The Brill Society
Another year has passed all too quickly, and I am sorry to announce the departure of Sue Horton from the committee. Sue has been a major figure in the Society for many years and only stood down as secretary last year. Her commitment to her other work in the village, to her teaching and not least to her family has meant something has had to give and for us it's sadly Sue's work with the Society. Our grateful thanks for everything, Sue. During the year we have been able to welcome Kathy Collins to the committee and if there is anyone else who would like to join, please get in touch you will be very welcome. We are anxious to expand the committee membership and hope that we can add at least one new member each year.
The principal work of the Society in the past year has centred around our hopes to restore Hartwells Barn and the development of the adjacent Saunders Field as a wildlife meadow. Peter Davies, Peter Bugg and Jan Molyneaux have continued to be the prime movers in this initiative. Inevitably in such a project, money is crucial and through the efforts of Peter Davis we have been fortunate enough to secure a grant of £20,000 towards the restoration programme. This necessitated the Society formally becoming a charity, something that was far more complicated than any of us anticipated. Thankfully we have now jumped through all the necessary hurdles, including another 'adjustment' to our constitution that was passed at an Extraordinary General Meeting held on the 6th February. Thus The Brill Society is now an officially registered charity, no. 1085234.
At last year's AGM the Society launched its annual awards, aimed at recognising an "individual or organisation that has made a significant contribution to the amenities of the parish in the calendar year". Last year we gave two awards, one to the Brillenium Book, the other for the restoration of the barn in Church Close. This year we will again be recognising a truly significant contribution to the amenities of the parish. More later!
Meanwhile the Society has continued with its other work, including working closely with the Parish Council monitoring (and commenting on where appropriate) planning applications. We have continued tree planting whenever possible and our thanks to Peter Davis and Jim Saunders for their work in this area. As usual we organised the opening of the windmill on Sundays throughout the spring and summer and arranged its floodlighting at Christmas. Our thanks to a whole host of volunteers, without whom this would not happen. Unfortunately the exceptionally wet weather meant that we were unable to provide a Christmas tree on the square, hopefully this will return next Christmas. We had a full programme of walks and talks but were sadly unable to fulfil two dates as our speakers withdrew, and we were reduced on one occasion to resorting to a talk on South Africa from our Chairman. However, the walk around the earthworks of Brill with the former County Archaeologist Mike Farley was a great success, as was the talk by Dr Gary Lock on his excavation of iron age hill forts on the Ridgeway when we had an audience of over 80 people including a very welcome contingent from the Friends of the Vale of Aylesbury. In between we had a very disappointing turnout to a fascinating talk on the Hearing Dogs for the Deaf. Tonight we are all looking forward to Chris Whiteman talking about and listening to some of the stories of Brill's better known families. Perhaps this is not an appropriate place but can I mention a real coup for our first talk of next year. Peter Bugg has managed to persuade Dr John Broad, Principal Lecturer in History at the University of North London, to talk on the story of Bernwood Forest and Brill's part in that story. John Broad is co-editor of the excellent book "Bernwood - the Life and Afterlife of a Forest.
As last year one major concern remains unresolved and that is the current state of the windmill. The responsibility for its maintenance lies squarely with the County Council. Along with the Parish Council we have been trying to put pressure on the authority to take some action. Negotiations continue and the County Council has again consulted Geoff Wallis of Dorothea Restorations who has previously reported on the mill. The stumbling block is inevitably money. Hope currently rests with a bid being made by Buckinghamshire Community Action for European Funding under the Leader + initiative. The Brill Society's submission to Buckinghamshire Community Action for restoration work on the mill and the restoration of Hartwell's Barn now forms a part of the Vale wide submission to the Leader + Programme for England. Our thanks to Jan Molyneaux and Peter Bugg for their help on this initiative.
Finally can I thank all the committee for their unflagging support over the past year. When sober they are indeed a formidable bunch and after a tincture or two they are unstoppable.
The Society membership is currently 161 with the following serving on the committee in the past year:
Graham Parker (Chairman), Andrew Whitaker (Secretary), Roger Williams (Treasurer), Peter Bugg, Kathy Collins, Peter Davis, Tony Frewin, Mike Gregory, Sue Horton, Hannah Hunter, Jan Molyneaux, Den Rolfe, and Jim Saunders.
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The Brill Society. Register Charity number 1085234. 20 The Green, Brill, Aylesbury, Bucks. HP18 9RU