Ramsbury celebrates the re-opening of Ramsbury Community Charity Shop

Despite the arctic temperatures, crowds gathered in Ramsbury Memorial Hall car park this morning to celebrate the re-opening of the Ramsbury Community Charity Shop – run by the community for the community. After a welcome speech from Sheila Glass (Chair of Ramsbury Parish Council) celebrity guests Shirley Pope and Elaine Flippance, from Ramsbury Post Office, cut the silver ribbons and declared the shop open. John Barker (Town Crier) in full regalia, glasses of fizz (courtesy of Ian Smith) and bouquets of flowers all added to the festive atmosphere. Customers were soon queuing up to be allowed in.

The shop, which was started in 2009 by Sheila Glass and Mary Holdsworth, and which originally was called Hill’s Stores Charity Shop, is run by volunteers and the profits are donated to local organizations: the scouts, bowls club, church, lunch club, WI, Recreation Centre and Ravensbury Players. Members from these organisations help to man the shop. A staggering £125,000 since 2009 has been donated. The shop is also an important social hub in the village – “a good place to have a natter,” says Sheila. So it was with great sadness when, last year, the shop had to close as the premises it was using were sold.

Not to be defeated, Sheila’s husband, Clive, saw potential in the partially redundant toilet block in the Memorial Hall carpark, right in the centre of the village. Mary and Sheila asked the Parish Council, who own the block, if they would fund the conversion. A working party of Sheila, Roger Greasley and Ron Young negotiated the tendering process ending with Carty’s, a local firm, who co-incidentally built the block for Wiltshire Council in 1986, to do the work.

Sheila said, “We are really grateful to all those who have made today possible, the Parish Council, Clive Glass and Lawrence Park who helped with refitting, Maggie Waugh, Matthew Tester, Erica Hodgson, Bev Mann and all those who took rubbish to their own bins. We have had grants to defray the cost of refitting from Ramsbury Ball, North Wessex Downs Landscape Trust, Ramsbury Estates and the Parish Council. Now you, the punters are the ones we need – to donate and to buy.”

The shop is open 10 am -12.30 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays. On Fridays it may be open from 10 am -12. It is also open from 2-4.30 pm on Tuesdays and Fridays. At present only cash or cheques are accepted as payment. Donations are welcome but no clothes or hard backed books please.