Tisbury
How
to get to Tisbury
From the East & South East: From the M3 exit at
Junction 7 onto the A303 (the highway only goes to the West) signposted to
Andover. You cross the A345 roundabout, pass Stonehenge, cross the
A360 roundabout, through Winterbourne Stoke - which has a very active speed
camera - and straight through the roundabout at the A36. Eight km onwards,
just at the end of the dual carriageway, turn left onto a slip road signposted
Fonthill Bishop. When you meet the B3089, 1
km later, turn right and then left through the 18th century Fonthill Arch, left again at
the main road for the last couple of kilometers to Tisbury.
At junction 7, you're an hour away from the A350
At Stonehenge, you're twenty minutes away from the A350
From Salisbury: Drive west
along the A36, through the traffic lights 2 km out of town, past the Wilton Garden Centre,
left turn
on the roundabout, through Wilton on the A30. 4 km from Wilton turn
right crossing the main road onto the B3089. Just past Dinton you can turn
left at a Tisbury sign and wind your way across country for 6 km to Tisbury.
Or you can proceed beyond Dinton to Fonthill Bishop, turning left through the
18th century Fonthill Arch, left again at the main road for the last couple of kilometers to Tisbury.
It's a half hour drive from Salisbury
From Warminster: Drive south on the A350 to
Shaftesbury. Less than 1km further turn left at the traffic lights,
onto the B3089 to Hindon. At the crossroads in the village turn right down
the High Street, continue on the this main road winding 5 km to Tisbury
It's a twenty minute drive from Warminster.
From the West (Exeter, etc): Drive East along the
A303 to the Esso station at Willoughby Hedge. Turn off on the slip road on
the right signposted to Shaftesbury and left behind the Esso station and Little
Chef. 1km further go right through the traffic lights onto the B3089 to Hindon. At the crossroads in the village turn right down
the High Street, continue on this main road to Tisbury.
For a real road map click:
http://www.streetmap.co.uk
where you can select Tisbury or a post code, if you know an address.
TISBURY
BEFORE THE NORMAN CONQUEST
Tisbury, which is often called the capital of
the Nadder Valley, is set in a secret area amid beautiful scenery. Although a
village it has many of the aspects of a small town, and is the commercial and
service centre for a large rural area. It is set among the chalk downs but here
the chalk has been worn away to expose the underlying limestone. Tisbury is
slightly unusual for a large Wiltshire parish, with early settlement, in that no
main road crosses the parish, and no road in it was turnpiked. The only road
through the village was that from Chilmark to Fovant, which was joined at
Tisbury by a minor road from the west.
There is evidence of prehistoric activity here,
There was a possible henge monument, stone circle or chambered tomb, probably of
Neolithic date, near Place Farm. The remaining three central stones were removed
c.1792 to form part of the grotto at old Wardour Castle, and a skeleton was
found when the centre stone was moved. The stones were in one of three fields
that are now called Cemetery Field. There is however one stone that can still be
seen built into the corner of the front wall of David Powers house Standing
Stone in Duck Street
Castle Ditches, (so called in 16th century,)
lies to the south east of the village, is an Iron Age multivallate hill fort of
24.5 acres. The ramparts are still up to 10 metres high and there is evidence of
an inner ditch. A substantial hill fort such as this would indicate a reasonable
sized settlement, both in the fort itself and probably also of people in the
surrounding area, Mixed farming would have been practised in small rectangular
fields with a wide range of cereals grown. Livestock was mainly sheep, goats and
oxen, with pigs in the wooded river valleys. This way of life remained little
changed during the Roman period although the hill fort would have fallen into
disuse shortly after 43 A.D. as this area came under Roman control. The Romans
quarried stone at Chilmark, and probably Tisbury, and some remains and
earthworks have been found to the north of the village.
The first known settlement of the village site
of Tisbury came in Saxon times. This was probably a defensive site and was part
of King Alfreds Burghal Hidage, providing one of the fortresses prepared for
defence against the Danes. Tisbury was certainly occupied by the West Saxons
who, by 759, named it Tissebiri Tysses Burh. A monastery was here by 700 and
may have been established by 674. In 705 the Synod of the Nadder was held here,
which was attended by a young monk named Winfrith, better known, in continental
Europe, as St. Boniface. The fact that Tisbury hosted this synod is a good
indication as to the importance of the monastery here. The monastery was
probably one large building, with a separate church and outbuildings. It was
razed to the ground in the 9th century during the early Norse raids and the
monks were slain.
When King Alfred founded Shaftesbury Abbey,
c.880, the lands of Tisbury were given to the Abbey. It is at this time that the
village is first mentioned although it is likely to have already existed for
150-200 years. It is most likely that the village had a stone church, probably
on the site of the present one. The grange, or administrative headquarters, of
the estate was at Place Farm, where the medieval buildings of the Abbeys
farming operations can still be seen.
By the time of the Norman Conquest Tisbury was a
reasonable sized village and the Domesday Book (1086) gives us some idea of
this. It would seem that over 300 people lived on the estate and interestingly
there were no serfs listed. The village itself is likely to have been in the
lower part of the present High Street and around the church. There was a Saxon
routeway between Ebbesbourne Wake and Warminster and this was on solid bedrock
in Tisbury. The upper part of the High Street follows this line and so you may
still walk where Saxon traders travelled.
