Portrait of Pembridge Blog 19
September 2025
Village Show 2025
The Village Show was held on 26th July was a great success with more entries than ever across all classes.
You can see a selection of photos of the event on our website
The winners were:
Flower Section
Presidents Perpetual Challenge Cup- Janet Bright
Don Vaughan Perpetual Challenge Cup- Barbara Goodey
The Arrow Cup – Elaine Goddard
Homecraft Section
Perpetual Challenge Cup – Gill Smith
Anne Evans Perpetual Silver Salver – Meryl Griffiths
Molly Thomas Salver -Gill Smith
Flower Arranging
FJ Newman Perpetual Challenge Bowl – Barbara Goodey
John Bishop Perpetual Memorial Cup – Barbara Goodey
Vegetable Section
T G Exell Perpetual Challenge Bowl- Philip Bright
Karl Nordblom Shield -Steve Dickman
Eric Williams Silver Salver -Philip Bright
Most points in flower and vegetable sections
Sun Valley Perpetual Challenge Cup- Michele D’Lemos
Best Exhibit in Show
The New Inn Trophy- Barbara Goodey
Children’s Section
Tommy Russell Perpetual Challenge Cup
Elis Williams, Fred Sant, Seth, Lola, Cerys Williams, Jim Bancroft,
Jack Edwards Cup- Domi Hudcova
Congratulations to all the winners and all who entered. The standard was very high.
Thanks also to the organising committee and helpers.
h.Art 6th – 14th September
The annual festival of art will feature events and exhibitions throughout the county. Here are details of those happening in Pembridge.
On 6th September The Old Chapel Gallery, East Street, opens its exhibition
“Quiet Birds in Circled Fight”
This will feature:-
Lynda Jones- oil on linen, pen and ink, watercolour, graphite drawings
Ann McCay- oil on linen
Rachel Sumner-driftwood sculpture
Rachel Wright- textile embroidery
Jane Littlefield- stained glass
Rachel Bailey- silver jewellery
Kathryn O’Kell-carved wood
Pembridge Film Nights – Film Fest
In association with The Old Picture House, Pembridge Film Nights at the New Inn are screening a series of films celebrating art and artists.
Showing at The New Inn:
7th September -Memories of the St Ives Modernists,
11th September – Eric Ravillious Drawn to War,
15th September – Final Portrait – Giacometti,
Showing at The Old Picture House, Kington:
30th August The Electric Life of Louis Wain
20th September Mrs Lowry and Son
Full details in “ Dates for your Diary”
www.portraitofpembridge.co.uk/news
What’s New?
With Autumn in the air and the start of the new school term lots of regular activities are starting once more- see” Dates for Diary” for a full list of regular events in Pembridge.
Two new initiatives at the Parish Hall are a monthly Movie Night on the last Friday of the month and a Tai Chi class on Thursday afternoons.
The first movie is “ Peanut Butter Falcon (12) on 29th August followed by “ Thelma”(PG) on 26th September.
On 4th September at 3.45pm a new Tai Chi Class will be held. This first session is free, booking required.
Total Triage
Patients of Mortimer Medical Practice may have already received a letter about the new appointment booking service from 1st October.
It’s designed to help patients get appropriate treatment and advice.
When requesting an appointment patients will be asked to complete an online form setting out their questions and concerns. This will then be reviewed the same day by a GP who will direct the patient to the most appropriate next steps.
These could include: – a face to face or telephone appointment; advice or a prescription without needing an appointment; signposting to another service which can help.
Patients are encouraged to complete the online form with as much information as possible. Those without internet access can phone the surgery and receptionists will assist in completing the form.
The practice will be holding workshops throughout September to explain the changes and help patients familiarise themselves with the new procedure.
More information is available on www.mortimersurgery.co.uk
Coffee Mornings
Every third Saturday ( 10.30am-12.00) a Coffee Morning is held at the Parish Hall giving residents an opportunity to enjoy coffee, cakes and a chat. All residents are welcome, including children and well-behaved dogs. There is no charge, but donations are requested.
Each event is sponsored by a parish organisation. The August coffee morning was sponsored by the Page Turners and Pembridge Active Ladies book groups and raised £110 for Pembridge School library.
The next event is on 20th September and is sponsored by Pembridge Allotment Association and will include a sale of produce.
On 18th October the Royal British Legion will launch this year’s Poppy Appeal.
Celebration of the Pembridge Tapestries
This year the Pembridge Tapestries are ten years old. They tell the story of Pembridge from Domesday in 1086 to the present day. They’re on permanent display in Pembridge Church along with the Pembridge Map and the Pembridge Jubilee Tapestry.
In March many of us were lucky to attend a concert of songs written by local resident Andy Davies telling the story of Pembridge as depicted in the Tapestries.
