Home
Dear Berwick St James Residents,
Here are a couple of dates for your diary:
- Sunday 18th December – Candlelit Christmas Carol Service - This is always one of the highlights of the year and we look forward to seeing a full church once again. The start time has been delayed to 6.30pm due to a bit of football.
- Saturday 7th January at 2.00 pm – Meeting in St James Church to discuss idea to create a memorial or community garden by the river. The has been discussed at the last couple of village meetings. The meeting is open to everybody. We will look at a couple of ideas and will explore how the work can be done. Anybody who is interested in the design of the project and being part of a work party is most welcome. If you are unable to come to the meeting but would like to be involved or have any comments or suggestions, please send these through to Christian.
- Monday 9th January at 7.00 pm - Reading Room – Village meeting – the minutes of the last meeting can be seen on the village website on this link - We have yet to finalise the agenda for the meeting but we will be setting the village precept for 2023/24. The agenda will be sent out in due course.
Many thanks
Christian Lange & Sarah Humphreys
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AGM - Thursday 5th May 2022 @ 7pm
All Villagers Welcome
A quick reminder that the Village 2022 AGM is taking place on Thursday 5th May at 7:00pm in the Reading Room and all villagers are welcome. Agenda items should be submitted either to Christian Lange at The Black Barn or Sarah Humphreys at Berwick House or by e-mail chair@berwickstjames.org.uk no later than Wednesday 27tApril. Click here to view Agenda.
This meeting is the AGM and the four positions, Chair, Deputy Chair, Treasurer and Secretary need to be elected or re-elected. Anyone wishing to stand for any of these positions please contact Christian Lange or Sarah Humphreys.
Whilst this is our AGM where we will be going through village accounts and the election of various posts, we will also be discussing a couple of interesting items as follows:
- The Jubilee party
- The Jubilee memorial: We are exploring plans to create an environmentally friendly memorial garden at the back of the church yard near the river which will complement the Queens ‘Green Canopy’ scheme where trees are being planted across the commonwealth. We intend to hold a separate meeting to go through plans in greater detail at a later date but there will be a proposal at the meeting to commit to the long term maintenance of the garden which may cost in the region of £250 per year. This will be proposed at the meeting on 5th May and will be voted upon.
The meeting will be a normal ‘in person’ village meeting. We do not plan to have a zoom option at the moment unless there is a demand for this. Please let us know as soon as possible if you would like us to provide an option to join the meeting via Zoom and Christian will arrange this.
We look forward to welcoming everybody to the village meeting which will be followed by the usual glass of wine.
Many thanks
Christian Lange and Sarah Humphreys.
Update Monday 7 March '22
Dear All,
I hope that you are all keeping well. Quite a few people in the village have recently come down with Covid so it would be good if people could still wear masks and take the usual precautions when visiting the farm shop.
Here are a few dates for your diaries:
Thursday 24th March 11.00 at Berwick St James Church – Memorial Service for Brenda Gray
A memorial Service for Branda Gray will be held in the Church in Berwick St James at 11.00 on Thursday 24th March. Brenda’s daughter, Susan, has specifically said that everyone is invited to attend. Any queries to Stephen Bush or Bill Hiscocks.
Wednesday 30th March 7pm – Film Screening of 2040 – Reading Room
In November we carried out a survey of the village about climate change and the results indicated that over 70% of people would be interested in seeing films about the environment. We have therefore organised to show the first of these films in the Reading Room on 30th March at 7pm and this will be followed by a glass of wine and a discussion.
Our vicar, Jonathon Plows, will introduce the film ‘2040’ – This is a positive and optimistic film which explores what the world might look like in 2040 if we are able to make use of existing technology to look after the environment. It should be a very interesting evening and I hope that you will be able to join us. Entry will be free with a retiring collection.
Saturday 9th April 10.00 to 4pm - Fun Open day at Langford Lakes
In the village survey mentioned above the majority of people said that they would like more information about measures that they can take to reduce their carbon footprint and how we can look after the environment. We initially considered organising a special event in the Reading Room but we soon realised that it would be better to combine our efforts with neighbouring villages and have worked with LEAF and Wilshire Wildlife Trust to put on such a day at the fabulous Langford Lakes
Free transport is being provided for local villages including residents of Berwick St James. Please see the attached leaflet and poster for more information. If you would like a lift please book a place on using the following E mail address: leafinthewylyvalley@gmail.com stating your location and number of seats required.
