This was held on October 15th in the Town Hall, with about 70 members present. Unfortunately, Orlando was unable to be there, but the Burghley Curator, Jon Culverhouse came in his place and gave an entertaining talk about new discoveries at Burghley.
Retiring members of the committee, Martin Grimes and Richard Barry were thanked and presented with framed reminders of the Civic Society and book tokens as thanks for all their work over the years. Martin had been on the committee for 15 years, and Richard for 10.
Martin Lander was duly appointed as our new Treasurer. The committee now consists of:
Chairman: Gwyneth Gibbs
Secretary: Melanie Sockett
Treasurer: Martin Lander
Members: Jocelyn Chatterton, Carol Meads, Graddon Rowlands, Mike Sockett, Peter Stean, Peter Stevens, Michael Thompson and Gil Williams
Architectural advisors: John Smith, James Heesom, David Heeley
We would very much like to welcome new committee members. If anyone wishes to talk to us about joining the committee, please get in touch with either myself or Melanie.
Subscriptions
If you have not already paid your annual subscription, it is now due, please. We hope that you will renew your membership and continue your support. The cost remains at £10 for single members, and £15 for two people living at the same address. The subscriptions can be sent by post to the Secretary. (Please note that new members who joined after 1st April are not expected to pay again now!).
If you have not signed a gift aid form, please consider doing this so we can get a further contribution back from the tax man. Forms are available from the Secretary.
Members paying by standing order should please ignore this request.
Recent planning responses: as agreed at the members' meeting, we are now reporting briefly in the newsletter on recent planning applications of note. It has been a quiet period, though we have objected to the proposed cladding of Zebra Cottages; these are Victorian and although not in the Conservation Area, are worthy of protection.
Events programme
Tickets are available from the Secretary. Unless otherwise advised, talks will be in Browne's Hospital and cost £3.50.
Wednesday November 4th: A talk by the Front of House Manager of John Clare's Cottage, David Dykes on the Life of John Clare. Tickets are still available; please pay on the door on the night.
Wednesday February 24th: Lionel Wall will be talking about the Genesis of the English Church
Wednesday April 13th 2016: Our usual members' meeting at Browne's. There will of course be no charge for this. Please note the date; other commitments meant that we could not arrange it in March, as originally planned.
Summer 2016: We are planning visits to the Spalding Gentlemen's Society and possibly Wothorpe Towers and Apethorpe Palace.
Other events: any ideas for other speakers/visits would be very welcome; please get in touch with Melanie or myself.
The second Annual Review
This will be sent to members early in January 2016, so please look out for it after Christmas. The next newsletter will be in March 2016.
Urban Group
One of their recent projects has been the phone box opposite The George. This now contains boards with quotations by previous visitors to Stamford, and is well worth a look the next time you are in the area. Further use of the box is under discussion with the Town Council.
Stamford's Streets
Any street cleaning issues should be reported to the Town Hall. Some cleaning is the responsibility of the Town Council, and some of SKDC, so it is easier to tell the Town Clerk and leave her to talk to the right people.
The Stones of Stamford Revisited
A reminder that this booklet written by Rachel Morley, previously of Hirst Conservation, is now available to purchase in Walker's Bookshop and the Tourist Information Centre, price £5.00. We hope it will prove essential reading and be a useful reference for everyone who has a stone house in and around Stamford.
Stone Trail
Just a reminder about the new version of the previously out of print Stone Trail. It is now available from the Library and the Tourist Information Centre, at the price of £1. Proceeds will go to the Stamford Library and Heritage Centre.
Civic Society Website
I hope you do occasionally take a look at our website; we try to update it regularly. If you haven't seen the changes to the Heritage section, you might like to have a look at that, for example.
More members please!
The more members we have, the more we can make our voice heard. If you have friends who might be interested in joining the Society, please point them at our web site, where they can download the application form, or ask them to get in touch by phone or letter.