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 60^th 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.

Cirencester Civic Society is a registered charity and is governed by trustees. It holds an Annual General Meeting (AGM) to which all members are invited and encouraged to volunteer, either 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.

All of our Trustees 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.

Carole Boydell is a Trustee and our Chair

chair@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk

Carole discovered Cirencester when researching retail business development opportunities 30 years ago, eventually moving here in 2007. Now Chair of Cirencester Civic Society, Carole has been involved in the Cirencester community for many years, both as a development consultant and a volunteer. As a key figure in the community she enjoys leading projects such as the annual Cirencester Community Awards as well as contributing to the local monthly magazine, Ciren Scene. She is also hugely enthusiastic about supporting several national activities, especially her role as a judge for the ESU (English Speaking Union) Public Speaking competitions, believing oracy to be a powerful tool for everyone. Prior to her appointment as Chair of Cirencester Civic Society, Carole held voluntary chairmanships of Stroud District Strategic Partnership, South Gloucestershire and Stroud FE College, and Cirencester Radio. She is also a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for Arts, Commerce and Manufacturing), an Academician with the Academy of Urbanism and a member of the Honourable Company of Gloucestershire.

Richard Green is a Trustee, our Treasurer and a Town Walks guide

treasurer@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk

Richard moved to Daglingworth upon retirement 11 years ago, having worked in Luxembourg for the previous 16 years as an IT director. He became a Town Guide in 2021 and is the Civic Society Treasurer. History has always been of interest particularly military history. He has recently self-published a WWI book about his great uncle Chaplin Herbert Green who sadly lost his life on the Western Front. When he has some spare time, he enjoys building models of period sailing ships.

Rob Tuttle is a Trustee and our Town Walks organisor

townwalks@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk

Rob and his wife, Lynne, have only lived in Cirencester for 15 years so can’t yet be considered locals! Rob arrived in Cirencester by accident but has fallen in love with the town and surrounding countryside! Rob is keen to support local organisations and projects and passionately leads the Civic Society’s town guides team. Rob volunteers for several local charities including the Daniel Bingham Foundation and the Cotswold Canals Trust

Anita Kay is a Trustee, our secretary and a Town Walks guide

secretary@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk

Anita hails from Yorkshire and has lived in Cirencester for 35 years – so is almost a local! Now retired after various interesting jobs in education, publishing and civil engineering, Anita is proud to be a Town Guide and is ‘in training’ to be a Guide for The Mansion in Cirencester Park. She also volunteers at Powell’s School and the Barn Theatre

Christina Ibbotson is a Trustee and our Communciations Officer

comms@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk

Christina moved to Cirencester with her family over 30 years ago from the Northwest, attracted by its heritage, ambience and community spirit. Following a career in Public Health within the NHS and Manchester City Council, she was drawn to the Civic Society to ensure town growth and development is sympathetic to the town’s character after spending many years as a community representative on the Cirencester Neighbourhood Plan. She enjoys travelling, spending time with family and friends and researching local history – it’s not all about the Romans!

Lynne Tuttle is a Trustee and our Membership Secretary

membershipsecretary@cirencestercivicsociety.org.uk

After a career in social housing and living in several different places around England, Cirencester for the last 15 years, Lynne cannot see herself living anywhere else. Lynne is interested in people, social history and the Arts and enjoys the vibrancy of the organisations and activities on offer in the town. Happy to get involved, Lynne is interested in helping to preserve the cultural heritage and integrity of Cirencester, whilst it changes to reflect the changing needs of its citizens.

Jim Harbord is a Trustee and our Planning Advisor

Jim’s early life was spent in Derbyshire before leaving to study and then to work in London after qualifying as an architect. He came to Cirencester in 1973 after a short time living in the North Cotswolds where he was married. He worked in a large architectural practice based in our lovely town and later his own account on a wide range of projects until retirement. He is a member of some of the town’s numerous societies, particularly those relating to history and art and is also a lapsed painter! He has witnessed many changes in the town and takes a close interest in its continuing development. He enjoys commenting on planning applications for the Civic Society.

Steve Fearn is a Trustee, our Technical/AV officer and a Town Walks guide

Steve and his family moved to Cirencester for his work in 1998 and never wanted to leave. Now retired he keeps himself busy supporting projects directly or indirectly connected to the town. Often that’s from behind a camera or keyboard.

Gary Selwyn is a Trustee and our advisor on Local Government

Gary has lived in Cirencester for 35 years after relocating around the country numerous times for his work in retail. He was a Town and District Councillor for 15 years and has an interest in planning, the built environment and social history. He currently sits on three Trustee Boards including Cotswold Friends, the Daniel Bingham Foundation and Cirencester Civic Society. Now retired, he fills his time as a volunteer driver for a charity.

The Trustees are further assisted by Christine Gore and Nick Bridges, representatives from the Town and District Councils, who advise us on the planning process and local government.