been a Christian church. The church, featured on the cover photograph, dates from the 13th century and is a focal point for the community, housing a library as well as providing a house of worship.

Marden W.I. was formed in 1930 and we celebrated our 85th anniversary at The Hickory Stick restaurant (photo). We meet on the second Tuesday in the month with diverse speakers such as one of our own members on her quilting trip to America, a chiropractor on how to manage back pain and wine tasting. The ages of our thirty members span six decades. New members are always welcome as we are a very friendly group and we enjoy socialising outside the meeting nights with fun trips as well as visiting other W.I.s

Fundraising has included a jumble sale and a Christmas market stall selling homemade crafts and produce. The proceeds from this enables us to provide a biennial Denman bursary.

Our W.I. tablecloth (see photo) was stitched in 1975 by eight members. Surrounding the central W.I. logo are embroidered representations of typical W.I. activities. Also depicted are famous features of Marden: the mermaid, the bell, St. Mary’s Church, the historic River Lugg Bridge, a renowned herd of Herefords and the blacksmith’s shop, all bordered by Herefordshire hops.

MATHON

Mathon is a small village of approximately 280 inhabitants. It lies on the west side of the Malvern Hills in beautiful countryside much enjoyed by visiting holidaymakers, ramblers, horseriders and cyclists. Mathon is mentioned in the Doomsday Book and the church dates from Pre-Norman times, the yew tree in the churchyard is over 700 years old. The old Mathon Hop, which was used by Royal Worcester to decorate their china, can still be found growing in the hedgerows.

Mathon Women’s Institute was formed in January 1924 and the longest-serving member, who joined in 1965, still proudly possesses her original programme. We have some talented members who include accomplished artists, photographers and cooks.

We have a busy programme of monthly meetings which include lively discussion and socializing whilst enjoying refreshments provided in turn by members. We also enjoy regular outings to country houses, gardens, theatre visits and restaurants. The annual skittles match in January with Cradley WI is hotly contested and with neighbouring Bosbury and Cradley WI’s we host a soup and pancake lunch on Shrove Tuesday.

In 2012, to commemorate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, we planted spring bulbs at the approaches to the village and we participate in local fundraising events which benefit the community and improve the environment. We provide teas for walking groups and last year hosted a Harvest Supper for the village community.

It has become a popular tradition to commence the Resolutions Meetings and AGM’s with a fish and chip supper, which certainly ensures a large turn-out of members!

MOCCAS

Moccas & District W.I. means exactly that. When it was founded in 1948 members were purely local but as the years have gone by and cars, plus lady drivers, have become more usual we have spread as far afield as Bredwardine, Blakemere, Madley and Eaton Bishop. One member even travels from Hereford to our monthly meetings, usually first Tuesday of the month in Moccas Village Hall at 7.30pm. The closure of several neighbouring WIs has meant we have gained and has brought in many younger ladies who are a huge asset; There are 27 fun loving members this year.

Moccas is a very small village in glorious countryside with the renowned Deer Park (an SSSI) on the south side and the river Wye to the north. Cider orchards now abound and there are still some Hereford cattle grazing near our beautiful Norman church which is set in a field near Moccas Court. We have a magnificent Village Hall built in 2001. We have lots of involvement in village events. Members assist with HFWI county activities including a wet Three Counties show this year. One member instigated the successful Gracenotes choir. Craft skills are in abundance, flower arranging, catering, dancing and acting are high on the agenda.. Several members have been to Denman which they much enjoyed. We have held a Childrens "Farming Fun" day, including a live lamb in the Village Hall. We also helped with a Village Charity Big Breakfast, proceeds to St.Michael's Hospice, which was such a success another is planned for the autumn. The programme is put together by the members, each month a small group finds a speaker, hosts the meeting and provides simple refreshments. The monthly competition is for a single stem from garden or hedgerow and provides an attractive and easy way for anyone to enter. This is judged by us all with small coins which are collected and sent to ACWW each year.

