Buntingford Civic Society

It is with great regret that we announce the sad news that Committee member Brian Lemay passed away on the 27th May 2024. A brief tribute can be found here.

Our AGM in April was well attended and when the official business of the meeting was completed, we were treated to a presentation by our guest speaker, Carol Emery of the Local History Society. Her subject was the Seth Ward Alms Houses which are located on Market Hill. A lot of her information was obtained from a tin box which was found in the basement of the Alms Houses. Seth Ward was born in 1617 and was educated at Buntingford Grammar School and Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge University where he excelled in Maths and astronomy. In 1684 the almshouses were built. They bear a striking resemblance to the Matrons College in Salisbury, and both have been attributed to Christopher Wren, although there is no proof that he did design either building. The building contains 8 flats and there were many rules and regulations governing who could live in them. Seth lost most of his faculties towards the end of his life and died in Knightsbridge on 6th January 1688 aged 71. He is buried in Salisbury Cathedral in the south aisle of the choir. For more information why not attend a Local History Society meeting. They meet the second Tuesday each month apart from August and December in the Buntingford library. Our thanks also go to Chris and Joyce Dobner who supplied photographs of the internal layout of the flats. The assembled multitude were then invited to join us for a glass of wine and nibbles.

I must mention a BCS member, Dr Derrick Guy. He has received an award from the Cranfield University, River Restoration Centre, for his work in garnering support from local residents and landowners to improve the River Rib on its journey towards, through and beyond Buntingford, congratulations Derrick, you thoroughly deserve the accolade. Our thanks also go to all the volunteers that make up the Riverwatch-Buntingford team, some of whom are Society members, your efforts do not go unnoticed. To see more information about the award you can visit their website here.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

After a great deal of soul searching and financial machinations, the executive committee has reluctantly decided to increase the price of the Journal on sale through retail outlets from £1.00 to £1.25 per copy. The increase will take effect with the double issue August / September. There are many reasons for this, the main one being the rising cost of production, it now costs us £1.50 per copy to produce. Membership for 2024 - 2025, however, will remain at its current rate of £10.00 per household, but we may be able to claim, "Gift Aid" for members of the society, so if you still want to get your 10 copies at £1.00 each, delivered to your door on the day of publication, as "Delboy" would say "you know it makes sense", join the Society. Contact our Secretary, Carol Noble who will be only to pleased to send you an application form.

Finally, we are still looking for people to join the executive committee, so if you can spare a couple of hours one evening a month, again contact Carol and get involved with ensuring that your town and its many great historical assets are still here for generations to come.

If you have any queries about Buntingford Civic Society or issues you would like to raise, you can email the Chairman direct at chairman@buntingfordcivic.org.uk.

The June issue of the Buntingford Journal will be available from the usual retailers from 31st May.

More information about the Buntingford Civic Society can be found here and membership forms can be found here.