Wiltshire County Council -
www.wiltshire.gov.uk
Visit the Tisbury Historical Society
http://www.tisburyhistory.co.uk
|
13th Century Stone Altar
at St John's, Tisbury |
|
The return
of the St. Johns stone altar to its rightful place in 2002 deserves a mention in
these contemporary annals of the village that FOCUS has happily become. I
do not know whether such altars date from Norman times when St. Johns first
rose beside the already ancient yew which we still have with us today, but
it would certainly be safe to claim that it was in situ by the time our
magnificent Early English building was finished in the early 13th
century.
There it will have remained until the
mid 16th century when the iconoclastic excesses of the
Reformation on the Continent hit the British Isles. In 1550 Bishop Nicholas
Ridley of London, martyred not long after by the Catholics in Queen Marys
reign, ordered in his Protestant zeal that all stone altars should be
removed from his churches; so that would been about the year that ours was
thrown out into the churchyard, but mercifully not smashed up as the vast
majority were. Maybe some Tisbury man or woman who loved the old order made
sure it was carefully buried in the hope of better times. In came instead,
all over England, the plain wooden tables to put away the false persuasion
of the people which they have of sacrifice to be done upon the altars;
table or Gods board (a beautiful phrase used in the First English
Prayer Book of 1549) were now thought to be the appropriate term for the
place where the memorial of Christs Last Supper is celebrated by the
minister.
Meanwhile Let them preach, let them peach was the cry of
the German Protestant reformer Martin Bucer (1491-1551), so into a
commanding position in the centre of the church, up and down the areas where
Protestantism was gaining round, went the pulpit for in the sermon lies the
only source of piety. But the Church of England, settling down after
Bloody Marys five year reign into the First Elizabethan Era as both
Catholic and Reformed, never embraced this total theological change of
emphasis. The pulpit and altar/holy table were seen to be equally important
in the formation of the Christian, and Anglicans began to take their cue
from a Queen who was every bit as devout as ours is today, and could herself
write;
His was the Word that
spake it,
He took the Bread and brake it,
And what the Word did make it,
I do believe and take it.
It is a simple and profound verse I frequently use myself as
I receive the sacrament brought from the altar, a fine slab of Chilmark
stone, consecrated with its five crosses centuries ago and reconsecrated by
our Bishop this Spring. It gives me no qualms about St. Johns harking
back to an Old Testament view of sacrifice constantly needed to be repeated,
rather than one made once for all by Our lord on the Hill of Calvary.
Rather does it remind me, beautifully mounted as it is, of the long,
constantly, evolving, history of the Church of God into which we are
privileged to have been called. So thank you, Chancellor (home-grown!, His
Honour Sam Wiggs), who will have given permission for it in the first place,
thank you Rector and Churchwardens, and hard-working Fabric Committee; and
to the sermon in stone itself, which could tell us so much about the
goings-on in our greatly loved church over the centuries, I say: Welcome
back.
POSTSCRIPT
On a February evening in 1974 Reverend Richard Hurford, Philip Skinner and Rex Galpin
were searching for a crypt which they believed must be somewhere under the
floor of St. Andrews Chapel. Their efforts were rewarded and they found
three Arundell tombs and a pile of skulls in one corner. In the process,
they found the stone altar, set in the floor under the plain wooden table
(see above).
History does not relate when it was placed there. Was it
hidden in the churchyard and later brought back into the chapel or
incorporated in the floor under the wooden altar after Bishop Ridleys
decree?
Rt Rev John Bickersteth
|
|
The Arundell Family Connection with St.John's Church
|
|
Until Shaftesbury Benedictine Abbey was
dissolved in 1539 and the estate bought in large part by Thomas Arundell,
St. Johns belonged to the Abbey. In many parts of the country abbeys had
bought up the Advowsons (become Patrons of the living) of local churches
to obtain their revenues (tithes) and installed a vicar at a much lower
stipend; St. Johns may have been one of them. The advowson belonged anyhow
to the Abbey as early as 1299 tho the Abbey dates from 890.
The politico-religious disturbances from
1530 onwards were outlasted in Tisbury by John Biggs who was (joint)
incumbent from 1502 till 1566 covering the reigns of Henry VII, Henry VIII,
Edward VI, Mary & Philip and Elizabeth, and in doing so avoided losing his
living and inconveniencing his parishioners! He must have been a well-loved
man, as there would have been many opportunities for his parishioners to
have got rid of him in those 64 years.
Catholics and Anglicans wee buried in
the churchyard till the Catholic graveyard was opened at Wardour in 1836.
The Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829 allowed the Catholic Church to own
land and license a graveyard; promiscuous disposal of human remains was and
still is an offence. Members of the Arundell family continued to be buried
at Tisbury until will into C19th.
The first Arundell patron was Matthew in
1566; Thomass son he was the one who beautified the castles interior
described in the Latin inscription over the door, and installed the C16th
doorway at the foot of the stairs which looks so incongruous in the
mediaeval hall.
After the destruction of the castle in
the Civil War (1640s) the family moved to Breamore and in 1699 till 1858
the advowson is shown in other but still local names, presumably tenants
or agents of the estate who had a direct interest in affairs at Parish
level. From the arrival of the first Jesuit in 1643 known to have served at
Wardour until the building of All Saints at Wardour in 1776, it is
reasonable to surmise that religious observances other than simply funerals
were carried out in St. Johns by Jesuits from Wardour who were no less in
the protection of the Arundells than the Anglican Incumbent.