Thursday 5th May at 7pm - Village Meeting – Reading Room
This is the date of our next village meeting. We have yet to put together the agenda but all villagers are most welcome to attend. More details to follow.
Sunday 5th June – Jubilee Village Party
We are delighted to announce that plans are being developed for a Jubilee Village Party which will be held at The Clock House from about 12.00 on Sunday 5th June. We would love as many people in the village to attend so please do put the date in your diaries. Plans are being developed so more information will follow in due course.
The next ‘Jubilee’ meeting on Monday 14thMarch at 6:30pm in the Reading Room (open to everybody in the village). We already have a great team, but need more helpers. So please do come along as we would like all the village to be involved. Everyone will be warmly received. If you can’t come to the meeting but wish to help – please email Hayley and Nicky at jubileeparty@berwickstjames.org.uk Many Thanks.
Thank you for the wine – Storm Eustice brough the village a number of challenges with power cuts over two days. It was great to see so many people in the village offering help and support to each other. I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everybody who helped and also for the very kind gift of wine which was most appreciated!
Many thanks
Christian and Sarah
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update Saturday 15 January '22
Dear All,
Here are a few updates for the village:
Farm Shop - We are delighted to report that Wiltshire Council have accepted our application to have the farm shop listed as an asset of Community Value. We have attached the letter that we recently received from them. This took quite a bit of work which was helped by over 30 people signing the application. Let’s hope that we never have to use this and that we continue to have a thriving village farm shop which can only happen if it is well supported by the village.
Upcoming Renovation to Berwick Sewers – Please see the E mail below which is self-explanatory. The attached document is also quite interesting (if you are into sewers and stuff like that!) – The bit to note is that there might be some minor disruption in the village between 21st Feb and 4th March. Ideally this will stop ground water getting into the sewers which tends to overload them.
Jubilee Street Party – We are hoping to have a village street party (perhaps not in the street!) on Sunday 5th June – We need people to help plan and get involved in the party. If you are able to help to make the party a success for the village, please come along to the initial planning meeting which will be held on Thursday 3rd February at 6.30 pm. Please could you let Christian know if you are able to help by sending a reply to this E mail.
Rising Fuel prices – Surviving Winter Grants – We have received the following message from Age UK Wiltshire – please pass on the information to anybody you think might benefit. We will be placing the attached posters on the village noticeboards shortly but please feel free to print one off and pass on.
Hello everyone,
I am writing from Age UK Wiltshire to let you know about the local Wiltshire Surviving Winter Grant (SWG), for which we are one of the partner organisations supporting older people to apply for the grant.
The scheme is aimed at older people at risk of fuel poverty and aims to support them by providing a one-off £200 grant alongside holistic advice to help ensure they are maximising their income and receiving support for any other issues they may have.
It has been running on an annual basis for a number of years and is organised and fundraised through Wiltshire Community Foundation. It is likely to remain open until around March 2022 time (but may close sooner if all grants are distributed).
Please note that for working-age people, Wiltshire Warm & Safe (https://www.warmandsafewiltshire.org.uk/) are the partner organisation supporting these clients to apply for the grant (the criteria for working age clients is slightly different).
Please see the attached flyers and we would be grateful if you could pass this information on to any residents that may find it helpful. Please let us know if you need any further information.
Kind regards,
Rachel Clarke Age UK Wiltshire
enquiries@ageukwiltshire.org.uk
Advice Line tel: 0808 196 2424 (Monday- Friday, 10am-3pm)
That should be about it for now.
Many thanks
Christian & Sarah
From: Lauren Violante <Lauren.Violante@wessexwater.co.uk>
Date: Thursday, 13 January 2022 at 11:34
To: "chair@berwickstjames.org.uk" <chair@berwickstjames.org.uk>
Subject: Wessex Water Upcoming Sewer Renovation Works Berwick St James
Dear Sir/Madam,
Wessex Water have identified areas of infiltration to the sewer network in Berwick St James. We plan to carry out renovation works using a no-dig technology from 21 February to 4 March as detailed below.
- 21 February to 4 March: High Street from the junction with North View to outside No 1 The Row (working hours 7am – 8pm) with a rolling road closure.
Attached is a leaflet to explain the process we will be using.
Please let me know if you would like to discuss this further.
Kind regards,
Lauren Violante
Site Engineer
Wessex Water
Claverton Down Bath BA2 7WW
Contact number 01225 526 564
Mobile number 07823 370 151
Lauren.Violante@wessexwater.co.uk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update Thursday 6 January '22
Dear All,
Happy New Year!
