Welcome to the Marhamchurch Village Shop website
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New local views greetings cards
We have a delightful new range of cards for sale exclusively in the village shop, produced by talented local young artist Emily Berry. Her colourful range of cards is ideal for that special occasion or even just to cheer someone up during these dark times. There is a good selection of local scenes sketched in pen and water colour that will lift the spirit and bring thoughts of warmer, happier days to come.
If you like the look of Emily’s work, she is also very happy to undertake any commission that you may have in mind too!
Her contact details are:
emily_100@hotmail.co.uk
Etsy: EMILYJBERRY
Instagram: @emily_paints
If you like the look of Emily’s work, she is also very happy to undertake any commission that you may have in mind too!
Her contact details are:
emily_100@hotmail.co.uk
Etsy: EMILYJBERRY
Instagram: @emily_paints
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From Bude Food Bank:
"To say your support made a difference last year is a huge understatement! With more need than ever before, we'll continue to be there for those people in our community who need our help in 2021."
Well, it’s certainly been a very busy season with the immense value of a local Village Shop in these worrying times being reflected in the large increase in footfall through the door. We had many more holiday makers using our shop this year, often expressing their admiration for what has been achieved by our fantastic volunteers. Now that the schools are open again, we are also seeing increased use of our shop by pupils and parents alike, who seem delighted with the vastly increased range of goods on offer as well as the higher stock levels. We have found, as hoped, that by obtaining our drinks licence earlier this year we have exponentially increased turnover and brought new customers into the shop, where they have often bought other items too. We are very pleased to have our wine and beer chiller cabinet operational now for your convenience and it was certainly popular during those hot days!
We were saddened by the end of milk production by the Dunstaple Dairy during the summer, as it was one of our most popular products. However, we do now stock the delicious ‘draught’ Trewithen milk from the self-serve chiller unit on the right as you enter the shop.
You may have noticed the attractive rustic shelf unit that has been recently installed for the milk chiller and pasty warmer – it has been built by Nathan from ‘Rustic Kernow’ who specialises in this form of furniture – check out his Facebook page!
A big ‘thank you’ as always to all of our volunteers and customers – please keep using our village shop as much as you can, especially as we are heading once more into a worrying period of uncertainty for us all.
May we also please ask once again for anyone who can spare a little bit of their time to help us run the shop, to pop in and see either Phil our manager or one of the staff for more details. It would be most appreciated by us and the wider community as many of our existing helpers are still having to isolate – thank you!
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We all know how valuable our Village Shop has been, and continues to be, during these worrying times. It's been an absolute lifeline for many and a preferable and less worrying shopping experience than having to queue in busy supermarkets.
By continuing to use the shop for those essential items we can all play an active role in helping our local economy recover from these dark times. With this in mind, Cornwall Council has launched a campaign aimed at just that.
KEEP IT CORNISH is about helping Cornwall to bounce forward after lockdown by working together to keep money in Cornwall - and attracting more trade in.
It's also a place for Cornwall's businesses to swap ideas on adapting to the new normal post-lockdown, access training and find the best places to get advice.
Let's help Cornwall accelerate out of the shutdown by choosing Cornish. Let's shop and do business in a more sustainable way - being aware of how production miles affect our carbon footprint. Let's be proud and spread the word about our award winning and accredited Cornish products and services - and let's give credit to those businesses who stepped forward to help the vulnerable during the Covid19 crisis.
Read more here:
https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/keep-it-cornish
Peter Hillenbrand and Hilary Foster retire from our committee
Many of you have probably already heard that two of our guiding lights, Peter Hillenbrand and Hilary Foster, stepped down from their roles on the Village Shop committee recently after ten years of unstinting service.
As Chair and Secretary of our company, Peter and Hilary have given their all over this time to the cause of getting a shop back into the village again after we lost our original one back in 2009. It’s through their dedication, organisation and hard work that we can once again shop in Marhamchurch in our wonderful new premises and our whole community owes them a great debt of gratitude. Without their vision, persistence, hard work and never taking ‘no’ for an answer, we would not be where we are now, a self-sufficient community once more.
Right from the moment it became clear that our village Post Office was to close, and with it the existing shop, they made it their mission to ensure that there would once again be a central hub in the village where residents and visitors alike could buy their essential supplies and more. From that original meeting they organised in the Bray back in 2010, attended by over ninety residents, a steering committee was formed and the real hard work began, culminating in the magnificent new Village Shop that you see and enjoy today.
The social impact on village life by reintroducing that essential beating ‘heart’ back into the community cannot be over-stated – especially for our less mobile residents who would otherwise feel so isolated. Without doubt our shop has become a lifeline to many during the current Covid crisis, and will continue to be a safe environment in which to shop as an alternative to the crowded supermarkets that we shall inevitably see, especially during the holiday season.
