Tag: Foulkes

The Story of Heyford (Extra): Americans put Northants village on the tourist map

NetherHeyfordSallyFoulkesThePrattlerDecember2020

Who is this and What was it all About??
Sally Smith MBE (formerly Sally Foulkes)
Students from the USA visit Nether Heyford May 1979

Recently there was a photo posted on the Heyford Facebook page, with a question “Who is this?” Several people had answered before I saw it and there is a story behind the photo.

The picture was of me taken by the Chronicle and Echo, then a much read daily local paper. There was an article on the front page in the edition printed on Tuesday May 15th 1979, 42 years ago. Margaret Thatcher had just become Prime Minister, the shop that is now Restore was the Post Office run by Mrs Blaney and the Eales family was running the “VG” store just visible in the picture, which was much smaller and their living room has now become part of the shop. There was a bus shelter since removed because of vandalism. It was a very hot early summer, hence the sun dress! Unfortunately my copy of the paper despite being in a plastic box has been attacked by a mouse, but gives the details of why I was looking quizzical.

”I was then Parish Clerk, and a letter arrived at the Post Office addressed to the “City of Nether Heyford Tourist Information Office.” Mrs Blaney gave it to me. It was a request for details of hotels or other accommodation in Nether Heyford from a Professor at Concordia College Minnesota USA. I wrote back to say we were a very small village without any hotels. They wrote back saying they really wanted to stay in Nether Heyford and after discussion with the Parish Council and other people in the village it was decided we could offer ‘B and B’ in local homes.

The students from Concordia were going to be visiting the UK and Europe on a cycling tour using backways and byeways. Their tour would start from London and take them via Bath and Stratford upon Avon en route to Cambridge, Denmark and Paris. We told them about Sulgrave Manor which would be on their route from Banbury to here so that was added to their itinerary and they arrived here in mid May, assembling on the village green to meet their hosts. We organised a tour of the Church with the Rector Alan Horsley, before everyone went off for a wash and change and evening meal with their host families. Later we all met in the games room at the Foresters Arms where local historian Ron Greenall of Leicester University gave them a lecture about Heyford and Northamptonshire, with slides, followed by games of skittles and darts, shove ha’penny and plenty of local beer. After a good “Full English” the next day the group set off for Cambridge and the rest of their European Tour. Concordia students came back to Nether Heyford several more times as they had enjoyed their visit so much.

And why did they want to come here… our village is half way between Stratford upon Avon and Cambridge, it was as simple as that!

Sally Smith MBE (formerly Sally Foulkes)

Letter published in The Prattler – December edition 2020

The Story of Heyford (Extra): The Playing Fields

Nether Heyford Playing Fields – ‘A community asset to be proud of’

The Playing Fields are a fantastic local asset and the facilities have only been in existence for 34 years – which makes what has been achieved in that period a truly outstanding achievement. With that in mind, here is a brief history of the Playing Fields and our future plans…

In the mid-1980s, the Parish Council realised that with the growing population, the village green which had always been suitable for community sporting activities, was sadly no longer fit for purpose.

Consequently, the decision was made to purchase 14.47 acres of land to be used for sport from Mr Spokes at a cost of £39,500 which is now Nether Heyford Playing Fields.

The acquisition was funded by the sale of allotments on Furnace Lane and the Purchase Agreement was signed on behalf of the Parish Council by Mrs Sally Foulkes and Mrs Joan Kirkbride on the 1st August 1986.

There were several conditions to the sale, the main ones being that no building could be constructed on the site without the written permission of the vendor, although this would not be refused if the request was in pursuance of sport.

Also, if the land ceased to be used for sport and was to be disposed of, it must initially be offered for sale back to the vendor at the current agricultural price of land.

Once purchased the Parish Council set up by a Declaration of Trust, the Nether Heyford Playing Fields Association Committee to administer, manage and financially indemnify the Parish Council from any costs and with the remit to support sport and leisure for the local and outlying community. The Parish Council remain the Trustees.

