Constantine Women’s Institute
Hello from the W. I !
Constantine has a thriving W. I. and we are pleased to welcome new members of course. We have a range of activities of broad appeal.
If you would like to join us please ring a member of the committee, who will let you know when the next meeting is and who will be happy to introduce you
The hall can be booked for £8.00 per hour which includes use of OHP and screen, Electric and use of the kitchen.
Craft and Chat sessions open to everyone are every Wednesday 2 – 4 p.m.
Soup and pud lunches are every last Monday of the Winter months 12 – 2 p.m. open to everyone
The hall has completely updated facilities, with integral fire, carbon dioxide and smoke alarms, emergency lighting, new hot water system, roof, doors, floors and gutters, ideal for small parties, meetings and commercial use e.g. Yoga, pilates, etc.
The Women’s Institute (WI) was formed in 1915 to revitalise rural communities and encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War. Since then the organisation’s aims have broadened and the WI is now the largest voluntary women’s organisation in the UK. The WI will celebrated its centenary in 2015 and currently has 212,000 members in around 6,600 WIs.
The WI plays a unique role in providing women with educational opportunities and the chance to build new skills, to take part in a wide variety of activities and to campaign on issues that matter to them and their communities.
1951 was the year that the dear ladies of our village formed the Constantine Branch of the Women’s Institute. They were fortunate to have the use of the Pavilion as the venue for the first memorable meeting.
The Pavilion was initially built for the older gentlemen of the village who met there most afternoons (in winter round a roaring log fire) to cart and play cards or dominos and watch cricket or football matches.
The first WI meeting was held on the 6th July 1951. Some of the ladies present were Mrs Allson, Mrs Cavendish, Mrs Crossswaite, Mrs B Hocking, Mrs L Hocking, Mrs Hodges, Mrs Medlin, Mrs Mossop, Mrs Old, Mrs Pascoe, Mrs Pengelly, Mrs Rowe, Mrs Tredwen, and Mrs Wearne. Elsie Julian as VCO presided over the meeting and got them off on the ‘right foot’, giving lots of help, advice and encouragement.
Mrs L Hocking was elected Treasurer and Mrs L Rowe was elected as our first President. It was decided that they would meet on the 2nd Monday of every month with the committee meeting held on the previous Monday. The ladies wished to thank the ‘Gentlemen of the Pavilion’ for allowing them the use of the hall for their meetings and hoped one day they would have a hall of their own.