If you were not able to visit the School before it closed, and wish to see the vast collection of records and photos, Huntingdon Archives (in Huntingdon Library) advise that this collection is now available to view.
You need to book an appointment with them, and quote the reference SR/75 (Great Gidding Church of England School 1873-2023
hunts.archives@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
Tel: 01480 372738
I am extremely proud of my husband Paul Crank who has just completed his target of cycling 1000 miles in August and raising £1000 for the Brain Tumour Research charity, as our lovely brother-in-law Aubrey Lee died in June following a very short but aggressive illness due to this horrible disease.
During the month of August Paul cycled 1028 miles and raised £1219 for the charity which is an amazing achievement and a fantastic amount to raise from his kind and generous supporters.
Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease. Paul was fundraising for Brain Tumour Research as they are the only national charity dedicated to funding long-term, sustainable research in the UK.
To view Paul’s journeys view his JustGiving page at:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul1690204957104
Thank you very much to all who have supported Paul and this very worthy charity.
Great Gidding School will close the playground gates for the final time next Wednesday 19th July.
The children and staff have put together an amazing collection of documents, photographs and items amassed over the years of the School’s history. They invite former pupils, parents, staff and village residents to call in, take a look around, share any memories and bring along photographs of schooldays. So far around 70 people have been to visit and have been delighted to find names or photos of people they know.
The Museum will be open TODAY, between 3.30 and 5.00PM:
PLEASE email the school on office@greatgidding.cambs.sch.uk to advise them – they would be delighted to see visitors, but need to ensure that someone is available to accompany you (if you need to phone on 293466, please be aware that school staff may not be available to answer your call).
Posted by Julie Trolove, Parish Clerk and village history enthusiast.
Many of you will be saddened to hear of the death of Patrick earlier in the year.
His wife, Anne, reminded us how Patrick started his close involvement with the village:
When Patrick retired he did a 3 year course on local history at Nottingham University. He was required to choose a village on which to base his course work & when he found his Mother was descended from the village of Great Gidding he choose us! He completed the dissertation in 2000 & in 2001 was asked by the Parish Council to help write a Millennium history of Great Gidding with David Shepherd. He took the village to his heart, made numerous regular trips to the village, had many happy memories & made some wonderful friends. He wrote two further books on the history of Great Gidding in 2015. He stressed to me it was important it was known he was a descendent of the Brawn family!
Mike Keck has an abiding memory of Patrick visiting the village which would be of him sitting at the dining table with a glass of Rioja, regaling on either the Brawn family or the symphonies of Sibelius.
Julie Trolove would like to add – Great Gidding owes a great deal to Patrick, he generously gave his time, knowledge and skill to produce the history books, entertained us at many meetings and events, made us think about what was around us and under our feet, and where our small village fitted into history.
Our condolences to Anne, his family and friends.
There will be an online version and also a printed version of the surveys available. If you can, online would be our preferred way of completing the form as it reduces transcription errors.
NB. You will be asked to enter your unique 6 digit reference number found on the first page of paper version of your Residential Survey.
These surveys are currently being printed and will be delivered over the weekend of 29th/30th April.
Once you have received your paper version of the form with your unique reference number your will be able to access the 4 survey forms via these unique web links:
Business: bit.ly/3FUgpAZ
Great and Little Gidding: bit.ly/40z9Yer
Winwick: bit.ly/3LRVTVa
Hamerton and Steeple Gidding: bit.ly/42K2V4o
We would like all of the surveys completed by Monday 15th May. The results are a vital input into our Neighbourhood Plan. A proposed plan should be handed over to Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) for comments by the end of the year. Once agreed by HDC it will then be reviewed by an independent examiner before finally being adopted by HDC as part of their planning process.