The ownership of the advowsons of St.
Johns and many other churches in North Dorset equipped the Arundells with a
solid core of Anglican clergy dependent upon them, hence ready to swear to
their Anglican Orthodoxy if anyone were minded to question their sectarian
soundness: the advowsons carried over from the Dissolution must have saved
from expropriation many recusant families who are still with us today.
The advowson is shown in Arundell hands
once again in 1858 when Francis Edward Hutchinson was appointed Incumbent by
Lord Arundell. Before remarking that there is anything unique or contrary
in a Catholic appointing an Anglican clergyman in a Church of England
parish, reflect that the (Catholic) Rimingtons of Fonthill Abbey until 20 or
30 years ago appointed the vicar of Fonthill Gifford, and that the first
three King Georges were all entitled Electors of Hanover (being electors
of the Holy Roman Emperor) whilst swearing in their oaths of coronation in
England that they would uphold a Protestant Church, thereby safeguarding the
existing ownership of monastic land and the Arundell tenure at Wardour
with it. Kings, like Members of Parliament - Charles I and James II to the
contrary will abandon any principles to reassert possession of the
furniture upon which they sit.
In 1913 Francis Hutchinson bought the
advowson from the estate then being administered by trustees who were much
overwhelmed by Lucy, widow of the12th Lord Arundell. She overawed the
trustees into selling much of the estate property, and indeed sold St.
Johns in which her deceased husbands family tombs for nearly three
centuries were situated. Her (childless) marriage may have been an
unfulfilling one and perhaps she felt fate owed her a debt.
It was Francis Hutchinson who demolished
all the houses behind Church Street (what was till last year Bobby
Gillinghams coal yard) so that he had an uninterrupted view of St. Johns
from his Vicarage near the top of Church Hill (since 1950 called Churchill
Estate), and relocated the houses in The Quarry. He installed the West
window and cut the porch off at the knees so that it does not break the line
of the window giving the porch its peculiar squat appearance.
Charles (Hutchinson) inherited the
advowson from Francis and it reverted at his death to the diocese in 1953
after 95 years of Hutchinson custodianship. Advowsons may now not be bought
or sold.
Anthony Harriss
|
|
CHURCH OF
THE SACRED HEART IN TISBURY
|
|
Designed by Canon
Scoles of Yeovil, the foundation stone was laid on Oct 13th 1897 and the
sponsors were Lord and Lady Arundell and Mr & Mrs Horace Chapman of Donhead.
Mr Chapman had been the Church of England incumbent at Donhead St Andrew
until his conversion to Catholicism when he was removed by Sir John Grove,
and with impressive generosity he had punctuated his conversion by
contributing a sum of 500 (worth almost 40,000 in todays money) without
which neither the Sanctuary nor the Lady Chapel couId have been built. His
daughter married Captain (later General) Allenby who took Jerusalem, and
Damascus in 1917.
The church was
opened on November 3rd 1898 by Bishop Brownlow of Clifton and a large number
of clergy both Jesuits and secular - at least 28 - assembled for the event,
The sermon was preached by the Jesuit Provincial. After Mass a luncheon was
held in the Victoria Hall. and the Bishop proposed a toast to the Pope and
the Queen and another to the numerous subscribers. Fr Graham replied for the
clergy and Mr Chapman who had been intermittently unwell but was judged
now to be in remission, replied as a convert for the laity saying If the
Catholics wanted to find out what the benefits of the Catholic religion
were, they should go over to Protestantism for a month.
A very large and
costly crucifix and statue of Our Lady were it seems, presented by Mr & Mrs
Chapman for which a further 500 was rumoured to have been paid.
Throughout the
1920s Lucy Lady Arundell (born 1843, widow of the 12th Baron) interested
herself with trying to make All Saints at Wardour a private chapel and for
the role of parish church be taken over by the Sacred Heart at Tisbury.
Steps were taken, numbered amongst them , failing to appoint a new organist
at All Saints, refusing to pay promised money to the priest, appealing to
the Bishop of Clifton, and when he confirmed Wardours status as the parish
church, appealing to Rome in 1924 and when Rome too confirmed Wardours
status enlisting the help of Mussolinis embassy in London to browbeat the
Pope in 1926.
A parallel and
equally costly campaign was being fought with her deceased husbands family
during which in 1913 she had sold St John the Baptist church in Tisbury
where her husbands family tombs had lain for three centuries.
The Pope was
subjected to another legal guerrilla raid in 1930 but then the Jesuits
replaced the Pope as targets for the formidable and idiosyncratic old woman,
(her brother in law who briefly succeeded her husband as 13th baron had been
a Jesuit), but the Jesuit Provincial terminated this vexatious and time
consuming relationship in September 1933 by writing to Bishop Lee at Clifton
saying he intended no longer to provide priests for Wardour.
At once Lady
Arundell scenting not only a new and unwary target but the opportunity to
keep the opposition split offered to move in Redemptorist priests, but
Bishop Lee decided to move in his own diocesan priests and in doing so to
keep control of half the battlefield.A full discussion (which may have been
frank) took place between Lady Arundell and the Bishop in February 1934 from
which witnesses were absent and a truce was put in writing during the
summer. On October 25th 1934 Lady Arundell died aged 91 leaving the Bishop
in possession of the field....and the estate cruelly impoverished.