Over the years we have planted five trees around the village to celebrate special anniversaries. The silver birch planted in 1973, on the green opposite the war memorial, is magnificent and makes a lovely entrance to the village. The latest tree, a Canadian maple, was planted in the churchyard to celebrate NFWI's 100th anniversary.

MORETON ON LUGG

The WI was formed in place of the Ladies Club in November 1977 with an initial subscription of £1.60!!  There are six founder members still attending our meetings.

The stabling block of the Manor House, Moreton Court, was converted into the Village Hall in 1976 and the WI have used it as their meeting place ever since.

Moreton Court was requisitioned during the war for  the American Army and was then demolished in 1958; the site being used as a small housing estate.

St Andrews Church, next to the Village Hall, is a very pretty church with priceless mosaics lining the Chancel.  If you do not know the church, it is well worth a visit.

The Railway Station at Moreton became famous for the ticket office being in a huge hollow oak tree!

The village has a well stocked shop and Post office and an excellent fish and chip shop.  Fish and chip suppers have been enjoyed on many occasions at WI meetings.   Although we are a small WI, we have enjoyed many friendships over the years.

MUCH BIRCH

We believe our village name comes from the large number of Betula Pendula in the area and is nothing to do with corporal punishment. Our 34 members come from a wide area - Much & Little Birch, Much & Little Dewchurch.  Our institute is 60 years old this year and we celebrated with a special supper in June when we were entertained by handbell ringers.  We used to meet in the village school but were delighted to move to the new Community Hall in 1979 where we could sit on grown up chairs and have proper washing up facilities.  Next to the Hall is our much appreciated surgery which was placed 45th in the whole country in a national survey of patients.

Over the years we have taken part in drama, craft events and walks.  Our safari suppers were especially popular with husbands and partners!!  Every Autumn we organise a quiz where up to a dozen local clubs and societies compete for a rather splendid silver cup.  Several of our members have very much enjoyed courses at Denman.

The programme of meetings has been varied with travel talks on trips to Syria, Peru and Turkestan; a very interesting talk on The Wye Trow  which took part in the Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames; an entertaining talk on learning to fly a helicopter; a hilarious evening when we tried on a variety of hats and a talk on Hereford Gaol!!

MUCH COWARNE WI

Much Cowarne Women’s Institute was formed on December 6th 1929. Where Mrs Edwin Bray was elected as president and the secretary was Miss Kitty Powell a post she held for one year until Miss Ethel Pitt (later to become Mrs Waldron) took on the post. The first competition was for a pink blancmange.

Initially during the war despite petrol rationing and the ‘Black Out’ members continued to attend meetings until October 1940 when the suggestion to move meetings to the afternoon was deemed impossible and meetings were suspended until March 1941. The minutes record the work carried out by the WI during the war, ‘knitting comforts for the forces’, ‘the packing of parcels to be sent to the soldiers’, support for the women’s land army and the preservation of fruit.

1965 was the Golden Jubilee year of the WI. The Much Cowarne scrap book won a certificate of Merit in the Cogan Cup competition organised by the Herefordshire Federation of WI’s. Membership then was forty one.

Meetings were held at Much Cowarne School until its closure when they were moved to Stoke Lacy Village Hall, they took place on the second Friday of the month, which still continues today.

In 2015 two members, Mrs Betty Bowler and Mrs Mary Wells plus our chairman, Kathryn Bandfield who was also County Chairman, attended the Centenary Garden Party at Buckingham Palace which was a memorable day and it was a great honour to be invited.  In the same year we passed the Centenary Baton from the Hereford Group to the Bromyard Group at the Wye Valley Brewery in Stoke Lacy.  It was transported in a 1950 Bentley (see photo).