Your help and support is greatly appreciated by the team. If you would like someone to visit and help fill out the survey, please ring Paul Hargrave on 07775 711514. If you have any questions, please contact the team on hamwicking@gmail.com
Talented Gt Gidding artist Geoff Goddard has been creating a wonderful series of paintings of Ashlea and Autumn Lights 6 is recently completed. The paintings are based on a series of photos taken near the bridle path by Alconbury Brook and here’s the finished painting along with a close up.
Heather Goldman is the granddaughter of Wayne Humphries, one of the survivors of the Bam Bam air crash, and had looked forward to visiting the site and seeing the memorial that Bruce and his wife Lois had diligently researched and compiled for preservation in St Michael’s Church.
Heather and her husband Federico are over for just one week and this stop was the most important on their trip as preserving the memory of her grandfather and his friends means so much to their families.
Well done Bruce (and Lois) for your dedication in ensuring that the air crew of Bam Bam will not be forgotten.
Read the original post about the crash and the memorial here
Heather’s comment before her trip to Great Gidding
… I also plan to visit the church to see the memorial Bruce made for those men who died in the crash-my grandfathers friends. I would also like to thank Bruce for all of his work and dedication to preserving the history of this event. It means so much to our families!
Please note that the consultation period is open until 21st February. If you were unable to attend the meetings on 31st January or 9th February and wish to make a comment there still time through the Cambridgeshire County Council website – see link below
At Cambridgeshire County Council’s Children and Young People’s Committee Meeting held on 17th January 2023 a decision was made to commence a 30-day consultation on the proposed closure of the Primary School in Great Gidding.
Download the proposal for closure:
Agenda item 4 – Great Giddings Church of England Primary School.pdf
Appendix 1 – Current financial forecast.pdf
As part of this consultation process, the Local Authority have committed to consult with the Parish Council and we as members of the Parish Council wish to ensure we are representing the views of our community. To facilitate this process and provide opportunity for members of the community to engage, Great & Little Gidding Parish Council will be hosting a meeting on Thursday 9thFebruary in Great Gidding Village Hall at 7.45pm. In attendance will be representatives from Cambridgeshire County Council’s Education Department as well as members of Great and Little Gidding Parish Council. In addition, our local MP, County and District Councillors have been invited to attend, as have representatives of each of the Parish Councils/Parish Meetings in the school’s catchment area.
We are keen to ensure that all interested parties have the opportunity to present their viewpoint.
Date of the meeting: Thursday 9th February 2023
Time: To commence at 7.45pm
Venue: Great Gidding Village Hall
(PLEASE DO NOT ARRIVE EARLIER than 7.30PM as there is a prior booking in the Village Hall).
Questions, comments and observations should be submitted to the Parish Clerk by 5.00pm on Friday 3rd February, these will be given priority at the meeting (we cannot guarantee that any questions/comments/observations received after that deadline will be heard at the meeting)
Chairman: Paul Hodson
Clerk: Julie Trolove, Great and Little Gidding Parish Council, The Village Hall, Main Street, Great Gidding, Huntingdon, Cambs PE28 5NU
TEL: 01832 293 068 (answermachine only)
EMAIL: ggparishcouncil@outlook.com
Julie Trolove, Clerk to Great & Little Gidding Parish Council
18th January 2023
The Neighbourhood Plan Group have joined forces with 4 people in Hamerton / Steeple Gidding and Winwick to create a joint Neighbourhood Plan in 2023 covering the Giddings, Hamerton and Winwick. This is an opportunity for all of us to set out a positive vision of how we would like our community to evolve over the next 15 years to meet the needs and aspirations of both the residents and businesses.
The first stage of this will be the surveys, that will be sent out in the Spring 2023. The results of these surveys will form the basis of the Neighbourhood Plan covering such things as what we have now and what we want in terms of amenities, facilities, green spacing, housing and services.
The Plan will be submitted to Huntingdon District Council after formal approval by you. It is a statutory document and as such strongly influences their decision making about the Giddings, Hamerton and Winwick. Throughout this process we will provide you with regular updates and look forward to your feedback.
You can either leave a comment below or email: hamwicking@gmail.com