Events 

Upcoming Events

Winter Party 2025 - Saturday 8 February 2025 from 7:15pm

Yes, we know. You are busy sweeping away the final autumn leaves from where you don’t want them, and all those Christmas cards too are taking quite a toll (the writing and sending, that is; the receiving and reading, not so much).

 

But right now we’d like to ask your brief but dedicated attention to the prospect of the SCVA Winter Party 2025, and what to do about it before Christmas arrives. Yes, reserve your tickets before they’re gone. Our Winter Party 2025, as we’ve pointed out (and hence you will have saved the date if nothing else) is on Saturday 8 February 2024, in the St Catherine’s Village Hall in Chestnut Avenue, with doors open at 7:15pm and dinner served at 7:45pm.

 

Tickets are now available to buy. So do respond and let us know how many places you wish to have, and we’ll take it from there.

 

Our Winter Party 2025 will feature:

 

 

And now for those pesky details without which we’d all be at sea:

 

 

Any questions? Give us a shout and we’ll do our best to fill you in.

Developments in Guildford and Changes to Local Government & Planning System - Tuesday 11 March 2025 at 7:30pm

It is hard to escape the impression that the past 12-18 months (perhaps longer) have seen significant developments in relation to Guildford’s skyline and building footprint, whether in the planning stage, under construction or completed. In fact, it’s not just an impression...

 

Just think of Solum, North Street, Elysian to name the more substantial and, dare we say it, contentious ones. Where is this going? What can we expect? Do we continue to have a say (a say that counts...)? Are there further changes afoot that will impact this? What will be the impact of a new government wishing to unlock the planning system for those 1.5m homes in the next few years? Many of us will have not much more than an inkling, snippets of information or anecdotal evidence to rely on.

 

Well, we can now say this. The year 2025 will see major changes to both local government and the planning system, bringing with it more pressure for development impacting the Guildford area.

 

Hence, in a joint endeavour the Guildford Society and St Catherine’s Village Association are pleased to announce a meeting to update attendees on developments in Guildford and the impact that changes to local government and the planning system will have on the evolution of the our town and surroundings. We present a lecture by St Catherine’s resident and Guildford Society chair Alistair Smith supported by other members of the Guildford Society Workgroups on Design & Heritage and Planning:

 

Developments in Guildford and Changes to Local Government & Planning System

 

Where, what and how? Details are:

 

 

We look forward to see you there

58th Annual General Meeting - Tuesday 25 March at 7:30pm

Past Events

Henry Woodyer: Gothic Revival Architect - Tuesday 26 November at 7:30pm

The next SCVA event has now appeared on our horizon, not that far into the future. It’s weeks, not months. And no, whatever the image suggests, it’s got nothing to do with Hallowe’en. More gothic, like.

 

If you’ve been an avid follower of the stories we’ve told St Catherine’s on Arts & Crafts architecture (and we trust you all are (avid, we mean)) then you will know that we had in our Victorian midst a true local, Henry Woodyer, who did some wonderful things around the place. That “place” is not just Surrey where a lot of his work can be found, so we’re talking Guildford, Grafham, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire. And lots of other places not necessarily beginning with a “G”.

 

For our 26 November event we feature no other and no less a person than Robin Stannard, whom we have heard in years earlier on a variety of architectural subjects. About our Henry, our Robin says the following by way of introduction to his talk:

 

Henry Woodyer was born in Guildford and became one of the leading Victorian Gothic Revival Architects. He lived at Grafham Grange, south of Bramley and was responsible for the design and restoration of numerous churches and other buildings throughout the country. Henry Woodyer was involved with many churches in Surrey including St Martha's, Hascombe, Chiddingfold, Grafham and Dorking, as well as doing extensive work at Loseley House and the design of Cranleigh School. In the St Catherine’s area Henry Woodyer designed St Nicholas School, Ludlow Road Infants School and did work to the interior of St Nicholas Church.