It has been nearly two years now that we have been dealing with the Covid pandemic and the village has pulled together so well to ensure that we support each other through these difficult times. With each twist and turn of this pandemic, Berwick's Covid Coordination Team has looked at what needed to be done or changed to ensure everybody is safe and cared for.
The team met briefly recently to look what needed to be done in the wake the latest Omicron variant.
Dr Sally Hiscock has kindly written us all a letter which can be accessed here.
We are aware that some people may struggle if isolating alone so please contact us if you need help with shopping or getting prescriptions. Please contact either Sally , Christian (790122), Sarah (790212) or Hayley if you need any help.
Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any ideas or suggestions to to what we can do as a community to deal with this pandemic.
All the best
Sarah, Christian, Bill, Hayley and Sally
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update Wednesday 10 November '21
Dear All,
As per our last E mail, we will be holding our next village meeting at 7pm on Tuesday 23rd November. The meeting will again be a ‘hybrid’ type meeting where people will have the choice of joining in person or over Zoom.
One of the main purposes of this meeting will be to discuss how to distribute the funds that were raised at the village party which was held on 31stJuly 2021. The funds raised far exceeded expectations and came to £6376.27. We have received three proposals which will be discussed at this village meeting. They are as follows:
- St James Church - £2000
- Reading Room - £2000
- Labour costs to install new all-weather cricket pitch - £1620.00
It will be proposed that the balance should remain in the Berwick Community Fund. We intend to send out more detailed information about each proposal with the finalised agenda closer to the date of the meeting.
The precept for the village will also be discussed and decided upon at this meeting. We will propose that it remain unchanged at £2000.00 per year.
Christian will also go through the results of the village climate change survey. We have had just over 30 responses and hope that this will rise over the next few days. We are very keen to hear from as many people as possible so that we have an accurate reflection of people’s thoughts about whether the village should progress any of the suggestion put forward in the survey. If you have not already done so, please do complete the survey which can be found on this link: https://survey.sogosurvey.com/r/YQPQBX It should only take about 6 minutes to complete. It would also be very helpful if you could help neighbours who find it difficult to access the internet. We do plan to send out paper copies to those we know are not on the internet but help from neighbours would be most welcome.
Here is the Zoom link for those who would like to join the meeting online:
Topic: Berwick Village Meeting 23rd November 7pm
Time: Nov 23, 2021 19:00 London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82430343065?pwd=YUg4eGt5ZWl0MlAwNHJpbDF3VDlzQT09
Meeting ID: 824 3034 3065
Passcode: 863385
Here's the link to the draft agenda – please let us know as soon as possible if you would like anything else added to the agenda.
Many thanks
Christian & Sarah
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Berwick St James Parish Meeting - 23 Nov '21
It was good to see many of you at the last village meeting (7 Oct '21) either in person or online. This ‘hybrid’ model of holding village meetings seems to work well as it enables people to have the choice of attending in person or joining over Zoom.
Hayley Burrey has kindly prepared the minutes of the meeting which can be downloaded from the village website on the following LINK
The zoom video recording of the meeting is also available on this Link You will need the following password htZNL$7q
It was decided at the village meeting that another village meeting should be held to decide how the proceeds from the village party (£6376.27) should be distributed. The next village meeting will be on Tuesday 23rd November at 7pm for the purpose. This will provide village groups/organisations such as the Church, Reading Room or Cricket Team to give advance notice as to how much they would like from the proceeds. Advance notice can then be given to the village regarding these proposals. Please could groups/organisations who wish to make such a proposal or bid please send these to either Sarah or Christian by 7th November for inclusion on the agenda.
Depending on how Covid develops over the coming weeks, the village meeting will again be ‘Hybrid’ as detailed above.
Many thanks
Christian & Sarah.
Berwick St James Parish Meeting - 7 Oct '21
Berwick St James Village Meetings on Thursday 7th October @ 7pm in the Reading Room and Online ( We are very much hoping the online will work, we have Christian working on making it possible and if anyone can make it work he can!).
We are looking forward to welcoming as many people as possible to the next village meeting and the agenda is attached. It will be the first gathering in the Reading Room since lockdown and the restrictions being lifted. So that everyone is aware there will be people present not wearing masks and so if you feel at all apprehensive please join online.
23 August '21
We are delighted to say that the Reading Room is now open!