The membership today is 30 and we are known to be a welcoming friendly WI with many members spending time together outside of the WI. We have a speaker and competition at all of our meetings and always have a delicious supper.  Each year we try to have an outing, a spring lunch and an annual garden party held in the garden of the president, this year the competition was ‘a hat’ (see photo) We also have a Christmas Party.  We take part and take it in turn to host the Group Meeting and attend local WI’s meetings when invited.

Our aim for the future is to encourage new members who we hope will bring new ideas and inspiration to ensure the continuation of Much Cowarne WI. Our current President is Jenny Maund, Elaine Brown is the Secretary on 01432 820133, she has held office since 1997 and has only missed 4 meetings and the treasurer is Sandra Ingram who has been in post since 1987 and has missed 6 meetings - both are invaluable.  Anyone wishing to join us is welcome to come along to any of our meetings or contact us on the numbers above for more information.

MUNSLEY & DISTRICT WI

MUNSLEY WI HALL       Meeting time 2nd Tuesday of the month - in winter at 2.30 pm, in summer at 7.30pm

Munsley and District WI was founded in 1922.  then the fund raising began; several years later a meeting was held at the Trumpet Inn, not to arrange the annual programme but to make arrangements to build a WI Hall that would also be used by the local community.  Mr O C Gallimore of Mainstone Court, Munsley, kindly donated a piece of land with road access.  Fund raising continued until 1927 when planning permission was granted and a quote for £407.10s was accepted to build the new hall.  In September 1927, the foundation stone was laid by Mrs A W Foster, Chairman of Herefordshire Federation of Women's Institutes.  It is understood that our Hall is only one of four WI Halls remaining in the country.

IN 1989, a meeting was held to arrange to raise funds to replace the chemical toilets and to upgrade the kitchen.  The one constant source of income over the years is the monthly Whist Drive which helps pay for the ever increasing running costs.

The Hall is still used for Parish Council meetings and as a polling station, as well as for youngsters to do their band practice.  Others use the Hall for dance parties and amateur dramatics rehearsals.

We are a small, but active, WI having 11 meetings a years - some educational, some recreational

ORLETON WI

ORLETON VILLAGE HALL    Meeting time: 2nd Monday of the month at 7.30pm

Orleton is a busy village in North Herefordshire, on the border with Shropshire, which boasts a village shop and Post Office, two pubs, a surgery and a bus service.  St George’s Church, built in the 12th century, has several notable features. The village welcomes walkers, cyclists, caravaners and visitors all year round.

Our WI is a friendly, outgoing group with an average membership of 35 ladies.  This year we celebrate our 80th birthday and have several anniversary events planned including a Birthday Dinner and the making of a pottery anniversary bowl.  We have a fun and varied programme, catering for all tastes with socialising high on the agenda!  It includes hands on activities as well as talks and additional outings; these are often to the theatre, pantomime, the local craft college and our annual Strawberry Tea.  Several members have made ‘twiddlemuffs’ for patients with dementia, syringe driver bags for the hospice and bags for mastectomy patients at the hospital.

We also regularly support our village community ventures such as Orleton Coffee Shop, Scarecrow Teas and the Annual Craft Fair. In 2016 two members researched the two WWI soldiers buried in Orleton church yard as part of the CWGC Living Memory Project and, together with children from the school, we remembered them on Remembrance Day placing poppies on their graves.

Our much cherished tablecloth was made by members and presented to Orleton WI in November 2005.

PARKWAY WI

Baptist Church Rooms, Homend, Ledbury: 2nd Tuesday of the month, 2.00pm  

Parkway WI was formed in 1946, when rationing was still in force and the emphasis was still on ‘make do and mend’. Since then, Parkway has been active in the many campaigns launched by the WI executive concerning women, their families and the environment, including Equal Pay for Equal Work, and more recently SOS Honey Bees.

Parkway WI celebrated its 71st birthday in February, 2017. Our membership crosses the age ranges. We have a thriving Knit and Natter group and most of our members are involved in other clubs and societies, bringing new ideas and thinking to our meetings.

