Wigmore Village Shop
ABOUT
As with so many small rural villages, the closure of the old shop in 2007 was a blow to residents of Wigmore and the surrounding area. With a poor public bus service, those without easy access to transport found increasing difficulty in getting to the shops - not to mention the depressing effect on the village as a whole.
However, all was not lost! Later that year a group of determined and enthusiastic residents got together to research the possibility of reopening the shop as a co-operative business. This allowed residents and supporters to buy a share in the shop to help get the project up and running.
2008
Grants were applied for; our landlord Steve Mundy was keen to support the venture and with help from the Plunkett Foundation, plus a great deal of hard work and good will from the community, the new shop - now called Mortimer Country Stores, had its official reopening in May 2008. Local celebrity John Challis cut the ribbon, watched by over 100 residents and well-wishers.
2010
Over the years the shop has had a few ups and downs but the management committee worked hard to put the shop back on its feet to ensure that it not only survived but thrived.
2017
This hard work was recognised when in 2017 the shop was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the MBE for volunteer groups.
2020
In 2020, Covid arrived in the UK and national lockdowns were brought in. At a stroke the shop lost half its volunteers through shielding, however the manager and remaining volunteers rose magnificently to the challenge so that the shop remained open with normal hours all the way thorough the emergency.
2022
In 2022 the management committee felt that a change of name would be sensible. Customers and residents called it Wigmore Shop and few understood the reference to Mortimer Country Store. So, with the share members' agreement, the shop’s name was changed to
Wigmore Village Shop.
Alison
Alison is our part time Super shop manager and one of only two paid members of staff.
She knows exactly what our customers want and does an amazing job of making sure the shop is beautifully stocked with seasonal produce to meet all our customers' needs throughout the year. She ensures the rotas are full and keeps all volunteers updated with a weekly bulletin. Thank you for all that you do Alison!
Volunteers
Wigmore Village Shop relies on a small army of brilliant volunteers to keep it open 7 days a week. As a co-operative business, volunteers were, and remain, essential to providing the service that the community wants and needs.
If you would be interested in learning more about volunteering with us, click the apple!
