60th Celebration drinks reception
In 2026, the Cirencester Civic Society celebrates 60 years of service to the town. To mark this significant milestone, a special reception was held, bringing together Society members, dignitaries and representatives from across the local community.
Held in the parish church, the evening featured speeches from our Chair, Carole Boydell; the Mayor, Andy Jopp; Earl Bathurst; Canon Matthews whilst the Town Crier warmly welcomed guests to the event.
The evening was a true celebration of this important milestone and a fitting tribute to the many volunteers whose dedication and contributions over the years have done so much to further the aims of the Society.
Celebrating 25 years in 1991 and Celebrating 40 years in 2006
A tour of the town centre burial grounds
A member‘s visit to Cirencester’s burial grounds was held, including our wonderful St John Baptist churchyard, to coincide with ‘Love Your Burial Ground Week’ 2026, organised by Caring for God’s Acre, a national charity promoting the conservation of burial sites and supporting those who look after them.
Fresh Air Sculpture Quenington
Fresh Air Sculpture was launched in 1992 by Lucy Abel Smith and her late husband David as a biennial exhibition celebrating contemporary art in the beautiful riverside setting of their garden at the Quenington Old Rectory near Cirencester. Fresh Air Sculpture 2026 was to be the last and the Civic Society reserved a VIP tour of the show for members only.
Behind the scenes of the Barn Theatre with the viewing of a technical rehearsal
Members were invited to an exclusive behind the scenes experience at the Barn Theatre, which included the unique opportunity to observe a rehearsal for their next production “Ottilie’. The evening started with an introductory talk whilst enjoying a glass of wine, and members then observed the technical aspects of a show not normally seen by the public. The show focuses on Ottilie Patterson who was an immense presence and talent in the ‘50s & ’60s music scene.
Launch of a new town Hare
Following the launch of the new Hare by the Town Crier, members and their guests joined the trustees to celebrate in the Kingshead Hotel, with an opportunity to meet Hare artist Mike Smith. Guests also enjoyed a behind the scenes tour of the hotel, including some of the previously excavated Roman mosiacs.
Tour of the Old Station House
Members were invited by architect Jonathan Rixon, the new owner of the Old Station House, to a private tour of the building and to hear his plans for renovation and future use.
The society are thrilled this landmark building is now under new ownership after years of neglect.
Cirencester History Festival
The society were delighted to host 2 events during the second Cirencester History Festival. The first was a fascinating talk by Charles Mullineaux, the Architect behind the transformation of 30-32 Dollar St, an historic house in the town that had sadly been neglected for many years and now has been divided into three beautiful town houses. More on this development can be found on our Civic Design awards page.
The second event explored the importance of the Arts and Crafts movement within Gloucestershire, with 2 members of the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen talking about the history of the guild whilst attendees enjoyed brunch in our newly renovated Kingshead Hotel.
Photographic competition
In October, the Civic Society collaborated with the Rotary Club to showcase the amazing photgraphic talent we have in the town with a competition entitled
“Historic Cirencester – a different perspective“.
Open to two age groups, adult and under 16, the judging panel chose two images from each group as the winners, all of which are now exhibited in the Bingham House gallery, open to the public. Well done to all those that took part.
Walk around Fairford
In July Civic Society members enjoyed a delightful historic walk around Fairford, led by Syd Flatman (Fairford History Society (FHS)). Syd, a long-time resident was able to provide a enthralling insight it people and places, including some fascinating detail on the buildings and their development through time and changes in architectural fashion. This was followed by tea and cakes in Fairford’s wonderful Community Centre. For those who wished, a visit to the church of St Mary’s followed, led by Margaret Bishop (FHS). Margaret provided an engrossing introduction to the church’s incredible scheme of twenty-eight late medieval stain glass windows – one of the wonders of the region and a must to visit!
As part of the Cirencester Civic Society programme June and July include local visits. This visit was a reciprocal event, with Fairford History Society members being led on a Cirencester town walk by our brilliant Civic Society guides. We hope to repeat this type of joint event in 2026 with another town in our region. Due to constraints on numbers these are usually ‘members only’ events and a great reason to join the society!
Tour of Bingham House
Members of the Civic Society were also invited to a tour of Bingham House by the Daniel Bingham Foundation. Daniel Bingham was born in the town, and his philanthropy endowed the Bingham Library housed in the building which first opened in 1905. On opening, facilities included lending and reference libraries, with reading and smoking rooms on the ground floor and a gymnasium in the basement. Bingham’s intention was to provide “a place to study for recreation and for reasonable amusement” For many in the town it was their only access to books.Today the Foundation supports, encourages and provides for the promotion of education in the appreciation of art, including music, and the ground floor currently exhibits artwork including contemporary pieces by local artist Laurie Plant. Further details on the foundation can be found at https://www.danielbinghamfoundation.org.uk
Tour of the RAU Herbarium
Members visited the 𝗥𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 (RAU) for a 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗿 and introduction to its 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
The group was given a tour of the historic campus, including the famous dining hall, chapel, and tithe barn. Dr Kelly Hemmings then gave an introduction to the University’s historic herbarium collection of dried, pressed plants that date back to the 19th century. Our members were able to view a selection of plant specimens, which formed the basis of question and answer discussion.
Dr Kelly Hemmings said ‘𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍-𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒅, 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒋𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔. 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒔.’
CCS would like to express its thanks to Kelly and the RAU for hosting us.
Members of the society have the option to attend many events such as these not open to non-members.
To join us go to the ‘about us’ page.