Lockerley and its groups …

Lockerley hosts a number of interest and activity groups.  Each has a program of events for the rolling year.  Funding is usually by a small annual subscription and many contribute significantly to village projects. Some care is taken to ensure that events organised by the groups are co-ordinated. The current month’s events are published in the newsletter which you can read here or download.

 group

about the group

Acorn pre-school Group


The Acorn pre-school group meets daily on weekdays from 0930 though 1100 during the school term in the village hall to take in children from 3 to 5 years. The Toddlers' group holds its meetings for carers and children and refreshments are available.

The Pre-School group meets between 0930 and 1200 each day of the week and it aims to develop activities in a safe, caring and stimulating environment for children aged from 2 years 9 months through to school entry. Learning is through fun, craft tables, cooking, stories, music, games, fun with numbers, letters, colours &c. We accept nursery vouchers.

The group is Ofsted registered, a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance and is a registered charity.

Contact the supervisor Danae Mathews on 017 94 34 10 16. 

    Click here for the PDF form of the 2009 prospectus

Lockerley and Mottisfont Art Group


The art group meets in Mottisfont Village Hall each Thursday afternoon at 1400. This is a relaxed group and all abilities are welcomed including beginners. The aim is to enjoy painting or drawing and to learn from each other. For information contact Gordon Wood on 017 94 34 01 29.

Baptist church

The Baptist church congregates for services each Sunday at its chapel on Lockerley Green and it organises supporting events throughout the year. 

Contact 017 94 34 06 95 for further details. 

Badminton


There are two Badminton groups in the locality and both welcome newcomers.

Badminton is an indoor sport and can be played genteely or briskly. The sport can suit all levels of skill whilst providing excellent exercise. There’s a small selection of racquets for the first time player so that apart from some sensible footwear – trainers or gym shoes – the outlay for the beginner is not great.

Lockerley Badminton
The badminton group meets each Tuesday from 2000 till 2200 in Lockerley Memorial Hall during Lockerley's badminton "season" which is from the beginning of September until the end of April. All levels and all ages are welcome to come - each session costs £3. The playing is only gently competitive but there may be helpful comments from our more experienced players which may help your game to improve. There's no formal membership and, as it is for fun, the group does not play other local groups. If you are interested why not call Anne Spicer on 017 94 34 10 87 or simply come on a Tuesday during our season.


West Tytherley Badminton
Games are played at West Tytherley village hall on Thursdays between 2000 and 2200.  Contact Pat Banetto, Tel 017 94 34 21 30.

Care group


The care group supports the four villages of East and West Tytherley, East Dean and Lockerley. It was formed in 1992 when it became apparent that some people were falling through the net of support previously provided by either social services or local family members.

There are seven co-ordinators whose names are printed in the monthly news letter and there are about 30 active volunteers who are able to carry out requests for help. Most requests involve taking people to appointments at hospitals. These are not easily accessible as the villages are on the borders of Hampshire and Wiltshire and the hospitals include Southampton, Romsey, Salisbury, Lymington, Basingstoke and Winchester. Volunteers are able to claim travelling expenses and clients are encouraged to make a donation to funds if they are able to do so. These donations, together with continued funding from the Hampshire Voluntary Care Groups mean that the group remains financially viable.

The group’s actions are not limited to transport and other services we can provide include:

  • Fitting telephone lifeline systems. This is done with the assistance from Help the Aged. It provides people with a reliable emergency call service and allows them to continue to live in their own homes. If they qualify for assistance the cost for the service can be as low as 1£ per week.
  • Setting up a first aid course for volunteers.
  • Funding visits for pensioners to see professional theatre shows.
  • Supporting an over 60’s club and setting up a tea making rota for whist drives.
  • Sending flowers to those returning form hospital, the bereaved, mothers with new babies or simply to those who our grapevine tells us would welcome a show of support.
  • Arranging a celebration party for a 90th birthday.
  • Running and annual community garden party.

Contact Jo Guy on 017 94 34 09 46.

offee Shop


Lockerley has opened its very own coffee shop. When the Post Office closed an outreach Post Office was put into the Memorial Hall two mornings a week on Monday and Thursday from 0900 to 1300.  Some community minded people decided to have a coffee shop on the premises running at the same time. An enthusiastic group of helpers have bought a new coffee machine - see adjacent - serve tea, coffee with biscuits and home made cake.