Our meetings reflect the traditional format of WI meetings, with a speaker, a competition and refreshments – usually tea and biscuits and on special occasions, afternoon tea. Like other WIs, we have an annual outing, a festive lunch and Christmas party. In 2015 we had the honour of hosting the WI’s Centenary Anniversary at our Group Meeting.

We would like to think that we provide a meeting place where women from all backgrounds can come together in friendship to share their stories and experiences, to share a joke and have a laugh.

Our President, Val Graham and our Secretary, Eileen Hunt, have been fulfilling their roles for too many years to remember exactly and the skills they have brought to these roles have been crucial to the efficient but relaxed way in which Parkway WI conducts itself.

PEMBRIDGE WI

Meeting at Pembridge Village Hall, 2nd Wednesday of the month

pembridge

Nearly 100 years of fun and fellowship. Pembridge WI has been a caring integral part of the community since May 1919.

Meetings are usually well planned, stimulating, educational or amusing  but sometimes spontaneous and just fun. They cover a wide spectrum from the hilarious “The Right Bra”, Music with Teapots and Hose Pipes to the educational and serious Care in the Community.

Trying to dovetail in all our other monthly activities – Reading Group/Tea, Walking Group/Lunch, Tenpin Bowling/Lunch Group, Coffee Afternoons is quite a feat. All this is not to mention fitting in hopping on a train to Cardiff or Manchester for the odd educational/shopping day out. We are hoping to add Oxford to the list. Also we squeeze in an annual coach trip, Christmas lunch and The Courtyard Festival Dinner and Pantomime.

Pembridge WI enters fully into community events including the Village Show, Turning on the Christmas lights, neighbourhood Coffee mornings and Britain in Bloom. We obtained a NFWI garden grant and with help from the community built a large planter in the car park and a tub which has a plaque in memory of all past WI members. New ideas and plans are on the way for our centenary in May 2019.

With all that is on offer it would be wonderful to “Inspire” more younger women to join us and ensure Pembridge WI reaches its 200th anniversary.

PENCOMBE AND LITTLE COWARNE WI

Venue: Pencombe and Little Cowarne Parish Hall – 3rd Tuesday of the month 7:30pm

Pencombe and Little Cowarne villages are set in the middle of the triangle of roads linking Hereford, Leominster, and Bromyard.   We enjoy rolling countryside with fine views towards the Malverns, May Hill and Hay Bluff and some of our members farm this land for sheep, beef, cider orchards and dairying.   Pencombe is the larger village and is home to our parish hall and the school.  Little Cowarne benefits from the award-winning Three Horseshoes Inn and has an embroidery of local landmarks hanging in the church.  We have one bus a week, which goes to Hereford on a Wednesday.

Our Women’s Institute was formed in 1924, closed in 1955, opened again in 1970 and currently has 19 members.

A couple of years ago, we surveyed our members and asked them a few questions about our WI.  When asked about why they joined, several were encouraged to make up a team to play rounders, others wanted to meet local people and make friends.  Members have been in the WI from two to forty-eight years and enjoy the company and friendship gained through visits, interesting speakers, social events and making things.  Members feel that the WI is different from other activities they go to because it is an opportunity to belong to a group of women with all kinds of interests, which may last a lifetime.  It is also good to be part of a national organisation.  Our members are concerned that more younger women aren’t joining although we are fortunate to have a steady trickle of newcomers. Interestingly, several of our new joiners are women who have recently retired and moved into the area.

Our WI 2017 programme is varied and draws on a wealth of local talent – our activities include a visit to Moors Meadow garden, talks on Fashion Accessories, Winslow Court, the Life of a Podiatrist, Art Deco Jewellery and making Christmas cards.  Some of our socials are dinners and outings but we have also played children’s games at our Christmas party (see the photos) and sat around a table talking about a topic (our holidays and working abroad), which was surprisingly rewarding.  We enjoy hosting visitors from other WI’s and were very pleased that so many came to our Medieval Dancing event and our Barbecue.