For those disappointed to miss this, on 11th October there’s a second chance to hear the wonderful words and music sung by local vocalists accompanied by the Eardisland Village Band under Andy’s direction.
Pembridge Church will be releasing the tickets soon so lookout for further details on Facebook and in our next blog.
VJ Day Remembered
15th August marked the 80th anniversary of the ending of World War II when Japan surrendered. For those fighting in the Far East and held as POWs this was the first time they knew they would be going home. This included some from Pembridge who were stationed in Burma.
The occasion was marked by Pembridge and Shobdon Royal British Legion along with representatives of Weobly, Dilwyn, Eardisland and Kingsland RBL branches who attended a short service at the War Memorial in West Street.
Wreaths were laid on behalf of the RBL by branch President Bridget Rose and on behalf of the Parish Council by Cllr Marguerite Fothergill.
Photos of the service of Remembrance are on our website
www.portraitofpembridge.co.uk/past-events
The Suffrage Movement in Herefordshire
This will be the topic of a talk by author Clare Wichbold on 13th September at the Parish Hall. Tickets £3 on the door.
This talk is organised by The Pembridge History Group.
To join the group contact nrumble@btinternet.com
On October 17th there will be a talk on Cider Making and the History of Herefordshire Orchards and a cider tasting.
Scandal, drunkenness, revenge, adultery and murder
All feature in “ The Temptations and Downfall of the Vicar of Stanton Lacy”
This book, meticulously researched by Pembridge author and historian Peter Klein, tells the true story of Robert Foulkes. A married vicar with a passion for a young woman, a bitter publican, a Peeping Tom, and a resentful churchwarden all played their part in Robert’s downfall.
It’s now on sale at St Mary’s Church, price £10.
We Need You
Portrait of Pembridge is a volunteer run community resource. Please let us have your stories and news, share your expertise on topics ranging from local history, farming, the environment, events and fund raising.
Please email portraitofpembridge@yahoo.co.uk or call Kay 07342 625796 or Barry 07711 406306 for a chat about what’s involved.
Spread the Word
We are keen to reach as many parishioners as possible. If you know someone who doesn’t yet receive our blog and “ Dates for your Diary” straight to their inbox, please encourage them to sign up for this free service on www.portraitofpembridge.co.uk
For updates follow us on Facebook or log on to our website: www.portraitofpembridge.co.uk
Facebook: Portrait of Pembridge Community Board
Portrait Of Pembride Blog 3
Portrait of Pembridge Blog 3
There’s a lot happening in Pembridge this month. To make sure you don’t miss out we have compiled a “Dates for your Diary” feature. Key events include:- the launch of the Autumn Exhibition at the Old Chapel Gallery; the return of Film Nights at the New Inn with a showing of “Barbie”; and an Afternoon Tea at the King’s House in aid of Breast Cancer Now. These are just a few of the many things happening in Pembridge in September.
If you know of events taking place in October, please get in touch now ingramkay3@gmail.com.
We’d love to include them in next month’s diary.
Pembridge and Shobdon RBL are visiting Bletchley Park, home of the WWII code breakers, we preview their visit, on which there are a few places left.
We look back at the Pembridge Players and their staging of “Cinderella” which will mark its 20th anniversary in January. Were you part of the cast and crew? Would you like to see the DVD of the performance at a reunion in the New Year? What are your memories of taking part or being in the audience?
We continue our series on the Leominster to Kington Railway with an aerial view of the route through Pembridge, and recount how some locals and American servicemen walked and drove along the line.
We are launching a new series of articles researched and written by Rory MacColl. They tell the stories of the men commemorated on our War Memorial, and those of their fallen comrades whose names were not included.
Local farmer, Tony Norman, resumes his Leen Times series of articles, telling of his introduction to farming in Gloucestershire.
In our news section there’s a plea from Pembridge C E School for a new Foundation Governor. Could this be you? We also detail changes to bus timetables starting in September.
Kay Ingram
Portrait Of Pembridge Blog 2
Portrait of Pembridge Blog 2
D-Day Remembered
Writing this on 6th June, the 79th anniversary of D Day, we are reporting on the recent trip of Pembridge and Shobdon branch of the Royal British Legion to the sites of the D Day landings. https://www.portraitofpembridge.co.uk/groups-and-clubs
The group learned first-hand from a WWII survivor of the liberation of France led by glider pilots, some of whom trained at RAF Shobdon. As a six-year-old she’d experienced the Nazi occupation which ended on that day, and at 87, is still telling visitors of the day les planeurs rescued her family. See our picture gallery which shows replicas of the gliders and RBL members on their trip.
Bats in the Belfry
We visited the Bats in Churches event at Pembridge church and interviewed Dr Alison Barnett, a bat ecologist. She explained why bats are an important part of our food chain, why they love to live in churches and what we can do to protect these endangered creatures.