The venture has got off to a fantastic start. The young mums use coffee shop to meet up after dropping off children to school. Post Office customers are calling in for a coffee and chat. Even the Railway Enthusiasts Group (men only so far!) meets to discuss weighty matters. Prices are very modest and all the proceeds are going towards improving the facilities in the Village Hall.

Cricket Club


The cricket club meets from time to time to play cricket and will welcome new members. The pitch lies behind the Star Inn in Tytherley.


Dancing Club


The dancing club ... does ... well, dancing.

Contact Phyllis Lawler on 023 80 26 86 9.


Bell Ringers


The bell ringers practice on the bells of St Johns and from time to time on the bells of other local churches.

Could you be a church bell ringer?

Of course you could, if you can spare one evening a week from 1930 until 2130 to learn and practise your skills and then, on the occasional Sunday for half an hour to ring before the service at Lockerley or East Tytherley. No, you do not have to be strong; if you can push a child on a swing then that is strength enough. If you can drive, ride a bike or swim then you’ll have sufficient co-ordination.

Why not come along and meet the resident band? You will find yourself in a warm supportive group who will carefully guide you through the first steps towards becoming a ringer. If you find that you do not have the aptitude or the desire to continue you can, at least, say “I had a go!”. We look forward to welcoming anyone over 11 years old so do contact me and talk over any further details which you would like.  The Tower Captain is Joy Scanlan and her contact telephone number is 017 94 34 01 10.
Click here if you'd like to read up on the history of the bells of St Johns Lockerley.

 

Gardening club


The first Lockerley Gardening Club was established in the post war period though during the last world war the village was an assiduous promoter and harvester of home grown produce. The club underwent a static period in the mid-90’s but it has thoroughly revived and has a large number of very active participants.

It organises an annual program of events with speakers and, from time to time trips to gardens of special interest including National Trust and specialist plant growers.  The events are usually announced in the newsletter and can be seen on the diary page  click here.  In the winter period evening lectures on topics as varied as weed control through to making christmas decorations ensure a high and committed attendance.

It holds an annual plant sale in spring with plants provided by members and the receipts applied to meeting the running expenses of the club and helping with village centred fund raising. It also organises an annual open gardens day and an annual sale of garden plants which have been grown by its members. 

The annual show of flowers and vegetables is held on the day of the village fete.  This is usually the last Saturday in June. 

Contact Elizabeth Heap on 017 94 34 04 43. 

200 Club


The village hall is an important part of village life.  It is the place where many local clubs meet and it is an excellent venue which can be hired by villagers for parties, weddings or other special events. 
The 200 club - so called because we hope to have a membership of at least 200 - was formed in 1994 to raise funds for the continued improvement of the hall.  Those who subscribe - and the subscription per ticket for 2009 is 12£ - will have their names entered into a monthly draw for two prizes of 20£.  There is a bonus prize of 50£ in June and December.

For more information contact Carole Woolley on 017 94 34 08 67.

Church Choir

The Lockerley Church Choir is a first class choir which sings each Sunday at St Johns church and, from time to time, in concerts in the locality.  It is also available for hire for weddings and other services and it welcomes new members from the age of 8 upwards.  The choir is often accompanied by members of the Lockerley Silver band and other musicians from the area. 

Contact choir master Raymond Trickey through trickey@sema4cottage.plus.com.


Circuit Training Club


Circuit training takes place in the village hall each Monday evening at 1900 for an hour of supervised work out for both men and women - and the occasional youth has also been seen.  It is run by Wellow Fitness Centre with Ian Chalke usually in charge.  Seasonal and individual session fees are payable.  Your first, taster session, is at a much reduced rate and you can check out whether this will be a good weekly work out for you.  You don't need to book just come along - with some trainers or other suitable footwear.   


 Exercise Club - keep fit


Keeping fit is the aim of the exercise club which meets to vigorously move each Wednesday evening at 2000 except during the summer school holidays in the village hall. It is for both genders and all ages and costs 3£ per session. 

Contact Mary Grimshaw on 017 94 34 02 23.


Lockerley Fete Committee


The Lockerley fete committee organises the annual Lockerley and East Dean fete.  It is a series of events which take place during the last week in June and culminating in the procession of the carnival queen on Butts Green at the last Saturday in June. Contact the committee if you would like to rent a stall or simply take part and help to make it fun affair. 