We have a Group Meeting on Tuesday 18th July and are hoping Belly Dancing will attract women who like a bit of fun – how about learning the moves of a femme fatale (or possibly the female equivalent of Dad dancing?). Do encourage your WI to come along, join in, and find out more about Pencombe and Little Cowarne WI.  For further information 01885 400204.

PETERSTOW WI

Formed in 1938, Peterstow W.I.’s meetings were held in the Peterstow Parish Room for 61 years, prior to moving to Bridstow Village Hall in 2000.

During WWII, Peterstow W.I. rallied to all calls for help, manning First Aid Posts and setting up working parties.  Members were involved in making up parcels of clothing to send to the Public Assistance Office in Hereford to be distributed to families in need.  War Savings were collected, Ration Books given out and members entertained wounded and convalescent soldiers from the nearby Red Cross Hospital.

Once peacetime returned, Peterstow W.I. settled down to a normal programme of events, always at the centre of village life, entering the Best Kept Village competitions and holding special celebrations for events like the Coronation, Silver Jubilee and Royal Weddings.

In recent years a Drama Group has been formed and members have very much enjoyed performing several pantomimes to entertain the other W.I.s in the Ross Group.  A Murder Mystery play was also performed, as well as always entering the Cogan Cup Competition – which they have won twice.

Peterstow W.I. has recently established a rapport with the Ross Court Retirement Home with W.I. members joining the residents for afternoon tea, giving talks about the W.I. and assisting them to produce a lovely Easter Tree.

Peterstow is a thriving and very friendly W.I. with a steady membership of 36 and has built up a very good reputation for their delicious afternoon teas!!

PRESTON WYNNE - see FELTON & PRESTON WYNNE

PONTRILAS & DISTRICT WI

Greetings to all our fellow members throughout Herefordshire and welcome to the world of Pontrilas & District W.I. on the beautiful English/Welsh border. Our WI was founded in Pontrilas in 1926 when Pontrilas was the established centre for the surrounding villages. Even in those days the majority of members lived in Ewyas Harold but it was not until the 1960s that we moved to Ewyas Harold Memorial Hall.

Today we are a modern and welcoming W.I. but proud of the fact that we are part of a respected County and National Federation. One of our members recently held a Coffee Morning to raise money for Denman College and another member has had seven photographs accepted for the County Calendars. Our hard-working committee ensure that all our meetings are enjoyable with good speakers. Once a year we have an open meeting to which husbands, friends and the public are invited. In between meetings we have regular coffee mornings at our local pub which sometimes extend to include lunch! We have Theatre visits to Abergavenny and Hereford and always a wonderful Christmas Lunch party. In August we have a ‘posh’ Garden Party in a member’s garden.

We support each other in times of sadness or joy and, of course, we are still happy to provide special W.I. tea and cakes at village events.

PONTRILAS WI

Greetings to all our fellow members throughout Herefordshire and welcome to the world of Pontrilas & District W.I. on the beautiful English/Welsh border. Our WI was founded in Pontrilas in 1926 when Pontrilas was the established centre for the surrounding villages. Even in those days the majority of members lived in Ewyas Harold but it was not until the 1960's that we moved to Ewyas Harold Memorial Hall.

Today we are a modern and welcoming W.I. but proud of the fact that we are part of a respected County and National Federation. One of our members recently held a Coffee Morning to raise money for Denman College and another member has had seven photographs accepted for the County Calendars. Our hard-working committee ensure that all our meetings are enjoyable with good speakers. Once a year we have an open meeting to which husbands, friends and the public are invited. In between meetings we have regular coffee mornings at our local pub which sometimes extend to include lunch! We have Theatre visits to Abergavenny and Hereford and always a wonderful Christmas Lunch party. In August we have a ‘posh’ Garden Party in a member’s garden.

We support each other in times of sadness or joy and, of course, we are still happy to provide special W.I. tea and cakes at village events.

Gill Reece