Tewin Stores - About Us

Tewin's Community Shop

Run by the village for the village

The History of Tewin Stores

The only shop in the village, Tewin Stores, is accommodated in a Grade ll listed building and closed suddenly on 19 May 2007. This shop had been run as a successful and viable local business since 1851, most recently as a newsagent, Post Office and general store.

When the shop was still trading, the Parish Plan questionnaire established that almost 40% of households used the shop once a week or more, with over 60% using the shop at least once a month. Over half the village used the Post Office on a regular basis.

Following the shop closure a meeting was organised by the Parish Council in response to concerns raised by residents in the village when the shop closed. 150 residents attended the meeting which took place on 16 June 2007 and was addressed by Ian Toye from ViRSA. Volunteers from this meeting formed a steering committee to investigate the possibility of re-opening the shop, and twelve people attended the first committee meeting held on 3 July 2007.

The Tewin Stores Association Ltd was registered with the FSA as an Industrial and Provident Society with community objectives on 9 October 2007, registration number 30349R.

During the autumn of 2008, residents of the village donated £12,000 towards the cost of refurbishing and restocking the shop. The premises were renovated using volunteer labour with many kind offers of help without which it would not have been possible to open on 21 February 2008.

The Post Office re-opened on the 8 September 2008 for 17 hours per week, 3 months after the shop re-opened.

The committee

Currently, the volunteers on the committee are:

• Chris Haden (Chair)
• Roger Toms (Secretary)
• Kay Adams (Treasurer)
• Tom Cook
• Keith Burkinshaw
• Mary Burnside
• Maureen Yates
• Christine Spendley