Under the agreement
in February 1934 Trellis House was bought to accommodate a priest at
Tisbury effectively splitting the parishes and inflicting on the Bishop (as
it was meant to do) the necessity of staffing two separate establishments.
Trellis House had been a convalescent home during the Great War when it
belonged to Lady Octavia Shaw-Stewart of Fonthill Abbey (died 1920). But it
had changed hands more than once in the 1920s - Lady Arundell had herself
bought it in 1925. Sold it again in 1928 when tactical advantage in the
in-fighting with the Bishop was to be gained by doing so, and contributed to
its repurchase in 1934. The Jesuits returned to Wardour in 1946. and in 1966
the parishes or Wardour and Tisbury were reintegrated under a complicated
arrangement with the diocese by which the Jesuit presbytery was closed and
Jesuits moved into Trellis House which at present along with the allotment
behind the church belongs to the diocese of Clifton
Fr Payne SJ
(retired early 1960s) was a keen football coach of the Catholic Football
Club and is indulgently remembered for the seasonality of some of his
qualifying conversions of talented young players: after his retirement the
Catholic and Church of England teams were combined as Tisbury United FC
Anthony
Harriss
For further
reference The History of the Parish of Tisbury and Wardour published in
1998 with a foreward written by Fr Richard Randolf SJ
A letter to the Editor
comments......
My main reason for writing
is to clear up a minor point that could be misleading. AH writes that in
1913 Lucy, Lady Arundell sold St John the Baptist church in Tisbury in
order to meet her legal bills. In point of fact the Parish Church is at law
the inalienable property of the Incumbent of the day and therefore could not
have been sold by Lady Arundell or anyone else. What perhaps was sold was
the Lay Rectorship, which carries with it certain property rights in
respect of the Chancel (under which, of course, is situated the Arundell
vault). Lay Rectors date back to the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry
VIII, when they took on (by grant or purchase) the rights and duties
formerly exercised in some Parish Churches by local Religious Communities.
Being a Lay
Rector in the modern age brings with it more responsibilities than rights as
Lay Rectors can have enforced upon them the payment of certain repair costs
for Chancels, so maybe Lucy's sale was in the long term interests of the
family, after all! From our point of view, we are delighted that the Lay Rectorship of our Parish Church is now in the hands of the Dean and Chapter
of Salisbury Cathedral, who are the most punctilious of stewards. |
|
THE TISBURY YEW
|
The following article appeared
in a Victorian publication 'Hardwicke's Science Gossip' in 1868. It was
sent to us from an unusual source, a doctorate student working in Firenze,
Italy!
In the churchyard at Tisbury stands a venerable yew of immense size, well
worthy of a place among the celebrities so pleasingly recorded by Mr
Spicer. The trunk, which is hollow, with a large opening towards the
north, measures thirty feet six inches round. By a calculation made from
the appearance of an exposed surface, it must be at least one thousand
five hundred years old. Britton, in "Beauties of Wiltshire," says of
it: "In the churchyard is a large hollow yew-tree 8 or 10 yards in
circumference, from the roots of which, near the centre, eight young stems
have sprung up,
twisting themselves together in a curious form, and at about the height of
two yards, struck into the centre of the principal remaining trunk of the
parent tree, the hollow of which they entirely fill up."
Tradition tells that a former vicar, who, from motives of economy, used to
pasture two cows in the yard. On one occasion they were lost
for three days, at the end of which they were found in the tree. I fear
however, especially after what Mr Britton says about the young stems, that
the story needs to be received with caution. I regret to say that the
tree is decaying fast, a great many roots having been destroyed about
twelve years since, in lowering the level of the grave yard - A.G.
[The tree continues to flourish and was estimated by David Bellamy and Kew
Gardens experts to be in the region of 4,000 years old] |
NONCONFORMIST WORSHIP IN TISBURY
The first nonconformist
congregation met in a barn adjoining he house of Samuel Combes in 1669. Nothing
more is known until 1726 when the first congregational chapel was built in the
High Street, opposite the Boot Inn. Faithful men of the cause built it from
stone quarried at Chilmark and they laboured under great difficulty. These men,
who were themselves employed in the Chilmark quarries, built by night, often to
find that during the day jealous people of other views had pulled down what they
had built overnight. To overcome this their women folk took their sewing and
weaving to the site during the daytime and kept guard day by day until
completion. The form of Church government was Presbyterian but in 1796 the
Independent Congregational form was introduced.
In 1782, because of
dissatisfaction with the teaching in the old building, a new chapel or meeting
house was built on the left hand side of the High Street entrance to Weaveland
Road through the efforts of a Mrs Thomas Turner who came to Tisbury from
Trowbridge. In 1797 however the two chapels united and the building erected by
Mrs Turner was sold for business purposes. Today it is a dwelling called
Turners Chapel.
It is interesting to note
that Rev William Jay, one of the most popular ministers of his day, was a native
of Tisbury. He grew up in a cottage near the railway bridge in Tisbury Row
which today, though much altered is called Jays Cottage. The minister at
that time was Rev John Morgan and the old chapel in the High Street is now a
dwelling called Morgans Chapel. One of the early ministers was John Rogers a
descendant of Prebendary Rogers a canon of St Pauls one of the first
translators of the Bible who was one of the first to suffer martyrdom in Queen
Marys reign.
