As the last century drew to a close Calstone Parochial Church Council considered how the village might celebrate the Millennium. The Millennium Committee was formed, under the chairmanship of Mike Bowden, to gather ideas and to establish a plan of action. The PCC had kindly donated a sum of £500 to kick-start the enterprise and it was decided to hold an Auction of Promises to provide additional funds sufficient to finance such ideas as found general favour. The Hislops hosted the auction at Sprays Farm and Cliff Goodman proved to be a persuasive auctioneer, the event raising a sum of more than £4000.
The main event was a Grand Bam Dance held at South Farm. This was preceded by an event aimed largely at the children – a picnic for the village at Manor Farm, complete with bouncy castle and magician. However, as a more enduring feature, it was decided to produce a History of Calstone Wellington. This grew out of the Calstone History Exhibition in the Reading Room by kind permission of Maurice Candy. Older residents rummaged through their family records, wrote accounts of village life during the earlier years, and dug out old photographs and maps to illustrate the finished project. The burden of organising and producing the document fell upon Doug Price and his helpers, an onerous, but rewarding task. Suzy Miles produced a drawing which eventually adorned the cover of the book, but in the meantime a print of this drawing was presented to every child in the village. Additionally a new pictorial map of Calstone was produced. A few copies of this remain if anyone would like to purchase one.
The success of the various projects proved so successful, that it was decided to make the committee a permanent feature, so that the village could continue to enjoy its new-found community spirit. The first enterprise was to open up the old footpath link between Greens Lane and Theobalds Green, called Dark Lane – hence the name Access Group, under the chairmanship of Geoff Buckland, with Marilyn Price as secretary. All members of the community are welcome at any meeting of the Group. It now meets four times a year to plan events to appeal to all members of the village, aiming to arrange a function at least once every two months. Some events have become regular features, others have been one-off occasions.
The funds raised at these events have been spent on a wide variety of projects. A sarsen stone, with a bench alongside, was erected on Theobald’s Green and unveiled by Lord Lansdowne. Other events have been organised to improve the environment of the village. Three times a year a working party meets to clear rubbish from the lay-bys and hedgerows in the village. Numerous trees have been planted, notably those along the verge opposite Sprays Farm, two disease-resistant elms at Robins’s Piece and, thanks to Robin Peck, a yew in the churchyard. Izzy Masey has organised the provision and maintenance of owl boxes at various sites. Donations have been made to the Church Council and to Cherhill Pre-School. Other moneys have been used to provide the community with a supply of tables, chairs and crockery.
Quiz Night has become a firm favourite. However, eager beavers and pot-hunters are deterred by making the winners responsible for organising next year’s event.. The traditional Ploughman’s Lunch existed long before the Group was formed. This year a highly successful Hog Roast took its place to mark the opening of Wellington Bam as an attractive venue for weddings, balls, exhibitions and parties. The Harvest Supper and the Christmas Dinner retain their original form. Christmas Carol Singing has been particularly successful. The choir (and orchestra), under the direction of James Harpham, tour the village on Pat Maundrell’s tractor and trailer, stopping off at pre-arranged locations —frequently rewarded by mulled wine, mince pies and financial contributions to a variety of charities. Guy Fawkes Nights have been arranged, occasionally including fireworks with the help of the Denman family. Other events have included visits to the circus followed by a barbecue, a Call My Bluff Wine Tasting (to be repeated on June 9 ), a children’s Halloween Evening, a visit to the Hawk Conservancy, an evening at Bath Races, village family picnics and a day at Bowood. The Queen’s Jubilee was celebrated by a Bam Dance at Wellington Bam.
Future events in the programme include a visit to Highgrove and a Village Tug O’ War. The success of the History of Calstone Wellington has brought more hard work for Doug Price and Anne Rivers-Davis. Much more data has been unearthed and it is planned to produce a second and larger edition, again to be financed by past and future committee events. Past pupils of Calstone School will be invited to a reunion at Wellington Bam to encourage them to produce new material for the enlarged version. Their memoirs will be recorded and collated by Ann Rivers-Davis.
Such a successful programme would have been impossible without the generosity and hospitality of numerous residents. Thanks are, therefore, due to the Maundrells at Manor Farm and Wellington Bam, to the Miles at Calstone House, to the Moores at the Mill House and to the Hoskens at South Farm – and to the ladies of the community for the provision of such fine fare. Finally we owe a debt of gratitude to Geoff and Benita Buckland for their constant commitment to the continuity of the Group and for their hospitality and organisational flair.
Colin Cook, Carthorse Cottage. April 2007
This was originally published in The Villages magazine in April 2007.