Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the Society will not be holding any events until after the lockdown restrictions have been lifted. However, we were able to hold our Annual General Meeting on 17th March 2021 through the use of Zoom for the first time. See the short report on our News page. The minutes of the meeting will be added to the website soon.
In normal times, the Society runs an ongoing programme of events throughout the year. These include talks, discussion meetings, visits to places of interest and an annual lecture by a keynote speaker.
Please visit this page again at a later date to find out when we are able to restart our programme of events. Here are examples of some of the events that would normally be organised.
June: Civic Day
Civic Day is a national celebration of civic pride – a day when communities across the country say “we care about where we live”.
The first Civic Day was held in 2011, and is now celebrated by many community groups in different ways including tours, competitions, street parties, etc. Some local civic societies arrange a week of events around Civic Day.
In Cheltenham, Civic Day 2017 was marked by an exhibition about the history and identity of the Lower High Street in the Chapel Arts Gallery, Knapp Road. The event was made possible by the collaboration of Cheltenham West End Partnership and the University of Gloucestershire’s History Department.
In 2018, we took part in the national Street Pride campaign and volunteers carried out an audit of the High Street to identify clutter and other problems.
In 2019, we checked on progress, focusing on the Lower High Street. To read more on this, visit the Successful Streets page.
If you would like to volunteer or offer support to this group, please contact ssg@cheltcivicsoc.org
For details of other Civic Day events see civicvoice.org.uk
September: Heritage Open Days
Every September thousands of buildings throughout England open their doors to the general public to celebrate national heritage. Special events may also be organised including art exhibitions, concerts, guided tours and talks.
See the Heritage Open Days page for further information.
December: Paterson Memorial Lecture
Every year in December, the Civic Society organises the Paterson Memorial Lecture, at which an invited guest – usually distinguished in the fields of architecture, culture or town planning – presents a lecture on a subject of their choice.
The annual lectures are held in memory of the Society’s first chairman, Robert Wallace Paterson (1910-1979). He trained at the Birmingham School of Architecture and began his career at Messrs L. W. Barnard of Cheltenham. Later in his career he lectured at the Cheltenham School of Art and wrote the Gloucestershire Architectural Association’s report on the proposed restoration of the Pittville Pump Room, which was subsequently undertaken under his direction and completed in 1960. He was also surveyor to the Diocese of Gloucester and, amongst many other projects, oversaw the restoration of Christ Church in Cheltenham.