The church, named Zion Hall,
built on a field called Little Hill Close, was opened for worship on June 1st
1842, the preacher being the aforementioned Rev William Jay of Bath. The church
is built of stone, quarried from the north side of the hill on which the church
stands. Because it is built on solid rock no foundations were needed. The
manse was built in 1854. The church closed for worship in the late 1970s.
Today it has been converted into beautiful flats and is owned by a housing
association. A burial ground surrounds the church and is still in use.
In 1844 a few Wesleyan
Methodists met to worship in the clubroom of the Crown Inn in Church Street. A
Mr John Jukes purchased a small plot of land in the quarry and built a chapel.
This building continued to be used until 1902 when it was sold as a storeroom.
The present church in the High Street, costing about 1850, was built by public
subscription. The site was purchased from Hugh Morrison MP who generously sold
the land below its market value. The foundation stores were laid by members of
the Morrison family or the congregation. These named stones can be seen on the
side of the buildings. The stone used for building was obtained from the site
on which it stands. A primitive Methodist chapel was built at Tuckingmill in
1871.
In 1933 the various branches
of Methodism united to form The Methodist Church. In the late 1970s when
Zion Hill United Reformed Church closed, the members of the congregation joined
the Methodist Church. This church continues as part of the North Dorset circuit
of churches.
This is a brief outline of the past. What
of the future? The Methodist Church needs extensive repairs and refurbishment.
Well
praise Him for all that is past
And Trust Him for all thats to come
Today's Tisbury
As
the largest settlement for some ten miles round, Tisbury lies between the
A303 and A30 trunk roads and is on the main r ailway line from London to the
southwest. There
were 1158 residential properties in its two parishes in 1999, and the
village is enlarging steadily. There were 2358 inhabitants in the 1991
census, 5% more than in 1981.
It is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,
being on the north edge of ancient Cranborne Chase. Most of the villagers
take pride in our countryside, and the local footpaths offering varied
vistas are much used.The
photograph shows the High Street and many of its twenty shops, looking
up-hill northwards from The Square, with the Railway station a hundred yards
behind us. Visible (or out of sight) are the Post Office, fishshop and
chippie, butcher, two small supermarket /grocers /newsagents, two
hairdressers, delicatessen, shoeshop, hardware store, draper and clothes
shop, chemist, pottery studio, cycle shop, etc.-- plus a garage with its
petrol station.
Parking is free in the nearby carpark, though restricted in
the narrowness of the High Street.There
are modern surgeries for doctors and for dentists, besides a twice-weekly
veterinary attendance, a Fire station with retained Firefighters and a
Police station.
There are several specialist mechanics premises, and two
engineering works which employ many people.There
are four pubs; three churches and four halls used for village events.
Schools comprise Wardour Primary School, Tisbury First School, and Tisbury
Preschool.
The
leisure centre caters for the surrounding area, and the swimming pool
ensures that all our schoolchildren learn to swim. The list of village
organisations, societies and clubs is a long one, so evenings can be busy.
|
Click
on this thumbnail to enlarge the map
Village Public Notices
Plastic bags
are a very visible symbol of our throwaway society -
but in one small corner of Wiltshire they are about to be consigned to the
history books - Tisbury is going plastic-bag free.
From Tuesday January 1st 2008 the traders in this small village
13 miles west of Salisbury will be consigning plastic bags to the bin in a
bid to be greener. It will be Wiltshires first village to take the plunge.
Reusable cloth bags will be on sale everywhere in Tisbury for 1.25p,
supplied by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, which is supporting the scheme.
The
16 traders in the village are taking part in the initiative following the
suggestion of the retired Bishop of Bath and Wells, John Bickersteth, who
lives on the fringes of the village.
The breakthrough came when the Co-op, the only supermarket in town, agreed
to come on board,
says John. I then spoke to the
traders, nearly all of whom were really enthusiastic and said they would
join in. One or two said they didnt really use plastic bags anyway.
De-Liz Delicatessen owner Liz Crossley was one of the
first to throw her support%20with%20customer.JPG)
behind the scheme. The Deli already reuses spent cooking oil in the shop van
and has been selling its own jute bags since February.
People
rush in and grab a plastic bag saying they left a reusable bag at home,
says Liz. We have been charging 2p
each plastic bag, which does makes customers stop and think a bit. Its all
a question of re-educating people to remember their reusable bags. More and
more people are refusing plastic bags, but this initiative will take a while
to be a real success.
The village, which has a population of about 2,000
people, is set among beautiful rolling chalk down land. Its location at the
centre of a large rural area designated an Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty places it in a good position for taking a stand on the environment.
About 13 billion single-use plastic bags are distributed
each year in Britain: 10 per household each week. On average, we use each
plastic bag for just 12 minutes, yet they take 500 to 1,000 years to break
down.
On a global scale, some areas of the sea surface are
contaminated with more than 960,000 items of plastic per square kilometre.
About one million seabirds choke or get tangled in plastic nets and other
debris every year. And about 100,000 seals, sea lions, whales, dolphins,
other marine mammals and sea turtles suffer the same fate.
