THE BURTON JOYCE AND BULCOTE WI
The National Federation of WIs was formed in 1915 under the auspices of the Agricultural Organisation Society and is now the largest voluntary organisation for women in the UK. In 1915 it had two clear aims - to revitalise rural communities and to encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War. Nottinghamshire Federation of WIs was formed in 1917, by which time there were 137 in the UK and Burton Joyce joined the organisation in 1919. There are now 6,500 institutes with over 212,000 members.
Early reports tell of the meetings being held in the MENS' INSTITUTE rooms, (the Carnarvon Rooms), a rather crowded venue for 78 ladies as it was then divided into 3 and had billiard tables and, of course, the members prams! The first major project was to asphalt the schoolyard and then they decided they needed better premises for their meetings and set about raising funds to enable them to buy a hut. For 3 years they held dances, concerts, pork pie teas and Sales of Work, their building funds had grown to £300, and so they approached Mr. Hearnshaw to ask for land suitable for the erection of a hut. With great foresight he refused this request, but told them that if they would give their £300 and continue to raise money, he would give the land and £100 to enable the village to build a hall to be used by the whole community. In February 1925 the fund was at £1,500 and it was decided that building should start as soon as possible. The Village Hall was formally opened on Saturday, 14th November. The first WI meeting was held on Thursday, 3rd December.
By 1932 Burton Joyce and District WI had 160 members and it was resolved to limit members to Burton Joyce and Bulcote residents and the name was changed to Burton Joyce and Bulcote WI. Not only were they busy raising funds for the Village Hall, but they also competed at County level and won many prizes for needlework, craftwork, drama and choral singing - AND had time to make marmalade using the marmalade making at Mrs. Wells' (the shop where Sally Ashworth's Dance School is now) - available for hire for 6d per day. Throughout the Second World War the WI organised fruit preserving sessions at the Village Hall and an appeal was made for fruit and jam jars, members were also encouraged to grow onions which were in short supply. The school building was too small for the increased number of children and so the Village Hall was called in for use by the Infants, who were delighted to have a Thursday afternoon holiday or nature walk in order that the WI could continue to have their meetings at the Hall, this continued until 1962 when the new school was built.
In 1964 a meeting was held to discuss the possible formation of a second WI which would meet in the evenings to enable working women to attend, this came to be and the first meeting of the Burton Joyce and Bulcote Evening WI was held on 29th December 1964 attended by 28 members. The two institutes continued in their own way, but with the common aim to provide educational opportunities and the chance to build new skills, to take part in a wide variety of activities and to campaign on issues that matter to them and their community. They have enjoyed joint ventures and worked together to support the Village Hall for almost 40 years and it was with great sadness that the Afternoon WI announced their closure. A number of the Afternoon members joined the Evening Institute and so in May 2010 we became one again and returned to the name taken in 1932 - Burton Joyce and Bulcote WI.
Early reports tell of the meetings being held in the MENS' INSTITUTE rooms, (the Carnarvon Rooms), a rather crowded venue for 78 ladies as it was then divided into 3 and had billiard tables and, of course, the members prams! The first major project was to asphalt the schoolyard and then they decided they needed better premises for their meetings and set about raising funds to enable them to buy a hut. For 3 years they held dances, concerts, pork pie teas and Sales of Work, their building funds had grown to £300, and so they approached Mr. Hearnshaw to ask for land suitable for the erection of a hut. With great foresight he refused this request, but told them that if they would give their £300 and continue to raise money, he would give the land and £100 to enable the village to build a hall to be used by the whole community. In February 1925 the fund was at £1,500 and it was decided that building should start as soon as possible. The Village Hall was formally opened on Saturday, 14th November. The first WI meeting was held on Thursday, 3rd December.
By 1932 Burton Joyce and District WI had 160 members and it was resolved to limit members to Burton Joyce and Bulcote residents and the name was changed to Burton Joyce and Bulcote WI. Not only were they busy raising funds for the Village Hall, but they also competed at County level and won many prizes for needlework, craftwork, drama and choral singing - AND had time to make marmalade using the marmalade making at Mrs. Wells' (the shop where Sally Ashworth's Dance School is now) - available for hire for 6d per day. Throughout the Second World War the WI organised fruit preserving sessions at the Village Hall and an appeal was made for fruit and jam jars, members were also encouraged to grow onions which were in short supply. The school building was too small for the increased number of children and so the Village Hall was called in for use by the Infants, who were delighted to have a Thursday afternoon holiday or nature walk in order that the WI could continue to have their meetings at the Hall, this continued until 1962 when the new school was built.
In 1964 a meeting was held to discuss the possible formation of a second WI which would meet in the evenings to enable working women to attend, this came to be and the first meeting of the Burton Joyce and Bulcote Evening WI was held on 29th December 1964 attended by 28 members. The two institutes continued in their own way, but with the common aim to provide educational opportunities and the chance to build new skills, to take part in a wide variety of activities and to campaign on issues that matter to them and their community. They have enjoyed joint ventures and worked together to support the Village Hall for almost 40 years and it was with great sadness that the Afternoon WI announced their closure. A number of the Afternoon members joined the Evening Institute and so in May 2010 we became one again and returned to the name taken in 1932 - Burton Joyce and Bulcote WI.