The formation of the Playing Fields in the early years required the movement of the old portacabin changing rooms from the Village Hall to the Playing Fields to form the  existing pavilion. The following seasons saw the setting up of football and cricket teams at the new location, together with the construction of tennis courts, then later in 1996 a Bowls Club was formed with the grant of £72,000 from the Sports Lottery and South Northants Council.

Over the years the Playing Fields continued to develop with the increase of participation in the four main sports clubs. These four clubs form the Playing Fields Association. They are all independently run with their own committees and finances.

The cost of running the Playing Fields – and excluding the running costs of individual clubs – is in excess of £10k per year (e.g. utilities, maintenance and insurance) and is met mainly from Member Club annual fees, a grant of £400 annually from the Parish Council (although the Parish Council has contributed to specific projects), the 300 Club, and percentage of the Bar profits.

The Football Club now has two Saturday senior teams and various age groups including U7, U9, U12, U15, and U18s teams and an enjoyable ‘Thursday evening of walking football’. They also hire out their facilities to two Sunday teams.

The Cricket Club field three senior Saturday teams and they also enthusiastically promote youth sport with competitive cricket for U11s and All-Star cricket for younger children and have recently completely renovated their nets.

The Tennis and Bowls Clubs also have strong membership of about 60 members each.

The Tennis Club are currently refurbishing their Tennis Courts with new surfaces and fencing.

Also, in recent history (in 2017) an additional 2.35 acres of land was purchased from Northamptonshire County Council with a grant of £45,000 from South Northants District Council, and with further funding from SNC (£10,000) and the London Marathon Charitable Trust (£20,000), a brand-new Netball and Basketball court has been constructed.

The Playing Fields have also established close ties with the village Scouts and Bliss Charity School – with the procurement of a storage container so that they can safely store their own equipment and make use of the facilities.

Along with the Parish Council , the  Playing Fields also supported the creation of the Community Orchard at the allotments by planting the hedge that includes several varieties of fruit trees.

The Nether Heyford Playing Fields Committee has been lucky in gratefully securing grants over the years which have been used to construct Bowls Club Changing Rooms, Basketball/Netball Court, Land purchase and other minor projects, and the committee are continuously working tirelessly to improve the facilities… we have plans for the construction of a new building with new changing rooms, storage facilities, kitchen and toilets. It has been designed by Ellis Architectural Design and Planning Permission has been approved. The provision of this building will be extremely challenging as the cost is estimated at approximately £450,000. It is hoped to raise the money by matched grants from South Northants District Council, Sport England and the Football Foundation.

Over the years the Playing Fields have been supported by the Parish, Local and District Councils, local farmers, grant bodies, professionals and numerous individuals all of whom are too many to mention.

The Committee and Clubs are lucky to have so many enthusiastic individuals serve on their respective committees and give their time for coaching and ground maintenance.

The 17 acres of Playing Fields are now a valuable and much prized community asset of which we should all be rightly proud. We encourage and welcome everyone to enjoy all it has to offer and thank you for your ongoing support.

Published in The Prattler – July & August 2020

Thanks to The Nether Heyford Playing Fields Committee

Nether Heyford Playing Fields – ‘A community asset to be proud of’

Nether Heyford Playing Fields – ‘A community asset to be proud of’

There may not have been much organised sport at the Playing Fields since lockdown started, but that doesn’t mean they’ve been abandoned – far from it! Club volunteers have been hard at work keeping the playing surfaces and facilities ready for when sport can resume. Indeed, it has been reported that many people (both new and longstanding friends) have been enjoying the good weather and open space the fields have to offer – and we welcome all to make use of what is a fantastic local asset. Some might find it surprising that the facilities have only been in existence for 34 years – which makes what has been achieved in that period a truly outstanding achievement. With that in mind, here is a brief history of the Playing Fields and our plans…