For details, click here
Berwick St James AGM - 19 May '21
BERWICK ST JAMES Berwick St James Village AGM Wednesday 19th May@ 7pm Online. The next village meeting will be held on Wednesday 19th May 2021. The meeting will be a ‘hybrid meeting’. This means that the only people actually present will be the Co Chairs, Treasurer and Secretary but it will be open to the village residents online like we have done recently. A link will be forwarded nearer the time. Agenda items should be submitted to either Christian Lange at The Black Barn or Sarah Humphreys at Berwick House or by e-mail to chair@berwickstjames.org.uk no later than Monday 17th May. The full agenda will be published on Tuesday 18th May.
Update 21 March '21
As the weather is starting to improve and the light at the end of the lockdown tunnel becomes more visible, it is time for a quick up update for the village.
Moment of reflection – Tuesday 23rd March 12.00
Tuesday 23rd March has been nominated as a Day of Reflection, as it marks the anniversary of the first lockdown and thus provides an opportunity to reflect on all that has happened in the past year and in particular, the loss of so many lives.
There is a one minute silence at noon after which the church bell will be rung for 5 minutes.
The Boot
Mike has written to say that the Boot will be opening up in compliance with the guidance from 12th April. This means that they will be serving in the garden only initially but we hope that in May people will be allowed in the pub itself. It will be so good to have a drink together at the pub again!
Village Art Competition
Following some fabulous entrants for our village Art Competition with the theme of ‘Berwick in Winter’. We are delighted to announce the following results and their awarded places.
In the Adult Category :1st Place – Jane Rowe, 2nd Place – Nicky Street and 3rd Place – Paulene Patient
For the Children aged 12 years and under Category: We had one clear winner and the First Prize was awarded to Master George Ridley!
As promised the winning entries will be posted on our Facebook Site, Website (click here to view) and Village noticeboards. A huge thank you to ALL who entered and many CONGRATULATIONS to all our talented winners!
Village Notice Board
We are planning to refresh the Village Notice Board, by updating the current information and adding new. If any villagers would like to have a card displayed for their local business, or any community projects / activities etc. Please contact Hayley on 07774 926567 or hayleyburrey@ntlworld.com.
Village Online Scrabble League
A number of us have been enjoying our Friday night games of scrabble over the last few weeks. We have resourced a web based platform, which enables 4 people to play a game of scrabble together online. It has proven to be hilarious fun with lots of laughter, as all the players compete with one another. It’s also been a great way to socialise together, whilst The Boot is closed. We will be continuing this for a few more weeks, so any new teams/ players are really welcome. Our next games will be played on Friday 26th March at 7pm.
If you would like to take part please contact Hayley on hayleyburrey@ntlworld.com or 07774926567.
KEY NOTES FOLLOWING A303 COMMUNITY FORUM MEETING ON 17 MARCH
I have highlighted a few key points as discussed at the A303 Community Forum Online Meeting which took place on 17th March. Click on this Link to go to that update.
Carolyn MacDougall
Easter crosses for decoration
As part of the celebrations for Easter, we thought it would be cheering to decorate the railings alongside St James’ churchyard.
Having seen the wonderful Christmas wreaths that villagers decorated, I have obtained some wire florist frames in the shape of a cross, which people can decorate as they wish.
If you would like a frame to decorate, please let me know and I will deliver to your house. They are currently just a wire frame, but could be filled with oasis or moss to make a base for adding flowers/foliage – Janey C-J has experimented adding oasis to one and it worked very well. Please make sure that there is something on the back (wire, string, ribbon) in order to attach it to the church railings.
Please take your decorated cross and attach it to the church railings on the morning of Good Friday, 2nd April. Or let me know and I will collect from your house.
With many thanks
Kate Glyn-Owen
kateemmerson@hotmail.com 01722 790961 / 970 115710
Next Village Meeting & AGM
The next village meeting will be held on Wednesday 19th May at 7pm. It will be held online again. This meeting will be our AGM where we will go through and approve the village accounts and also re-appoint the village committee members. The last AGM was held late due to the pandemic and was held six months ago on 28th September. We are now trying to get back to holding the AGM in the month of May in the normal way. The existing postholder have confirmed that they are happy to be considered for election at the AGM.
Christian Lange – Co- Chair
Sarah Humphreys – Co-Chair
Bill Hiscocks – Treasurer
Halley Burrey – Secretary
If anybody would like to stand for any of the above positions, please contact either Christian (790122) or Sarah (790 212) by 9th May at the latest
We are in the process of preparing an agenda for the meeting. Please could you let Christian or Sarah know if you have anything that you would like discussed at the next meeting.
Many thanks
Christian Lange & Sarah Humphreys
Co-Chair Berwick St James Village meeting