Village landmarks

Coronation Street Party

On the afternoon of Sunday 7 May 2023, Ampney St Mary held a street party  to celebrate the Coronation of King Charles 111.

The parish of Ampney St Mary has fewer than 100 residents but invitations went out all parishioners, to their families and friends and to anyone staying with them that weekend.  Over 70 adults joined the party. The menu featured Coronation Chicken and a wide variety of salads and puddings. Children were not forgotten- after they had tried their skills at making crowns and tiaras and had their faces painted they cooked sausages and toasted marshmallows.

Before everyone took their seats for lunch the Chairman of the Parish gave a short speech and the Loyal Toast was drunk to Summer Punch.

Spring bulbs April 2023

Memorial bench

This bench was installed in March 2013 in memory of Martin Tredwell, a resident who died in 2005. In his Will, he left gifts for village funds and for the upkeep of Ampney St Mary Church (the Ivy Church). The gifts for the village were used to purchase this bench, the noticeboard, the cost of refurbishing the phone box and tree saplings for the tree plantation.

Beyond the memorial bench on the triangle is a Silver Maple tree planted to celebrate Queen Elizabeth 11’s Silver Jubilee on 7 June 1977. 

The triangle has a mixture of flowers: bulbs in late winter and early spring, followed by wild flowers in summer. 

Further up the hill is a small tree plantation.  In November 2013 villagers planted the following trees:

Bird Cherry, Crab Apple, Hazel ‘Cosford’, Hazel ‘Kentish Cob’, Mirabelle Plums (2) ‘Mirabelle de Nancy’, Damson ‘Shropshire Prune’, Apple ‘Ampney Red’, Walnut ‘Broadview’.

Phone box       

In May 2012, the village took advantage of BT’s Adopt a Kiosk scheme which allowed communities to buy redundant phone kiosks for £1.00.  The village refurbished it in 2013 and converted it into a book library and information point, with maps of the village to assist van drivers delivering orders.

Since December 2017, the phone box has also housed a defibrillator.

Noticeboard

The Hill Oak

The following photo is of The Hill Oak, now a private dwelling, but in the past it was a public house, licensed to sell beer, as indicated on old Ordnance Survey maps by the abbreviation BH.  Above the entrance is the iron framework from which the pub sign hung. There is a date stone on the front elevation showing that it was built in 1776.