Contact Terry on 017 94 34 08 11 or Mike on 017 94 34 14 62. 

The West Tytherley Show committee organises their show to take place on the third Saturday in June.


Football club


The football club was established many years ago and will welcome participants to take part in challenges against nearby village teams.

Contact Rob Scoones 017 94 34 12 69.


Piggy Bank Fund


The Piggy Bank Fund was established to provide a source of co-ordination for a number of fund raising events throughout the year.  The targets and beneficiaries for 2009 will be discussed at the annual informal meeting scheduled for the end of February. Representation from any group from Lockerely, East Dean, East and West Tytherley and, indeed other villages, is welcome.  Funds can be raised for the benefit of any local organisation.

Contact Bill McClintock on 017 94 34 09 02.

Lockerley New Year Show






Lockerley has held a new year show on many years over the past 25 or more.  After a gap of perhaps more than nine years the show was revived in 2008 to support the Piggy Bank Fund.  In 2008 a series of scenes based loosely on the theme of a Winter Fete was produced. 

In 2009 we ran Gripe and Prejudice - what happened to Darcy, Jane and all of the Bingham family after 25 yeears of blissful? marriage. 

So by popular request there'll be a show in 2010 at the start of February - what it is may be a mystery!  If you would like to be taking part why not contact the show organisers through admin @ lockerley.org.uk?

The New Year Show of 2010

The New Year Show for 2010 will take place on the 5th and 6th of February 2009 with a matinee on the afternoon of the 6th.  Here are some pix from this year's  rehearsals.

Lockerley Endowed Church of England Primary school

The school is located at Butts Green, Lockerley.  The post code SO51 0JG may be used with www.streetmap.co.uk for directions.  – adjacent to the village hall. We would like to invite you to look around our school to see the work we do with our children and what we could offer your child. Do call and make an appointment to come for a visit.

Following a successful fund raising project in 2000 the school was able to expand and now offers extremely good facilities in extremely pleasant grounds facing one of Lockerley’s four main greens.

The school takes in pupils from the ages of 4 to 11 years. Every child is valued, trained support staff are employed in all of our classes and we offer a range of after schools clubs.
There is an active Friends of Lockerley School Association where parents and teachers work together to provide additional resources for children.

You can also visit our web site at www.lockerley.virtualschools.net and also at www.lockerley.hants.sch.uk where you may also see some of the project work undertaken in recent year. 

There is a regular weekly newsletter which is produced during term time and this also carries useful dates and reminders; try http://www.lockerley.hants.sch.uk/folders/news/weekly_newsletter/

If you would like to see what the school can offer your child then you will be welcom to visit and can contact the headmistress Ann Smyth on 017 94 34 04 85.

Lockerley and District Railway Group

The inaugural meeting will take place on 12 September at the Parish room.  Do come if you would be interested. 

Lockerley Silver Band

The Lockerley Silver Band has been in existence for some 126 years. We are always looking for new players and currently are in urgent need of additional players in all sections, but in particular cornet players, so please contact us if you would like more information. We are able to provide instruments on loan (free of charge) to players, so don't worry if you haven't got an instrument. Please feel free to contact us if you would like any further information.

Players visiting the area are also welcome at any practice and in some cases at engagements, so please do contact us if you are a brass player visiting the area.
Practices are held every Friday evening at 2000 in the Parish Room next to the church.

The year's diary is on our web site. See www.lockerleysilverband.co.uk for more details.

PS ... You may have seen us in the Village Voices TV programme aired by Meridian TV on 20 November 2008.  Copies of the DVD of the program can be purchased for £10 (contact Derek Needham 017 94 34 06 06) and the proceeds will go towards the Air Ambulance service.

Lockerley Youth Club


The youth club is a Healthy Living Project for ages from 11 through 25 and is supported by Hampshire County Council. It meets each Wednesday from 1830 in the village hall and promotes sport, art and provides information and advice.

More details at http://www.connexions-southcentral.org/whatson/Areas/EastleighandSouthTestValleyyouthforums.htm

Mid Thorngate Society

The Mid-Thorngate society is our local history society and it began life in the 1980’s as the history and archaeology society for the four villages of East Dean, East Tytherley, West Tytherley and Lockerley.