Then there is the climate-change aspect to think
about: Plastic bags are manufactured using oil. Cutting their useage in
Britain by a quarter would reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 63 tons a year
equivalent to taking 18,000 cars off the road.
Tisbury
is one small part of a national groundswell of public sentiment against
plastic bags as the epitome of throw-away living. Prime Minister Gordon
Brown recently announced he is backing the campaign to eliminate wasteful
plastic bags while supermarkets have committed to reducing the environmental
impact of their shopping bags by 25% by the end of 2008.
Ted
Martin of Tisburys Ted Martin Flowers says:
Im all for it. The supermarkets should take this issue by the horns and
stop providing plastic bags. Itll be chaos for a fortnight and then
everybody will adjust.
And Janet Amos, who works at
Tisbury post office, says: This
initiative is definitely something that the people here want. As a village
we have quite a few environmental schemes running, like our community
composting site, and this ban on bags will add a new dimension. So long as
the traders refuse to give out plastic bags, the message will go home.
Kate Good
of Kate Good Pottery adds: I hope it
works. Im all for it.
Bishop John accepts that it might take a while before
everybody gets into the swing of it.
Itll be a bit messy around the edges for a while, but were betting that
in two years time, anyone seen carrying a plastic bag around town will look
like an odd one out.
About WWT
One of the UKs leading nature conservation charities,
Wiltshire Wildlife Trust has 19,000 members and supporters, and more than a
thousand volunteers, working to conserve the Wiltshire countryside and the
rich variety of plants and animals that live there. The
Trust owns or manages 2,000 acres of nature reserves that provide havens for
plants and animals. It also advises landowners on how to manage their land
with wildlife in mind, and comments on structure plans and planning
applications that affect sites of wildlife interest. The Trust is also
actively promotes energy efficiency and waste prevention in the home,
community wildlife programmes and environmental education.
For
more information contact (01380) 725670 Communication Officers Sue
Litherland, email
suel@wiltshirewildife.org,
or Melanie Vincent, email
melaniev@wiltshirewildlife.org
Salisbury Plains beautiful game
Do you have a burning desire to celebrate the wildlife or
heritage of your local area but lack the funds or expertise to fulfill your
dream? Wiltshire Wildlife Trust will give 600 to the winner of its
Salisbury Plain Game competition and offer advice and support to runners up
to get projects started.
If you have always had a desire to improve your local area by either
creating a community nature reserve or setting up a heritage trail, then why
not consider entering the Trusts Salisbury Plain Game? asks Nicky Warden, the Trusts Salisbury Plain
Wildlife and Heritage Officer. Our aim is to encourage communities to
recognise the wildlife and heritage wealth of their local area.
She adds: Any community group within the Salisbury Plain area can enter,
from scouts and guides, to church groups, parish councils or Womens
Institute. You dont even need to be a member of a recognised group so long
as you can demonstrate that your idea has the support of a number of local
people."
Projects should be of benefit to wildlife or a celebration of the
history of your local area and offer opportunities for as many people as
possible to get involved. The project area covers the whole of Salisbury
Plain from Pewsey to Wilton and from Tidworth to Warminster and Westbury.
Ideas can be as simple or as complex as you like. From putting up bird or
bat boxes to digging a pond, planting a hedge or even setting up a nature
trail or making a heritage map of your village, says Nicky.
Runners up will receive professional support and funding advice for one
year, but the project considered the most worthy will win 600 which can be
spent on materials, tools or used as match funding for other larger grants.
To enter the competition, please send us a description of your project on
one side of A4. Tell us what the
benefits of your project will be and how you would spend the 600 prize
money, how many local people will be involved, who is already interested in
helping, and as much as possible about the site. Your site should be
publicly accessible, (for example parish owned land, churchyards, or the
land around a community centre or village hall) and you will need to show
that you have the support of the landowner. Not every project will need a
specific site for example to create a wildlife map (though you may need
permission to go onto some areas of land).
Entries should be sent to Nicky Warden, Salisbury Plain Wildlife and
Heritage Officer, Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Langford Lakes Nature Reserve,
Duck Street, Steeple Langford, Salisbury SP3 4NH by Friday 13th
April 2007. The winner will be contacted by the end of April.
Nickys work is funded by the Sustain the Plain Programme and Leader+ to
improve the quality of rural life and make better use of natural and
cultural heritage.
DO YOU KNOW?
Q1. When Lloyds Bank closed
its branch in Tisbury, some years ago, those of us with personal accounts
were able, locally, to pay in and withdraw money at our Post Office. We can
still do this and, happily, each transaction generates income for the Post
Office. However, for various reasons, the Post Office is unable to provide a
similar service for business accounts and, for same-day processing, I find I
must take my cheques to Shaftesbury,
Wilton
or Salisbury.
This costs me time and money. I can of course post the cheques, with a
paying-in slip, to my branch but there the branch opens the envelope,
examines the contents and then re-posts them to a central processing
facility. The deposit may thus take six days or more to reach my account.
Can I do anything to improve this?
A1.
Not a lot really, but you could complain to your bank manager, clearance
times are far too long anyway. You might consider changing your account to
the local NatWest branch, or perhaps to one of the banks that does have the
appropriate arrangements with the Post Office. You could also post the
cheques directly to the central facility, perhaps saving a day or two.
Q2.
