About Ewelme Village Store
In November 2007 a village survey established that most residents were keen to support the re-opening of a village shop, pledging both financial and/or volunteering help.
With the generous help of Lord & Lady Jay, the Old Post Office was renovated and leased back to the village for use as a Community shop for a nominal rent per annum.
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Ewelme Village Store is owned and managed by the community of Ewelme. It is registered under the law as a society for the benefit of the community with the Financial Conduct Authority. To view the rules by which we are governed, click here.
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Ewelme Village Store was established as an Industrial and Provident Society for the Benefit of the Community (IPS BenCom) with any surplus trading profits either re-invested in the shop or the local community.
In 2009, with the support of the Plunkett Foundation, villagers raised £60,000 to reopen the old Ewelme Post office as a Community Store. Today the Store has over 400 shareholders and is run by a committee of volunteers who employ Daily Managers and weekend staff to manage the Store. With an annual turnover of nearly £140k, the help of regular volunteers and the support of the community, the store has become an important part of daily life in Ewelme.
About the Ewelme area
Ewelme is a small village located within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and much of the village forms the Ewelme Conservation Area. It is located in the County of Oxfordshire and is approximately three miles from Wallingford and two miles from Benson. The village is at the bottom of a valley with many historic buildings distributed across the village and interspersed by green spaces. Most land in the Parish is farmed for arable production, although there is a significant amount of pig, sheep and cattle farming.
The village has a rich history, with connections to the Chaucer family, Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth, the Civil War and Jerome K Jerome. It’s most significant historic buildings are the complex of Church, Alms-houses and School built by Alice de la Pole and her husband the Duke of Suffolk in the mid-15th century and maintained today by her legacy Trust, the Ewelme Alms-house Charity and Exhibition Endowment. The legacy of their charitable Trust has contributed significantly to the character of Ewelme and is still an integral part of Ewelme today.
In recent years, Ewelme has featured in a number of films and TV productions, including Les Miserables, Midsomer Murders.