Our History
Before...
After...
We’re so proud of our village community shop. It started in early 2010 when a small group of villagers were determined to keep a shop open in the village, after the post office had closed. They called a village meeting in March and were amazed at the number who came and the passion to keep the shop in the village, so the shop reopened in November that year, supported by financial contributions from over 200 shareholders.
Since then, we have been the winner of a Countryside Alliance award (2011). We also won a more than £29,000 from the Prince’s Countryside Fund (2016), to develop the shop with better fixtures and fittings, with new fridges and a proper tarmac surface for our car park, as well as new secure and attractive gates.
We have also been awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service, for our work to support members of our community during the COVID pandemic. Our volunteers went above and beyond the call of duty to deliver food to local residents who were unable to get out, and to keep the shop going even when our usual supplies of food were difficult to get hold of.
We use local suppliers wherever we can; for milk, eggs, meat, bread, honey.
Thirteen years on, we’re open 7 days a week and it’s all still run by more than 30 volunteers and a part-time shop manager. The shop plays a key role in the community of Marchington and Marchington Woodlands by providing a local convenience store for villagers and visitors to buy essentials, cards, wine, tickets for local events and our fresh local produce. We also have a sizable newspaper delivery business, that keeps people in touch, even in more remote parts of our parish.
Our volunteers say they get many benefits from working in the shop, such as new friendships and a satisfaction from helping their local community. We now have additional opportunities for more volunteers – would you like to join the team? If so, please contact us in the shop or by phone 01283 821248.