Pembridge Church is bat heaven, with 7 species of bat living in the church and churchyard. Each is identified by its distinct call and flight pattern. These days ecologists use high tech drones and apps to track their movements. Drones will be over the church in the early hours of 9th June using thermal imaging to detect the roosts. https://www.portraitofpembridge.co.uk/new-page
Pembridge Railway Quiz for under 12s
Our social history section outlines the history of Pembridge station and the railway running between Leominster and Kington. We’ve devised a quiz about the railway for under 12s. Entries must be submitted by midnight on 15th July. A prize will be awarded for the correct answers and if more than one is received the winner will be drawn from a hat. https://www.portraitofpembridge.co.uk/children-and-young-people
History of Pembridge School
We’re adding the material displayed at our May exhibition on Pembridge school to the website. The children of the late Victorian period had a much shorter education than today. The curriculum was quite restricted and the condition of the school buildings unimaginable to today’s pupils. https://www.portraitofpembridge.co.uk/social-history
If you have memories about your time at Pembridge school, or photos, please send them to us at portratiofpembridge@yahoo.co.uk or call 07711 406306. We aim to complete the history of the school from 1966 to the present.
Pembridge People
We’ve interviewed Pembridge resident, Dr Shirley Evans. Shirley had a busy month in May. She was invited to a Buckingham Palace Garden Party and has been filming a documentary in the Netherlands. We caught up with her to talk about her work as Director of the Association for Dementia Studies, at the University of Worcester, and the charity Dementia Matters.
Picture Gallery
The Coronation Tea on the church lawn was a great success, with cake and sunshine aplenty. Do send us your photos of this for our picture gallery. If you have photos of the Nature Walk and BatWatch we’d like to share those too. Please send your photos to portraitofpembridge@yahoo.co.uk.
Welcome to the Portrait of Pembridge Online Blog
Portrait of Pembridge Blog
Welcome to the Portrait of Pembridge blog. Following the success of our exhibition on Pembridge station and school we are now launching online. We’ll aim to post once a week and to cover a wide range of news, events, information and features about Pembridge parish and its people. That includes the hamlets of Bearwood, Broxwood, Weston, Marston and the part of Staunton in Pembridge.
Events
Our website is designed to be a one stop shop for all things Pembridge. Everything from Auctions to Zumba is on the agenda. Whether you are interested in knowing what Films will be shown at the New Inn, when the next Darts match will be at the Red Lion, Folk Music night at the King’s House, or what’s going on at the Church, www.portraitofpembridge.co.uk will be the first place to look.
If you are running an event in Pembridge, please let us know what you have coming up and we’ll add it to our events calendar. Click here to find our events form.
Photo Gallery
They say a picture paints a thousand words. Look at our picture gallery to see what’s been happening in Pembridge. If you’ve attended a village event, do send us your photos. We aim to build up a library of village life, to show future generations what life in Pembridge was like in the 2020s. We’d love to see your pictures of the Coronation Tea on the church lawn, please send them to www.portraitofpembridge@yahoo.com or text to 07711 406306.
Pembridge school kindly lent us some of their photos, from the 1920s to the present day. We’ll be featuring them on our Facebook page and website and asking you to identify the people in them. We hope to help the school create a pictorial record of all the pupils educated there.
People
There are many interesting people in Pembridge today and there certainly have been in the past. Our People column tells their stories. Do share your memories and news.
Did you know that Pembridge has produced not one, but two leading jockeys, a world champion ploughman, two published authors, two bishops who both met untimely deaths, more artists than you can shake a stick at, and a Paralympian. A centenarian former WAAF and a 90-year-old former WREN still piloting her aircraft feature in our People section.
We are telling the stories of the men whose names appear on our war memorial. They were just ordinary Pembridge folk, who showed enormous courage, and paid the ultimate price for their bravery. This week we feature brothers Charles and Joseph Dykes.
Farming
We live in a rural community and farming remains a key employer. We know that many of you, who are not farmers, would like to know more about what goes into producing your food. We’ve persuaded a panel of local farmers to write a regular column and to answer some of your questions.
Social History
The medieval history of Pembridge has been well documented. The medieval history group have done a great job, www.mediaeval-pembridge.com The story has been retold in the Pembridge tapestries. Others, such as Duncan James and Peter Klein, have researched the story of our many medieval buildings. In 1966 the Women’s Institute produced a history of Pembridge. It’s their source material which inspired our recent exhibition.
Portrait of Pembridge aims to build on the work that has gone before, to create a social history of the parish. We aim to stir memories of yesterday, record the present day, for the villagers of the future.
For this to be a success we need your help. The exhibition lit the spark of interest. Visitors shared their memories of travelling on the railway, and as pupils at Pembridge school. We will include their recollections in our social history series. The first of these is on the Leominster to Kington railway line which connected Pembridge with the rest of the world.