Most of us now have black boxes for recycling paper, bottles and tins. This
is good, but plastic bottles still have to be taken to the Nadder car park.
Why is this?
A2.
According
to Salisbury District Council, come October 2008, most homes in Tisbury will
have wheelie bins specifically to take plastic bottles and cardboard.
Kerbside collection will be fortnightly. Meanwhile, the Council seeks our
patience.
Q3.
As Yellow Pages cannot be recycled, why are the publishers still permitted
to waste forests of timber by continuing to issue them?
A3.
Well actually, they
can be recycled but it is a bit
of a pain in Wiltshire because, in general, the directories have to be taken
to one of only ten Household Recycling Centres across the county; one such
centre is in Salisbury. You can also recycle directories in Shaftesbury
(Tesco car park) and Gillingham
(Chantry Fields car park). Interestingly, over sixty percent of local
authorities accept kerbside collection of directories in their recycling
schemes. The Yellow Pages organisation is very conscious of its role in
recycling and, for example, runs a programme for schools wherein the schools
collect old directories in return for educational material and cash prizes.
Indeed, there is quite a story to the recycling of Yellow Pages, one that I
might return to next month. Meanwhile, why not read the recycling page in
the directory, this is to be found towards the front.
Village
Voices
TISBURY
PARISH COUNCIL
Full
versions of Meeting Agendas & Minutes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VANDALISM IN TISBURY
DO YOU KNOW
WHERE YOUR CHILDREN ARE IN THE EVENING?
DO YOU KNOW
WHAT YOUR CHILDREN ARE DOING WHEN THEY ARE NOT AT HOME?
DID YOU
REALISE THAT THE NEW PLAYGROUND NEAR THE FOOTBALL PITCH IS BEING VANDALISED?
DID YOU
REALISE THAT REPAIRING DAMGE TO ANY PARISH COUNCIL FACILITY, INCLUDING THE
PLAYGROUND, HAS TO BE PAID FOR BY YOU, THE RESIDENTS OF TISBURY, BY WAY OF
INCREASED COUNCIL TAX?
PLEASE REPORT THOSE RESPONSIBLE TO THE POLICE IF YOU KNOW WHO THEY ARE!
PRESS RELEASE
MARCH
TISBURY PARISH COUNCIL – April 2008 Press Release
|
Consideration of Planning
Applications:
|
|
Councillors resolved to support the following applications:
S 2008 0403 - full –The
Methodist Church, High Street – renovations, alterations and
extension
S 2008 0453 – full – The Smithy, Court Street Close – single storey
rear extension to west elevation
S 2008 0538 – full –
St Anne’s Cottage, Wardour – erect single storey dining room
extension with balcony over, replacement conservatory and new porch.
|
|
Salisbury
DC
Core Strategy – preferred options consultation
Councillors discussed each of the options relevant to the Nadder Valley,
with the following comments being agreed:
Option 73:
Although intended as a ‘Local Service Centre’ it was doubted that
the local infrastructure and utilities could accommodate further
growth. The document makes no mention of the likelihood of Wessex
Water or Southern Electric being consulted on provision for the
considerable potential increase in population. For example, the
sewage treatment works near Tisbury is already at capacity to
process waste and is known to ‘back up’ with subsequent effect on
adjacent properties.
Better reference should be made to the poor road structure
surrounding Tisbury that would suffer further with increased traffic
and initially from haulage/delivery vehicles.
Option 74:
The rationale behind the figures quoted for various house sizes is
unclear, as there is much evidence that smaller family homes and
single occupancy units are required more urgently. The figures quote
that only 14% of market housing is envisaged as 1 or 2 bedroomed
properties with an increased figure of 64% for affordable housing.
Option 75:
Cnllrs. felt that merely allocating land for employment was
insufficient as a strategic process, but that encouraging long term,
new employment opportunities from outside the area were probably
beyond the remit of the core strategy. This was especially so with
the inadequate road structure available for potential major
industrial users. Opinions were expressed that the
Station Road
site would better reflect the facilities available if designated as
light industrial use mixed with housing.
With this in mind, Cnllrs. felt that more emphasis should be placed
on facilitating employer discussions through such organisations as
Business Link and Rural Business Groups.
Option 76:
Specifically with respect to point d, it was felt that more clarity
was required as there is already an existing, successful pre-school
and the former Nadder Middle School has recently closed.
There are however little, if any, adult education opportunities.
Option 80:
The issue of availability of parking was felt by all to impact upon
successful retailing; affecting both Tisbury and Hindon. In Tisbury
there is currently a lack of available commuter parking facilities
and this is impacting on the spaces available for retail purposes.
Such an issue needs to be addressed specifically within the
document.
|
|
Strategic Housing Land
Availability Assessment
Cnllrs expressed the following opinions following discussion on the
Tisbury sites:
Site 100, land at Tucking Mill Highways Depot
– the plot of land seemed very small for 10 units, but small units
had been identified as a requirement within the village.
Site 59, land adjacent to Tuckingstones
– this was agreed to be a good site for potential housing if highway
access problems could be overcome. Although the skyline would be
affected by the proposals, other previous developments had already
had such an impact, e.g. Brook Close,
Springfield Park.
Site 68, Land Opposite The Avenue, Tisbury
– A ribbon development above the flood plain would be welcomed
especially if an extension to the Car Park could be incorporated.