Peter and Hilary leave secure in the knowledge that there is an enthusiastic new committee in place now who will build on the solid foundations they created, leading the business into a dynamic and bright new future.
Thank you so much Peter and Hilary, from all of us.
Marhamchurch Village Shop News
We are pleased to report that during this traditionally quiet time of year post Christmas, your village shop continues to see steady business, although it would be always be good to more customers come through the door! The range of items stocked continues to expand and vary thanks to the constructive feedback we have received recently. Don’t forget that if you think we should be stocking a particular product or you consider that we have an obvious gap in what we offer, please let us know so that we can address it.
Our big news of the moment is that we now have appointed a shop manager! We are delighted to welcome Phil Newberry to our happy band and he brings with him a wealth of experience from many years in the retail food industry – exactly what we’ve been searching for! Phil will reorganise the setup in the shop from the ground up on a proven professional basis, so you’re going to see a huge difference as we move up a gear from the amateur but enthusiastic level that we’ve been operating at over the last few years. Please pop in when you can to buy to some of those essential items and say hello!
We hope to improve our opening times in the very near future. As you know we have been closing at 4.00pm on most days due to a severe shortage of volunteers, although we are open until 6.00pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We are now getting a few more willing helpers coming forward (although we still desperately need some more!) so we should soon be able to extend our business hours to stay open later into the evening, so that you can rely on us being there when you need it.
Once again thank you all for your continued support; it’s a wonderful asset to any small community like ours to have a village shop, but obviously its survival relies totally on regular custom, so please keep coming our way rather than that unnecessary journey into town – our prices now are getting pretty competitive – you may be surprised!
Have you considered giving a couple of hours a week of your time to work in our Village Shop? We could really do with some help!
The volunteer shifts are not a huge commitment – just a couple of hours when you can manage it – and it’s a great way to meet people and make a positive contribution to this community project. Please try to buy some groceries that you may need from OUR shop. You may be surprised at how little the cost difference is with your supermarket, and in some cases, you may actually make savings! Plus, we are stocking some superb locally produced dairy products, meat, pies, pasties and cakes.
Please collect an application form from the shop if you think you could give some time as a volunteer and help us build a bright future for the village.
Thank you!
The volunteer shifts are not a huge commitment – just a couple of hours when you can manage it – and it’s a great way to meet people and make a positive contribution to this community project. Please try to buy some groceries that you may need from OUR shop. You may be surprised at how little the cost difference is with your supermarket, and in some cases, you may actually make savings! Plus, we are stocking some superb locally produced dairy products, meat, pies, pasties and cakes.
Please collect an application form from the shop if you think you could give some time as a volunteer and help us build a bright future for the village.
Thank you!
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The official opening of our new Village Community Shop has now taken place!
There was a great turnout in the village this morning for the opening ceremony. Peter Hillenbrand, the shop committee Chairman, addressed the gathered crowd and gave a short background history of the project, thanking the many people who have been involved over the years. The quest to re-establish a shop in Marhamchurch started back in 2010 with the first public meeting, so it's not been a quick journey! Bobbie Heathcote, the past Parish Council secretary, who was so helpful during the whole process, cut the official ribbon in great style! The shop was festooned with some lovely bunting made and illustrated by children of the village primary school. 😁 Our thanks also go to Nikki at the Bullers Arms for laying on such a beautiful buffet lunch in the pub afterwards.
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Your new Village Shop is now open! After a busy few days shifting stock, fittings and equipment over from our temporary home at the back of the Bray, we are at long last in our fabulous new building. 😀 We are really looking forward to welcoming you all to see for yourselves what has been achieved and hope that you will be pleased with the result! We will be stocking a much larger range of products now that we have the space, although it will take a little while before we are fully up to speed. If you think we have missed any item that you believe we should stock then please tell us and we will take note. See you all very soon - it's up to our customers now to ensure the viability of this venture, you have supported us amazingly well so far, so let's make sure that the new shop is a rip-roaring success! A heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone who has kept faith with this project over the years and given so much of their time and energy to make this dream of ours come true. 😀
'BARGAIN OR BUST' Fundraising event.
A great night was had by all at Marhamchurch Village Shop's 'Bargain or Bust' night on Saturday! It was a novel way of raising funds for our fabulous new shop and was so successful we're going to do it all again next year!
Thanks to everyone who attended, and a big "thank you" to Peter & Miriam Green, Val Landricombe, Jackie Walter and everyone else who helped make the evening so memorable. (The bar did very well too!)
We hope to get the shop up and running over the next couple of weeks, but if you haven't seen it, pop by and have a look - we are very proud of it. :-D
Here are just a couple of messages we've received:
"What a great evening! A novel fundraising idea which seemed to be enjoyed by everyone there - big thanks to the organisers. Hope you raised lots of dosh!"