 

Personally, we can’t wait. Can you?

 

In the meantime, what more can we tell you? Well, you’ll want to know the usual stuff about how, what when. Here it is:

 

·       Date – Tuesday 26 November 2024

·       Time – doors open 7:00pm, talk commences 7:30pm

·       Place – St Catherine’s Village Hall in Chestnut Avenue

·       Refreshments – Yes, of course, the usual, included in your ticket

·       Tickets – Cash or card at the door, £5 per person (exact cash if possible, please)

 

And now we can tell you even more. More more, so to speak. In addition to Robin Stannard as speaker we’re expecting a special guest at this talk. Someone who will have the floor, and more, for a short while after Robin’s finished with his talk and with your questions. It may just be a good idea to bring some extra cash. You never know.

Hogs Back Brewery - Tuesday 8 October at 7:30pm

Summer Lunch - Sunday 7 July

I won't be long now...very soon, within a month it's going to be the SCVA’s 2024 Summer Lunch. Time to act as tickets are on sale now! Tomorrow is good too, by the way.

 

The date to note is Sunday 7 July 2023. As always it is in the grounds of Piccards Manor, off Chestnut Avenue: our premier event that aims high to provide a super experience, hoping that the sun will shine just right to help us all, you, your local friends and neighbours have a great and unforgettable time.

 

These are the key ingredients of what we’re going to do:

 

 

Now then. Your tickets. Do this and don’t delay:

 

 

We look forward to welcoming you back!

Heathrow - From Stone Age to Jet Age - Tuesday 9 April at 7:30pm

Have you ever found that acronym LHR on your flight itinerary? Yes? Of course you have. In that case you don’t want to miss this truly fascinating and original talk brought to you by the St Catherine’s Village Association.

On Tuesday 9 April we have the privilege to have with us Nick Pollard who will present to us his talk

Heathrow – from Stone Age to Jet Age

and as usual it’s at the St Catherine’s Village Hall in Chestnut Avenue. 

Doors are open at 7:00pm and presentation take off time is 7:30pm (by which time you need to be seated – and remain seated, please). We are very much looking forward to this, expecting to hear things that not everyone knows perhaps (e.g. airport routines in Fred Flintstone’s era...). And questions like why Heathrow is where it is, how it developed and a great many more things. And what will the future bring? Will someone feel the need to go and lie in front of a bulldozer in connection with that third runway?

The speaker, Nick Pollard, is honorary curator of Spelthorne Museum in Staines. He is also the chairman of Sunbury and Shepperton Local History Society. And his daytime job is in the aerospace industry – we understand that he’s involved in designing ejector seats (and no, they don’t have those on 777s – but perhaps some 737s might?).

Boarding passes will be issued for £5 each at the door and whilst we prefer £5 (or £10 or possibly even £20) notes, payment by card is also okay.

And finally: to welcome you warmly we invite you to make a beeline for our bar for a free glass of wine (or etcetera, you know what we mean).

See you there and chocks away!

57th Annual General Meeting on 26 March 2024 at 7:30pm

The 57th Annual General Meeting is to be held on 26 March 2024 at the St Catherine’s Village Hall in Chestnut Avenue at 7:30pm, doors open from 7:00pm. 

The Agenda shall be as follows:

Following the formal business of the 57th Annual General Meeting we shall have the opportunity to discuss local matters of interest, this time with our councillor Tom Hunt (Angela Goodwin is unable to attend). To make the exchange potentially more worthwhile and effective, it would be helpful if you were to share with the Secretary (by reply email, by text, by phone or otherwise but in any case well in advance of course) any issues, questions or challenges which you think ought to come up on the night. These will then be edited and collated and passed on to Tom so he can come well prepared. Of course, ad hoc and spontaneous interjections made as we proceed are equally valid and welcome.

And....of course there will be a complimentary glass of wine (or similar) to welcome you!

The Committee looks forward to seeing you on 26 March 2024.

