Villages compete for coveted title (From Wiltshire Times)

Villages compete for coveted title

3:44pm Friday 28th July 2006 in Corsham By Charley Morgan

Box and Bromham have come out on top as the regional winners of the 2006 Wiltshire Best Kept Village and Building Community Life Competition.

Box has won the large village category for north Wiltshire and Bromham has won the same category for Kennet.

All the winning villages now face further scrutiny as they go forward to be judged for the county round of the competition where the overall winners will be decided.

Margaret Carey, clerk to Box Parish Council, said: "We have always been a vibrant village and it's a very active community.

"The Box Revels were a great success this year with the Steam Back to Box project it really brought the village together."

The 10-acre recreation ground is at the centre of the village and is home to bowls, BMX, football cricket and other sports groups.

The ground also contains the village's allotments, which were dutifully tidied up in time for the inspector's visit.

The village has a lot of groups meeting weekly including playgroups, brownies and the Moonrakers and has just had its annual Flower Show.

Elizabeth Brown, the street cleaner, and Bruce Bullock, the cemetery caretaker, have been busily keeping the public spaces neat and tidy.

The villagers recently found out they have a unique ceiling painting in their parish church dating from the 15th century and villagers have been fundraising to help restore it, as well as a grant from English Heritage.

Bromham has a thriving conservation area in the old churchyard, which is home to a wide variety of wildlife and receives regular visits from the village school.

Rosalind Humphries, clerk of Bromham Parish Council, said it was easy filling out the forms to enter the competition because there is so much going on they could put something down in each section.

She added: "Bromham is just a fantastic community it would be really lovely to win it."

The next round of the competition will be closely fought, and Mrs Carey of Box hopes the judges come and visit the village to see what goes on.

She said: "We have put in a good submission and if they look at the village as a whole we stand a good chance."