"Thanks everyone for a great evening. Hope to do it again, maybe next year."
"Thank you so much everyone for organising such a fun evening, we are looking forward to your next event!"
"Wow! What a great night, well done everyone"
VILLAGE SHOP NEWS!
As you have all probably seen, your new Village Shop is now rapidly approaching completion, with just the exterior ground works, paths and painting left to do.
Your shop committee has finalised the interior layout of the retail space, with suggestions from volunteers and others proving invaluable. When we open soon you will find a light and spacious place to do your local shop with a vastly increased range of products for you to choose from: you will even be able to come into the warm and sit with a reviving cup of fresh coffee and a hot pasty if required! Having almost reached our goal, we are still hoping that we can find some more volunteers to help run the shop when it opens.
If you can spare even a small amount of time, then please contact us as soon as possible.
Thank you!
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Excellent quiz night recently that raised a significant amount for the new shop! Many thanks to all who attended on the night, and sincere thanks to Peter Green and team for organising it all! :-)
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Rapid progress!
The building of our new village shop is coming on apace as many of you will have noticed. Our contractor is making excellent progress, thanks to a good spell of reasonably dry weather, and the basic shell is now complete. Slating of the roof is well underway, together with the fitting of the roof lights and window frames. The whole structure has been ‘wrapped’ in a breathable membrane and the fitting of the exterior cladding has commenced. Extremely efficient rigid insulation is being installed to the inside of the completed frame, which will allow for economic heating in the winter and a cool environment in the summer. The quality of the build thus far is excellent and we are looking forward to the fast – approaching day when ‘the wraps come off’, giving us all a proper view of the finished article! Your shop committee’s next task is to design the best layout for the interior space, allowing for easy access and circulation together with maximum shelving and bright display areas.
As our dream of the last few years is now rapidly approaching reality, we are once again appealing for potential volunteers, who would like to give an occasional couple of hours of their time in the new shop. This can either be on a regular basis or just occasionally, to suit your spare time. Do come along if you can and join our happy band - it’s great fun, very sociable and promises to be a splendid place to work, with large clear front windows looking out onto the village square, and a bright and spacious interior. It will be light-years away from our rather enclosed and cramped current location!
As our dream of the last few years is now rapidly approaching reality, we are once again appealing for potential volunteers, who would like to give an occasional couple of hours of their time in the new shop. This can either be on a regular basis or just occasionally, to suit your spare time. Do come along if you can and join our happy band - it’s great fun, very sociable and promises to be a splendid place to work, with large clear front windows looking out onto the village square, and a bright and spacious interior. It will be light-years away from our rather enclosed and cramped current location!
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Our Village Shop build begins!
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Here are some progress photos showing the construction of our new Village Shop!
Photos show foundation walls complete up to Damp proof course level with basic services installed. We now await the arrival of the concrete for the over-site floor slab!
(click on photos to enlarge)
Exciting news for Marhamchurch!
At long last, after many years of campaigning, fund-raising and planning, we have been able to make a start on building our new Community Shop in its superb position in the centre of the village. A new public convenience is also to be incorporated. As you’ve probably noticed, the first job is to dismantle the existing toilet block on the site, and this is now well under way. The site will then be prepared for the foundations, with the basic pipework, drains and other services installed.
With the new build under way, we hope that our volunteers, fund-raisers and shareholders will be heartened with the realisation that our plans are at last coming to fruition, and all of our hard work is finally paying off. We also trust that the sight of our shop being constructed in such a prominent position will encourage many more villagers and supporters to come forward to either volunteer to help in some capacity, buy shares, or assist in generating much-needed capital. Please spread the word around that we are now on our way!
To have a proper shop back in the centre of the village once more, instead of our small temporary set-up at the back of the Bray Institute, will be a huge boost to our community as well as transforming conditions for our shop volunteers. The extra space with large windows and a pleasant outlook will no doubt be very welcome. Watch this space for ongoing development news and don’t forget to pop along yourselves now and then to see how things are going first hand.
Exciting times indeed!
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An impression of what we are all aiming towards!
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We are contactless!!
Yes - we are delighted to announce that we can now accept Credit/Debit cards and contactless payments in your village shop!
Minimum spend amount for Credit cards £12, and £5 for Debit cards.
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Catch up with the latest Community Village Shop news nationwide!
http://www.plunkett.co.uk/Pages/News/
There are many reasons to support your local community shop
- It's your shop
- It is near to you
- You can save time and money on petrol by shopping locally
- We have a wide range of products
- We support local suppliers
- You can be sure of the content and quality of our products
- You get to know all the local chat
- There are products stocked that you cannot get in the supermarket
- We can order your favourite items in
- We are prepared to go the extra mile
