About Us
Cirencester Civic Society has a simple aim, to promote, protect and shape our wonderful town and in 2026 we will be especially proud to celebrate our 60th anniversary of fulfilling these aims.
Everything we do, helps us meet our purpose and we are very grateful for the support of our members who show their pride and interest in preserving the heritage of our wonderful market town, whilst continuing to accommodate sympathetic growth.
Cirencester Civic Society is a registered charity and is governed by trustees. All are volunteers and all work hard to ensure we continue to promote, protect and shape the town. We do this in a number of ways which you can read about below.
The Society promotes the town by:
- leading guided walks. These can be pre-booked throughout the year or, in the summer season, participants can just turn-up-and-go.
- producing leaflets showing self-guided walking tours. These are available to purchase from Corinium Museum or the Information Office at Bingham House.
- supporting initiatives and events such as Cirencester History Festival of which the Civic Society is proud to be a Founding Patron.
- Contributing articles to publications such as CirenScene
- arranging events such as visits behind the scenes of local landmarks or working in collaboration with other organisations such as CAHS and the Arts Society Corinium
- organising regular talks to raise awareness about the preservation, development and improvement of local features. These are open to members and non-members of the Society. Visitors are welcome – a donation of £3.00 per person is invited.
The Society helps protect the character of the town by:
- scrutinising and commenting on planning applications which may affect the historic or social character of the town
- showcasing historic buildings or the Cirencester connection with local people such as Edward Jenner (who discovered the smallpox vaccine in 1796) and Grace Hadow (one of the first suffragists) by placing blue plaques on buildings in the town. A Plaque Trail is shown on our plaques page.
- Commenting on Planning Policies and Strategies such as the Neighbourhood Plan and the Green Spaces Strategy in partnership with representatives from the Town and District Councils.
The Society helps shape the town by:
- celebrating thoughtful building design with our Cirencester Civic Design Awards, given to developments or refurbishments meeting good practice standards.
- awarding Civic Pride Grants to neighbourhood groups wanting to enhance their local community area
Governance
Cirencester Civic Society was launched in 1966. It became a registered charity in 1967 with a constitution which reflected the Society’s aims. This document is regularly reviewed to ensure the charity is governed effectively; the current constitution can be found via this link.
Achieving Our Aims
An executive committee of elected trustees and invited advisors meet monthly to discuss and action matters which may have an impact either on the charity or the town. Each trustee takes the lead for one specific aspect of the Society’s work but, collectively, oversee the charity’s governance. Roles are listed below with names and contact details as appropriate.
| Role | Name | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Chair | Carole Boydell | chair@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk |
| Treasurer | Richard Green | treasurer@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk |
| Minutes Secretary | Anita Kay | secretary@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk |
| Membership | Lynne Tuttle | membershipsecretary@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk |
| Communications | Christina Ibbotson | comms@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk |
| Programme | Peter Vujakovic | programme@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk |
| Town Walks Coordinator | Rob Tuttle | townwalks@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk |
| Planning Advisor | Jim Harbord | |
| Technical/AV officer | Steve Fearn | |
| District Council representative | Nick Bridges | |
| Advisors on local planning process and local government | Christine Gore, Gary Selwyn |
Cirencester Civic Society holds an Annual General Meeting (AGM) to which all members are invited and encouraged to volunteer to serve as a Trustee or to get involved in any of our projects. If you would like to know more about membership please click here.
Chair’s Newsletter
Welcome to September NEWS
Greetings everyone
As we start to wrap up again, ready for autumn, I would like to thank everyone who joined me and our Trustees at the Civic Society Summer Party in August. It was great to get together in a very relaxing and sociable manner over a glass or two and some lovely ‘nibbles’ expertly prepared by Lynne, our Membership Secretary and Anita our Secretary – and ably supported by Rob who coordinates our Town Guides.
I took the opportunity to mention a survey about town centre parking that was being undertaken by Cirencester Town Council. The survey is now closed but the Civic Society is planning to reflect members’ concerns as part of a wider statement about the Society’s view of the town centre in general. Please let me know your thoughts about the best (and worst) street in town and share your ideas about how Cirencester might continue to thrive in the coming years…
I’m sure many of you will share our dismay at seeing the sorry state of the Black Locust tree in West Market Place. It was originally planted by the Civic Society in 2017 to mark the re-development of the Market Place, welcoming visitors and residents to our wonderful town. After much research and consultation with specialists, the Trustees and local authorities are in agreement that the tree needs to be removed and the space repurposed so we are currently in the throes of creating a worthy replacement in such a significant space.
In AUGUST NEWS, I asked for members’ comments about the Public Art project which the Civic Society and Daniel Bingham Foundation are jointly working on. The aim is to design a new trail which residents and visitors could follow, promoting our amazingly creative Cirencester. Our list, so far, includes 29 items of public art and we are very grateful for members’ involvement in background research (many thanks to David and Linda Viner for their valued input) and help in designing the trail. We are always looking for more help, though, so please do contact me: caroleboydell@gmail.com or call 07776 144033 to let me know if you would like to join the team.
Cirencester History Festival is now just around the corner and the Civic Society is once again a patron of this amazing occasion. The Society is also ‘hosting’ two special events which we hope you will support. Join us for brunch and conversation at the Kings Head Hotel where you can hear all about the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen – the oldest Guild in the country – and meet two of our most experienced makers, working with textiles and leather. Incidentally, this fits in very well with our next Monthly Talk taking place on Monday 15th September. The topic is Arts and Crafts – Cotswold Churches and, as usual, doors open 7pm at the Ashcroft Church. See you there!
You may also remember the Society awarded a Civic Design blue plaque to the team behind the redevelopment of Dollar House. During the History Festival, we will be delighted to introduce you to the architect responsible for the vision (and hard work) behind this venture. Don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter, pick up a programme and start booking your tickets. It’s a tremendous line up.
That’s all for now but do look out for the next newsletter next month.