Welcome
Bouverie W.I.
Hardingstone’s Bouverie W.I., will soon be celebrating its 60th anniversary. It has come a long way since the early days in the village guide hut. Now meeting on the Third Tuesday of the month at 2 p.m. and in May 2024 moved to the aptly named Bouverie House, in Bouverie Road. Both the W.I. and the House are named after the family, who once lived in the nearby Delapre Abbey between 1756 and 1943. The Hon. Edward Bouverie originally purchased the Abbey and became M.P. for one of the Northampton seats in 1790.
The Bouverie W.I. membership currently stands at 24. They have an enthusiastic Skittles Group which meets at The Crown public house and which also allows for a lot of catching up with each other. The membership also supports the baking of homemade cakes annually for Cynthia Spencer Hospice. In June 2024 they had a very successful Cake Stall at the Village Fete, which not surprisingly sold out in rapid time.
They also support the County events including the W.I. Walking Group, with one member and her husband being one of the Group’s leaders, to going on the County arranged holidays and days out, attending events at W.I. House, the annual County AGM, and being sure to send representatives to the National AGM.
Bouverie’s afternoons can be very varied from speakers on such subjects as “The Struggles of Walt Disney” and “Wig Making at Madame Tussauds”, to a craft afternoon led by one of their members, to playing curling and trying their hands at croquet, having a fashion show to a Christmas meal held at The Crown in the village.
Bouverie W.I. has always been very environmentally aware, including with the planting of trees especially to mark the Millennium, when they also created a Time Capsule housing a copy of the certificate to mark the tree planting, their Programme for the year and a photograph of the entire W.I., which was buried in the foundations of the then new porch at the Village Hall.
This W.I. never stands on their laurels and are always looking at new ideas and ways to make the group more attractive. So, if you live in Hardingstone village or nearby and would like to join a forward W.I. or could maybe even contribute or lead something new, Bouverie W.I. would love to hear from you.