Back in saxon times the counties of southern England were divided into hundreds in order to assist with administration, military and judicial convenience. The names and identities of many of these hundreds have survived into the modern era. The map of 1791, for example, shows the Thorne Gate Hundred lying to the west of the river Test between Romsey and Andover … and that’s where our villages are … and hence the name.

The area chalk was laid down in the tropical seas of the cretaceous era and stone age peoples kindly left the odd stone implement for us to find. Time Team members have visited us to talk and to search for artefacts amongst Awbridge’s quarrying. The romans built a road across the north of the hundred and established their villas in the south. The 18th century saw early optimists attempt to build a canal from Salisbury to Southampton and this passed through Lockerley and East Dean. Robert Owen, an industrialist, established Harmony Hall as a commune for industrial workers to the north east of East Tytherley.

The last century’s wars had an enormous impact locally though a few do remain who can recall that the americans built a large railway depot in the grounds of Lockerley Hall and that Bentley Wood hid a vast assemblage of military vehicles before D-Day of 1944. Only recently the Royal Navy relinquished its use of the underground tunnel systems for armament storage at East Dean. Both Eisenhower and Churchill visited … though not to see the wildlife which now flourishes in these woods.

The scope of the society has adapted to modern concerns and increasingly it takes an interest in social and environmental change – that’s history in the making. The Society aims to encourage interest in all of these aspects, to help people carry out research perhaps into the history of their house, their family’s past local connection and to gather the oral history and tales of the locality before they fade. We organise meetings across the year focusing on aspects of local history, social trends, prehistory, archeaology and the impact that current activities may have had on our environment. From time to time we organise a site visit and usually we meet at 1945 on the third Wednesday of each month.  The details are given in the newsletter.

There’s a small fee for the occasional visitor or you can help us to cover our costs for hiring halls and defraying the expenses of speakers by subscribing for a year. About six meetings are arranged for each year comprising visits and lectures on relevant topics.

Contact Julian Mitchell on 019 80 86 31 01.


Lockerley Mothers Union

The Mothers' Union is a Christian organisation with more than 3.6 million members in 78 countries worldwide. Whatever their individual backgrounds members are united in their commitment to supporting marriage and family life. They give their time to generously help others, whether by running local projects, supporting international campaigns or fundraising. Mothers' Union workers provide vital leadership for efforts in the community. In addition to enabling people to gain essential skills in literacy, numeracy, health, hygiene, HIV/AIDS and poverty alleviation they aim to develop and encourage sustainable self-help projects and run training seminars for local Mothers' Union members and the wider community. The website http://www.themothersunion.org/ provides a view of the bigger picture.

In this country there is a network of Christians meeting in the parishes for mutual support and to raise money for MU projects. Lockerley has a small number of active members who meet bi-monthly. More information about taking part in the Lockerley group can be had from the secretary, Sally Masters, at 01794 340215.

Over 60s


The Over 60s group organises events across the year on aspects of local history, social trends and archaeology. It meets on alternate Tuesdays during term time at Norman Court school West Tytherley.

Contact Jean Grantham-Wright.


Parish Councils


Lockerley, East Dean and West Tytherley each have parish councils. A quarterly news letter summarises the issues of recent meetings and identifies a full list of officers.  For Lockerley Len Arthur (on 017 94 34 14 95 or lenarthur1@aol.com) is the chair and the clerk to Lockerley Parish council is Frances Hanks (on 017 94 34 05 41 or franceshanks@btinternet.com).  There is more information about parish councils, their meetings and events at www.ukvillages.co.uk/lockerley-hampshire.

Lockerley Parish Council produces a quarterly newletter.  

Book Group


The book group meets monthly to discuss books that members have suggested might be interesting.  Membership is limited because meetings take place in participant's houses and, at present, there are no vacancies.  From time to time vacancies will arise; please make enquiries to admin@lockerley.org.uk in the first instance. 

