The Parish Council has for some time been considering the erection of a village flagpole such as the one in Helmdon. Appropriate flags would be flown to mark special occasions and a suitably prominent site is considered to be the small “green” at the junction of Magpie Road, Manor Road and School Street, as shown on the above map. At the meeting on Thursday 1st July, the Council resolved to seek the views of villagers in respect of this proposal by publishing the suggested site on this website and in the Village Newsletter for August 2021.

Please contact your Parish Councillors with any views you may have on this proposal by 31st August:

Councillor Richard Fonge (Chairman). 

Councillor Will Priestman (Vice Chairman)

Councillor Neil Higginson.

Councillor Mike Powell.

Information from HS2 Contractors:

The Greatworth Green Tunnel Compound is near completion and in
order for it to become fully operational we need to resurface the
entrance junction. Due to width restrictions on the Greatworth / Sulgrave
Road, we will be temporarily closing the road for 5 days for the safety of
our workforce as well as road users while we complete this work.

This closure will be daily for 24 hours from 5th to 9th July. Diversion signs will be in place as indicated above.

Click here for Sulgrave Manor Website

Seven Sulgrave gardens were open to the public on Sunday June 20th 2021 under the National Gardens Scheme. After months of pandemic misery and a depressing winter, a hint early summer sunshine had suggested a warm, bright, sunny day for the bi-annual gardens open day. It wasn’t to be. The day was cold, without a hint of sunshine and many of the gardeners’ carefully tended blooms had been beaten down by savage rainfall. It was colder on the Summer Solstice, June 21st than it had been on the Winter Solstice, December 21st! Nevertheless, considerable numbers of visitors, many sensibly clad for winter, were cheered by the displays so lovingly prepared during the dull days of lockdown.  Tea and cakes also helped, with one visitor asking for a mug of cocoa upon which to warm his hands!

Photographs of all the gardens on the next page (Click on “Read the rest of this entry.”)

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The seven gardens are:

Church Cottage, Hangland, Mill Hollow Barn, Rectory Farm, Threeways, The Watermill and Wootton House.

All of these gardens can be seen for a single entrance fee of £6 per adult, children free, with proceeds to worthy charities.

Refreshments will be available at Rectory Farm.

Map courtesy Digby Lewis. Click here for a pdf version of this map to print before you come to the village.

Photo galleries of previous Sulgrave Gardens Open Days

Sulgrave Gardens Open Day 2019

Sulgrave Gardens Open Day 2017

Sulgrave Gardens Open Day 2015

Sulgrave Gardens Open Day 2013

Sulgrave Gardens Open Day 2011

Sulgrave Gardens Open Day in 2009.

Photo galleries are also available for the following gardens which took part in the scheme in 2007:

Church Cottage, Church Street (Hywel and Ingram Lloyd)
Ferns, Helmdon Road (George and Julie Metcalfe)
Mill Hollow Barn (David Thompson)
The Old Stocks (Mr and Mrs Robin Prior)
Sulgrave Manor Herb Garden (The Herb Society as Sulgrave Manor)
The Old Farmhouse (Peter and Moo Mordaunt) 
Threeways (Dr and Mrs D Lewis)
Greenfields (Mrs S Harding)

Parish Council Chairman Richard Fonge writes:

HS 2. (High Speed Rail). The chair Cllr Richard Fonge said there was nothing new to report. He thanked Colin Wootton on his excellent article and map for the newsletter.

Church Hall Improvements.  Work due to start on the 15th of June. The Chair wished it to be recorded that thanks are due to all those involved in getting the project to this point.

Sulgrave Manor . Cllr Priestman reported opening day the 4th of July of grounds and of Websters tea rooms. He asked for the support of all for this new venture.

Proposed Library in the Church. Three bookcases had been bought flat packed and assembled. Casters to be put on, with the opening dependent on the Covid situation, but hopefully next month.

Village Flagpole. No response as yet from Helmdon. Clerk to follow up.

Pop up Picnic. Castle Green on Sunday 11th July. Agreed that it was best to keep it simple. A social occasion for all. Please bring your own chairs blankets etc. Picnics from Websters or provide your own. Bar to be run by Nikki and Steve. Caryll Billingham from the new Brackley medical centre had accepted our invitation to come, and would say a few words . Agreed that two facilities would be made available for donations to their charitable trust. Cllr Fonge said there would be a special moment during the afternoon.

Cllr Higginson reported that the Sulgrave sign was in very poor condition on Magpie Rd.
Agreed to replace. Cllr Powell offered to strim the grass round the sign. He also reported that the storm drains are maintained every six months.

From the floor,  Graham Roberts commented on the proposed Drovers Solar farm. Does not come into our parish, but Council agreed with his suggestion that there should be screening from Peters bridge on the Helmdon Road, and we should apply for any grant money available for the Church hall as we are being consulted by the Solar Farm company. Clerk to follow up.

Next meeting Thursday July 1st. 7.45pm. Marston st Lawrence village hall.

Richard Fonge

The Church Hall is not available for meetings at the present time and so the Parish Council Meeting on Thursday 10th June will be held in Marston-St-Lawrence Village Hall at 7.45 pm. Click here to see the agenda.