In the mid-1980s, the Parish Council realised that with the growing population, the village green which had always been suitable for community sporting activities, was sadly no longer fit for purpose. Consequently, the decision was made to purchase 14.47 acres of land to be used for sport from Mr Spokes at a cost of £39,500 which is now Nether Heyford Playing Fields. The acquisition was funded by the sale of allotments on Furnace Lane and the Purchase Agreement was signed on behalf of the Parish Council by Mrs Sally Foulkes and Mrs Joan Kirkbride on the 1st August 1986. There were several conditions to the sale, the main ones being that no building could be constructed on the site without the written permission of the vendor, although this would not be refused if the request was in pursuance of sport. Also, if the land ceased to be used for sport and was to be disposed of, it must initially be offered for sale back to the vendor at the current agricultural price of land. Once purchased the Parish Council set up by a Declaration of Trust, the Nether Heyford Playing Fields Association Committee to administer, manage and financially indemnify the Parish Council from any costs and with the remit to support sport and leisure for the local and outlying community. The Parish Council remain the Trustees.

The formation of the Playing Fields in the early years required the movement of the old portacabin changing rooms from the Village Hall to the Playing Fields to form the  existing pavilion. The following seasons saw the setting up of football and cricket teams at the new location, together with the construction of tennis courts, then later in 1996 a Bowls Club was formed with the grant of £72,000 from the Sports Lottery and South Northants Council.

Over the years the Playing Fields continued to develop with the increase of participation in the four main sports clubs. These four clubs form the Playing Fields Association. They are all independently run with their own committees and finances.

The cost of running the Playing Fields – and excluding the running costs of individual clubs – is in excess of £10k per year (e.g. utilities, maintenance and insurance) and is met mainly from Member Club annual fees, a grant of £400 annually from the Parish Council (although the Parish Council has contributed to specific projects), the 300 Club (currently paused until the end of lockdown), and percentage of the Bar profits.

The Football Club now has two Saturday senior teams and various age groups including U7, U9, U12, U15, and U18s teams and an enjoyable ‘Thursday evening of walking football’ was gathering momentum pre-lockdown. They also hire out their facilities to two Sunday teams. The Cricket Club hoped for the first time in their history to field three senior Saturday teams prior to lockdown. They also enthusiastically promote youth sport with competitive cricket for U11s and All-Star cricket for younger children and have recently completely renovated their nets. The Tennis and Bowls Clubs also have strong membership of about 60 members each. The Tennis Club are currently refurbishing their Tennis Courts with new surfaces and fencing. Also, in recent history (in 2017) an additional 2.35 acres of land was purchased from Northamptonshire County Council with a grant of £45,000 from South Northants District Council, and with further funding from SNC (£10,000) and the London Marathon Charitable Trust (£20,000), a brand-new Netball and Basketball court has been constructed. The planned introduction of a Ladies Netball team has been delayed due to lockdown, but hopefully only temporarily!

The Playing Fields have also established close ties with the village Scouts and Bliss Charity School – with the procurement of a storage container so that they can safely store their own equipment and make use of the facilities. Along with the Parish Council , the  Playing Fields also supported the creation of the Community Orchard at the allotments by planting the hedge that includes several varieties of fruit trees.

The Nether Heyford Playing Fields Committee has been lucky in gratefully securing grants over the years which have been used to construct Bowls Club Changing Rooms, Basketball/Netball Court, Land purchase and other minor projects, and the committee are continuously working tirelessly to improve the facilities… we have plans for the construction of a new building with new changing rooms, storage facilities, kitchen and toilets. It has been designed by Ellis Architectural Design and Planning Permission has been approved (reference S/2019/1393/MAF for those interested). The provision of this building will be extremely challenging as the cost is estimated at approximately £450,000. It is hoped to raise the money by matched grants from South Northants District Council, Sport England and the Football Foundation.

Over the years the Playing Fields have been supported by the Parish, Local and District Councils, local farmers, grant bodies, professionals and numerous individuals all of whom are too many to mention. The Committee and Clubs are lucky to have so many enthusiastic individuals serve on their respective committees and give their time for coaching and ground maintenance. The 17 acres of Playing Fields are now a valuable and much prized community asset of which we should all be rightly proud. We encourage and welcome everyone to enjoy all it has to offer and thank you for your ongoing support.

NHPFA Committee – June 2020

Published in the July / August Edition of The Prattler 2020