The books we read in 2009:

  • January The Suspicions of Mr Wicher by Kate Summerscale
  • February Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, David Pelin
  • March The Ninth Circle by Alex Bell
  • April To the Last City by Colin Thubron
  • May Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
  • June The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
  • July Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  • September The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
  • October Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
  • November The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams


The books we read in 2008

  • January ‘The Sea’ by John Banville
  • February ‘The Inheritance of Loss’ by Kiran Desai
  • March ‘Stone Diaries’ by Carol Shields
  • April ‘Suite Francaise’ by Irene Nemirovsky
  • May ‘Beloved’ by Toni Morrison
  • June ‘A Gathering Light’ by Jennifer Donnelly
  • July ‘Slaughterhouse Five’ by Kurt Vonnegut
  • September ‘Winter in Madrid’ by C.J. Sansom
  • October ‘Salmon Fishing in the Yemen’ by Paul Torday
  • November ‘Maps of Lost Loves’ by Nadeem Aslam

The books we read in 2007 were:

  • ‘I’m the King of the Castle’ by Susan Hill
  • ‘Never Let Me Go’ by Kazuo Ishiguro
  • ‘A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian’ by Marina Lewycka
  • ‘All the Pretty Horses’ by Cormack McCarthy
  • ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ by Lionel Shriver
  • ‘Cloud Atlas’ by David Mitchell
  • ‘Address Unknown’ by Kressman Taylor
  • ‘Rumpole and the Reign of Terror’ by John Mortimer
  • ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ by Oscar Wilde
  • ‘Blood and Sand’ by Frank Gardner


Scouts, Guides, Brownies, Beavers


The scouts groups have been running since 1952 when the first Lockerley scout and cubs group was formed. The group was able to acquire the land for a scout HQ and the filed adjacent known as the Glebe field. A scout HQ was built in 1972 following a successful fund raising campaign. It is maintained by its members and funding is provided through local contributions of those taking part and from the national organisations. The Glebe field is frequently the host for camps throughout the year.

Explorer scouts meet on Thursdays between 1900 and 2200 at the scout HQ. Contact Kathryn Power on 017 94 34 XX XX.

Scouts meet at the Scout HQ between 1930 and 2100 on Mondays. Contact .

Cub scouts meet on Wednesdays at the Scout HQ between 1830 and 2000. Contact Jean Beauchamp on 017 22 71 22 51 .

The Beaver Scouts meet at the Scout HQ on Thursdays between 1930 and 2100. Contact Pat Parker on 017 94 34 XX XX.

Guides meet at the village hall on alternate Thursdays between 1930 and 2100. Contact Judith Houghton on 017 94 34 15 00.

Brownies meet at the village hall on Tuesdays between1800 and 1930. Contact Mary Savage on 01794 36 79 08.

Rainbows meet at the village hall between 1730 and 1830 on Fridays. Contact Christine Newnham on 01794 34 19 12.

Senior citizens


The senior citizens group aims to engage the interests of the village's senior citizens with a series of monthly lunches in the village hall on Sundays at 1230.

Contact Madge Arthur on 017 94 34 03 40.

St Johns C of E church















The church holds regular services in the churches in each of the four parishes of Lockerley, East Dean, East Tytherley and West Tytherley.  The list of services is summarised in the newsletter and also maintained at http://www.acny.org.uk/venue.php?V=7388.  Contact the vicar James Pitkin on 017 94 34 06 35 or jamespitkin@priest.com.

The church wardens are:

Sally Masters (Lockerley, 017 94 34 02 15), John Smith (Lockerley 017 94 34 06 46), Tony Bell (East Dean 017 94 34 12 28), Tommy Grieves (West Tytherley 019 80 86 22 07) and Jane Scoones (East Tytherley 017 94 34 12 69).

Some background ...

Welcome to Lockerley's Church. Churches are more than just stones and tiles, mortar and woodwork. They are the present as well as the history and in them, but not exclusive to them, is the presence and peace of God.

Churches are composed of people and people have a past, but they live in the present, whilst looking to the future. The church is a place where you can think and pray about your past, your present, and your future. This church, as a worshipping community, and as a building, was here yesterday, is here today, and God willing, will be here tomorrow.

There has been a church in Lockerley since well before 1066. The present church is “new”, in that it was built in 1889. It is handsome and admired by drivers on the road, walkers on the downs and train passengers. It’s also a sign of peace around us, and we are sure there are many who value greatly the presence of St John’s church in the community, whether or not they are regular worshippers. The seasons of the year such as Christmas, Easter and Harvest Festival are marked by special church services and the landmarks of our own lives - Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals – are all celebrated in church.


Click on this link http://www.acny.org.uk/venue.php?V=7388  for up to date information on services and church event.

