Welcome to Wickhambrook
Wickhambrook is one of the parishes of West Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council
For the first meeting of 2025 we welcomed Steve Amer who was introduced as a voice coach. It quickly became apparent that this was to be a talk which included audience participation as Steve talked about the importance of music and in particular singing on people’s physical, emotional and mental health…
Jenny Barley, a member of the committee, was the first speaker of the year and gave an interesting talk on the Stuart Monarchy in Suffolk. Jenny used to work at the National Horseracing Museum so was well-qualified to explain the Royal and racing connection to the county…
Wickhambrook WI enjoyed three festive events at the beginning of December. On Saturday 7th December members hosted a “Tea and Cakes” afternoon which also included a Bottle Tombola, Raffle, a Christmas Hamper Raffle and a “Guess the Weight of the Cake” competition…
40 members of the Society enjoyed a Savoury Supper prepared by the ladies of the committee. Home made soup with crusty bread followed by crumbles and other desserts and tea and coffee were enthusiastically received before we settled down to listen to the speaker for the evening, Kev Kitcher…
‘By the moonlyght I must go to my boke’ was the title of Kate Jewell’s talk and she gave us an intriguing look at medieval education in Suffolk…
Lead by our very own Michelle Parsons, we spent a very creative evening connecting to the left side of our brains, training our eye to really observe our guest model…
A joint meeting of the History and Horticultural Societies of Wickhambrook was held in October with a subject that included plenty of history and lots of gardening. Michael Brown’s talk was subtitled ‘Poisonous Plants – Magic, Myth and Passion’ and we were treated to a plant by plant analysis with historical anecdotes which was both fascinating and entertaining…
Once a year the four WI’s in our group meet up for a joint meeting and this year it was the turn of Wickhambrook WI to host the event…
Once a year we like to take our monthly meeting off site and tour a local point of interest. This year we took an after hours tour of Bury Cathedral…
We had a very informative tour of the local Solar Farm at Broxted, which, when built 10 years ago was the largest in the UK…
Once a year the WI committee take a back seat and the members take over! We never quite know what to expect but this year the members did not disappoint. An evening of folk music and country dancing had been organised for our entertainment…
This month’s meeting was kept “in house” as two members of the Wickhambrook History Society gave a talk on the history of the Women’s Institute in Wickhambrook and how it has progressed over the years. Dorothy Anderson explained that interest had been piqued by a...
Wickhambrook Local History Society members enjoyed visiting Pakenham Watermill and Thelnetham Windmill on a beautiful July day. We were warmly welcomed by volunteers at both venues and given comprehensive tour of both mills. Highlight of the day for those who climbed...
A group of Wickhambrook WI members enjoyed a day at the races on Thursday 11th July. It being “Ladies Day” we were suitably decked out in our finest outfits complete with headgear. The racing was preceded by a picnic in the car park where members had provided quiche,...
For our June meeting Andy Went came to tell us about the work of the Essex and Suffolk Rivers Trust…
16 members of the History Society spent a day in beautiful Stoke by Nayland…
The 6th June 2024 saw us once again setting up the WI Hall for another Literary Lunch…
It is always a pleasure to welcome Ashley Cooper, a farmer and author from Gestingthorpe, to our meeting. He has been talking to the Society since it started in 1986 and we have also visited his farm museum and Roman Villa…
For our April Meeting we welcomed Susan Cariello who came to talk about her handmade bags. Susan studied at St Martin’s before going off to New York to work in a design studio…
At the AGM on 16th April the committee and office bearers were re-elected to serve for another year. Chairman Dorothy Anderson, secretary Gillian Cooper and treasurer Pam Miller reported on an excellent year of talks and outings and thanked the members for their support.
A big thank you goes out to Kingfisher Noel Micallef and the 1st Wickhambrook Beavers, who recently put up 8 bird boxes in Wickhambrook Cemetery from kits put together by our Chairman, Mike Lavelle – thanks also go to Mike and everyone who contributed wood for the project…
Martyn Taylor, local author and Chairman of the Bury Society, was our speaker at the March meeting and his talk was entitled Lost Bury St Edmunds.
For our March Meeting we were joined by Paul Roe and Holly the Wellness dog. An ex police officer of 30 years standing Paul had come along to talk about his experience of dealing with PTSD. Paul had been attacked on New Year’s Eve 1998 when he was knocked to the...
We had a very lively and interesting talk by Michelle Bullivant, a local historian and archaeologist…
Have you ever wondered which colours really suit you and which ones you should avoid? Mandy Wild gave an interesting and sometimes humorous talk on “The Power of Colour to Effect Wellbeing and Success” to our members…
December and January have been busy months for the History Society Committee.
Our upcoming field school, “Prehistoric Suffolk,” offers an immersive experience for students and enthusiasts alike to explore the fascinating world of archaeology…
What better way to start off a new year than with some gentle stretching, waking up our bodies after the Christmas break, and a relaxing guided meditation…
The title of this month’s talk did not prepare us for the harrowing tale we were to be presented with. Jeannie Bloomfield, a member of Walsham Le Willows WI and the National Federation told us her life story…
On a sunny September day, over twenty members of SLHC made their way to Wickhambrook in the west of the county. The Focus On Day was being hosted by the local history society and tea and home made biscuits were ready for us in the WI Hall…