Site 75, Land at the Station Works, Tisbury
– this would be welcomed by Cnllrs. if the definition of the space
could include smaller units for less heavy industrial use.
|
|
|
|
Date and time of next full monthly meeting - Tuesday 6th
May 2008,
to follow immediately after the AGM
|
TISBURY
PARISH COUNCIL
ANNUAL
PARISH MEETING, 2008
The
Annual Parish Meeting will be held on
Tuesday 20th May at 7pm at the Hinton Hall in Tisbury.
In addition to the usual reports from the Parish Council, District and County Councillors,
you will be able to listen to a presentation about the
Living
River Project and have the opportunity to ask questions.
Please come along and make the evening interesting.
Light refreshments will be available.
TISBURY COMMUNITY COMPOSTING
(Just off Weaveland Road
opposite King George Vth Playing Field)
THE
SITE IS NOW CLOSED AND NO GREEN WASTE SHOULD BE LEFT UNTIL IT
RE-OPENS IN APRIL.
COMPOST WILL BE ON SALE
DURING MARCH;
SATURDAY
MORNINGS only, 10am to 12noon.
!!!!!
REMEMBER FLY TIPPING IS ILLEGAL !!!!!
Fancy some free compost?
If you buy one bag, youll get another bag free!!
Collect direct from the composting site on Saturdays from 1st March,
between 10am and 12noon. Large orders can be delivered free.
So remember ,
! BUY ONE GET ONE FREE !
Full
versions of Meeting Agendas & Minutes
During the recent elections for Parish
Councillors, insufficient candidates stood to fill the 11 vacancies on Tisbury
PC. There are now 2 vacancies and to fulfil the necessary democratic
obligations, additional Parish Councillors will need to be co-opted. The
co-option process will take place during the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 5th
June at 7pm in the Elizabeth Hall. Would you be willing to volunteer or know
anyone else that might be interested?
Please contact the Parish Clerk on 828699 if you
require further details or would like to volunteer.
PUBLIC
TOILETS IN TISBURY
It
is the intention of Salisbury District Council to save money by transferring the
care of the public toilets in Tisbury to the Parish Council. Although this will
contribute to cost savings for the District Council, such an action will lead to
an increase in parish spending.
Tisbury Parish Council would like to know whether you, the residents, are
prepared to accept this increase. Or would you prefer the toilets to be closed?
Please let one of your Parish Councillors know what you think.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEST TISBURY PARISH COUNCIL
COUNCIL MEETINGS -
2007
MONTHLY
MEETINGS are held on the first Thursday of the month, in the Hinton Hall,
Tisbury commencing 7.30 pm
4
January 1 February 1
March 5
April
10 May** 7 June 5
July 6
Sept
4 October 1 November 6 December
The Chairman and
Councillors of West Tisbury Parish Council invite you to this years Annual
Parish Assembly
Full
Versions of meetings Agenda & Minutes
Edging stones along the Highway A Cautionary Tale
In recent months, there seems to have
been something of an epidemic of stones appearing along the edges of verges,
gardens and land along the roadside.
Indeed, West Tisbury Parish Councillors
thought it was a good idea. They recently endeavoured to solve the problem
of drivers over-running the grass triangle at the top of the hill in Tuckingmill,
by placing some very large boulders along the edge of the grass. They
looked excellent attractive, appropriate in their countryside setting, cheap
and effective. However, within days, Councillors received a most assertive
letter from Wiltshire Highways, requiring the removal of the stones forthwith
as, in their view, they constituted a hazard. The Council was offered,
instead, some very nice, white plastic reflective markers.
Politely, Councillors declined the kind
offer..
TISBURY &
DISTRICT ORGANISATIONS
Want any more information on these organisations? e-mail;
tisbury@nadderfocus.com
(all telephones are 01747 unless otherwise
stated))
|
Community Transport |
TISBUS to book (10 a.m. to 12 noon)
Sec.Vivian Longland |
870995
871766 |
|
Friends of Tisbury Parish Church |
Membership Secretary Miss P. Lewin |
870345 |
|
Nadder Dist.Mother & Toddler Group |
Meet at Sports Centre |
871141 |
|
Royal British Legion (Mens Section) |
Chairman & Secretary: Mr David Childs |
01722 716319 |
|
Royal British Legion (Womens Section) |
Secretary: Mr Joyce Greaves |
870174 |
|
St.Johns First School Parent
Association |
Contact Mr B.Aldous |
870675 |
|
Alice Coombs Charitable Trusts |
Clerk, Mr Debbie Carter
Rosebank, Hindon Lane, Tisbury |
871311 |
|
Amateur Swimming Club |
Treasurer: Mandy Malone |
828526 |
|
Angling Club |
Match Secretary: Mr Nigel Maidment |
871825 |
|
Arts Group (TAG) |
Secretary: Mrs Elizabeth Young |
870528 |
|
Bowling Club |
Secretary: Mrs Vivian Longland |
871766 |
|
Brownies |
Contact: Mr Sarah Street |
870045 |
|
Carnival |
Secretary: Mrs Valerie Taylor |
870478 |
|
Chamber of Trade |
Chairman: Mr Alan Baines |
870428 |
|
Day Care Centre |
Organiser: Mr Sonia Wardle |
870538 |
|
Flower Group |