History of the Church …

At the time of the Domesday survey Lockerley was a chapelry annexed to the church of Mottisfont. The name is entered as Lockerslei and Lockerlega and it is considered likely that the original simple chapel was built by William Briwere, founder of Mottisfont Abbey in C1200. The present church was consecrated on October 16th 1890 and was built alongside the old Saxon church which was demolished.

The parish registers of births, marriages and deaths date in unbroken sequence from the first Queen Elizabeth's reign in 1583 and record the names of generations of former worshippers, many of them ancestors of families still in the parish, such as Dennet, Moody, Collins and Betteridge to name but a few. Amongst the parish registers a loose sheet of paper dated 1745 gives a seating plan of the old church. Familiar family names reappear, Edney, Betteridge, Pragnell and amongst the houses to which seats are allocated are 'The Manor Farm", "The Charity School Farm" and "Painshill". There were separate seats for strangers and also "Wummen's Setes"! The foundation stone of the present church was laid on 10th August 1889 by Frederick Gonnerman Dalgety of Lockerley Hall and he built the church at his sole expense.

The 1855 census describes the old Saxon church as “a small mean building with tile roof and wooden belfry containing two bells”. Perhaps this is why the Dalgety family felt the need to rebuild. In the churchyard in spring, rows of daffodils mark the outline of the walls of the old church; the cornerstones remain and an old tombstone placed horizontally marks the site of the altar. A model of the old church, presented by Captain Dalgety, is on view in the porch.


Little else remains of the old church; once again in the porch, you will notice the old font and, set in the wall above the inner doorway, are the weather cock and a piece of carved oak from the gallery. The most interesting relic is the stone frame of a small Norman window which is now set in the South transept of the church. This was found discarded under a may tree in the churchyard and is thought to be a leper or squint window.


All the other points of interest date from the time of the building of the present church and many reflect life at the end of the last century. It is reputed, for example, that the Dalgety crest above the small side entrance in the South transept signifies that this door was for the exclusive use of the Dalgety family. Older parishioners talk of the Dalgety pew in the south transept.


The paintings on either side of the altar were painted in Victorian style to depict the elements of the old testament - from left to right, Sarah and Abraham represent Faith (tested when God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac), Melchizadek represents Sacrifice (holding a chalice foretelling the chalice of Christ's blood) and Moses holding the stone tablets of the ten

commandments represents Law. It is said that during the blackout of World War II, when services had to be held in the afternoon, the winter sun reflected in the gilding of these paintings lighted the church.


To celebrate the centenary of the church in 1990, 100 kneelers were made by people in the parish, mostly to their own designs. They in their own way reflect life at the end of the 20th century and continue the thread of dedication and worship at Lockerley.Friends of St John’s Lockerley.

Support the Church …

So, St John’s church has always been there to support the people of Lockerley and now the people are asked to support the church. We receive no funding from Government or the central bodies of the Church of England. Times are changing and costs continue to rise: last year the cost of the church maintenance and vicar in Lockerley was £23 000.


Many who are not regular churchgoers support the church in ways such as event organising and churchyard maintenance. You are warmly invited to join the “Friends of St John’s Lockerley” and to subscribe a minimum of £10 per year towards maintaining the church. You will not be asked to take on any responsibilities, unless, of course, you want to. If you are a tax payer then the parochial church council (PCC) can reclaim the tax you have paid – it is worth currently 28 pence in each pound donated. To learn more contact Andy Holton, contact 017 94 34 09 93.


What’s in it for you? There is a number of benefits such as the regular newsletters and updates on church events, but the most important is to secure the vital contribution the church makes to you in the village.

Lockerley Community First Responders



Have you ever wondered how you would cope, if you dialled 999 in an emergency and an ambulance did not arrive for nearly an hour?   This is what happened in Lockerley and a man who had a heart attack, died.  As a result of this tragedy, a group of First Responders was formed in Lockerley in 2002.

Now called Community Responders, they are trained by the Ambulance Service and their role is to give first aid until an ambulance arrives.  The equipment they carry includes oxygen and a defibrillator.  As well as initial training, Responders have re-training every 6 months to keep up to date.  When called out, they aim to arrive at an emergency within 8 minutes.

When the group started up, local people were fantastic in raising money for our equipment, so our greatest need at the moment is for more volunteers. 

We would like to be able to provide 24 hour cover for our villages, but we do not have  enough members to do so.  So if you are fit, willing to train in first aid, would like to join a team to help your community and can spare some hours each week to be on call, we shall be delighted to hear from you. 

There are two local groups; the Lockerley group - the photo shows the team at November 2007 - which covers Lockerley, East Dean and Carters Clay (coordinator Barbara Needham - 017 94 34 06 06) and a Tytherley group (coordinator Jo Guy - 017 94 34 09 46). 

PS ... You may have seen us featured in the Village Voices TV programme aired by Meridian TV on 20 November 2008.  Copies of the DVD of the program can be purchased for £10  (contact Derek Needham 017 94 34 06 06) and the proceeds will go towards the Air Ambulance service.


Village Greens Association

Lockerley’s four greens and commons are major amenity assets providing a focal centre for the communities living around them. The recreational and social life of the village is woven around them and the Lockerley Greens Preservation Society exists to ensure that they stay that way; open spaces preserved from development or mis-use.

The Lockerley Parish Council owns Lockerley and Butts greens whilst the other two are privately owned by a local farming family. Despite greens and commons being amply protected by laws and Acts of Parliament, sometimes going back several centuries, no public body is charged by parliament with the responsibility of defending them against encroachment or abuse. Their protection depends mostly upon the willingness of the green owner or of private citizens to take legal action.

Most small greens and commons produce little or no income for their owners - they can be more of a liability than an asset - and they have minimal capital value. This gives little incentive to the owner to take expensive legal action to defend them. On the other hand they can have a priceless value to a community by providing open spaces for numerous communal activities - just as the Lockerley greens do. We need your support to help us preserve them for future generations. For more information about membership and the Society contact 017 94 34 04 11.

Lockerley Village King Edward's Memorial Hall



The village memorial hall (located at SO51 0JG) is located on Butts Green adjacent to the school. It was extended in 2000 following extensive fundraising in the village. It hosts a number of activities and can be hired by villagers for functions. The telephone contact at the hall is 017 94 34 24 41. 

Contact Nikki Meehan on 017 94 34 15 50 for bookings.

Walking Group


The walking group was established in 2000 and has more than 60 adherents. It organises a weekend day walk and a shorter series of weekday morning walks roughly each month.

An annual event is the weekend away walk which attracts large numbers.

Each walk is usually announced in the newsletter and on the diary page (check it out now!).

Contact Jill Edwards on 017 94 34 02 09 or jedw43@btinternet.com. 

West Tytherley School


West Tytherley School is located in West Tytherley (post code SP5 1JX) and was founded in 1855 as a church controlled school and it maintains close links with the local clergy and the diocese. The school believes in teaching the children to follow a christian way of life and aims to provide a stable and caring environment in which to grow and develop. We have close links within the community and many of our children have parents and grandparents who were also pupils at the school.

The catchment area includes West Tytherley, Frenchmoor, Buckholt, West Dean and East Tytherley and we admit pupils between the ages of 4 and 11 years. Currently our three classes accommodate mixed ability, are grouped according to age and accommodate some 71 children.

The school is part of the test Valley Schools Association, a group of seven small rural primary schools committed to enriching the quality and scope of opportunities offered to our pupils. Within this group sporting and musical activities are arranged. Each year the school takes part in the inter-school football, netball and rounders tournaments, cross country run and swimming gala.

In addition to the three classrooms the school has a library, a technology and art area and a quiet room. The children take lunch in the dining hall where hot meals are prepared on site every day. There is a playing field, a play ground and a wooded area with a nature trail and pond for wildlife studies.

You can visit our site at  http://westtytherley.virtualschools.net for more information.

It accommodates some 71 pupils from the ages of 4 through to 11 in three classes of mixed ability.

Contact head teacher C Bagley on 17 94 34 03 38.

Womens Institute


The local WI groups organise a number of events in addition to the regular meetings. Lockerley's WI meets on the 4th Tuesday in the month at 1400 in the village hall. Contact Pat Woolley on 017 94 34 08 67.

There is more information about the WI groups in Hampshire available at www.hampshirewi.org.uk/ and on the Lockerley and East Dean chapter on http://www.hampshirewi.org.uk/userpagesnew/lockerleyandeastdean.html 

West Tytherley's WI meets on the first Tuesday of the month at the King Edward hall in West Tytherley. Contact Margaret Down on 017 94 39 05 98.



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