SCVA Winter Party 2024 - 3 February 2024 at 7:15pm

Yes... We know, we know, we know. It’s not even December yet (as we write...), leave alone past Christmas. But that means that you may still be paying attention.

So here's our big announcement about the SCVA's 2024 Winter Party. Ta-da!

It’s on Saturday 3 February 2024, in the St Catherine’s Village Hall in Chestnut Avenue, with doors open at 7:15pm and dinner served at 7:45pm. Our Winter Party will feature:

And now the small print, printed large:

We look forward to seeing you and, for now, wish you a Merry Christmas.

Guildford Street Names on 10 October 2023

Old Palace Road? Long Dyke? Trodds Lane? Hmmmmm.

 

Unless one is something of a local historian or an ultra-geographer, or one has stumbled across a particular local street names fact, what does one know about all those names of streets and roads (and squares, and lanes, and avenues (etcetera)) one sees on one’s everyday journeys?

 

No, of course we’re not talking about “Portsmouth Road” or “Farnham Road” or even (slightly less obvious to various casual observers) our “Onslow Street” and perhaps even “Guildown Road”.  No. All Guildford roads are equal but some Guildford roads are more equal than others, one might say.

 

To get to the bottom of this, we have for you this fascinating talk Guildford Street Names, presented by David Rose.

 

It's on 10 October 2023 and the revelations begin at 7:30pm in the St Catherine's Village Hall in Chestnut Avenue (doors open 7:00pm). Admission is £5 at the door (cash preferred but card okay) and there's the usual free glass of wine (or equivalent) to welcome you and to chase away early autumn’s evening chill.

 

David Rose is a well-known local history writer and public speaker. He has authored and co-authored over a dozen local history books focusing on Guildford and the surrounding area. He inaugurated and edited, for 13 years, the “From the Archives” column in the Surrey Advertiser, and now regularly writes for the Guildford Dragon online newspaper, including its “Through Time” local history feature.

 

In recent years David has presented his street names talk at a number of venues in and around Guildford and it has been extremely well received. We expect you to do the same!

 

We look forward to seeing you on 10 October – in unprecedented numbers. So come!

Summer Lunch on 9 July 2023

Tickets are on sale now! For our annual premier event, the SCVA’s 2023 Summer Lunch.

It’s on Sunday 9 July 2023, as always in the grounds of Piccards Manor, off Chestnut Avenue: the party that welcomes our British summer with a top experience, and brings the opportunity to let the sun shine on you and your local friends and neighbours whilst you are treated to good things.

What we’re all looking forward to:

To book your tickets, check this out:

A Year in the Life of Greyfriars Vineyard on 2 May 2023

Tuesday 2 May 2023 at 7:30pm (doors open from just after 7:00pm), in the St Catherine’s Village Hall in Chestnut Avenue.

The Greyfriars team will be with us to tell us about their (well, I think “our” is also justified here) wonderful vineyard, the one on our doorstep, just off the A31. They will tell us about their history and how they go about their vineyard operations – how they manage to make one prize winning wine after another.

But listening makes thirsty and so we’ll have 4 Greyfriars wines presented to us for sampling and tasting – as I write this we expect 2 still and 2 sparkling. We’re going to choose a bunch (yes, pun intended) of contrasting grape varieties and with luck we might even get to try a wine that, as of today, hasn’t even been released yet.

And at the conclusion of the event there will be an opportunity to buy.

Tickets are only £10 per person. Attendance is by pre-booked ticket only and places are limited so hurry if you wish to partake in this special occasion. Do send an email to tickets@stcatherinesvillage.org and book your place without delay. No time to lose!

56th Annual General Meeting on 28 March 2023

The St Catherine's Village Association's 56th Annual General Meeting will be held on 28 March 2023 at 7:30pm, in the St Catherine’s Village Hall in Chestnut Avenue.

Winter Party on 11 February 2023 - SOLD OUT!

Tickets are on sale now! For our first 2023 event, our bright and festive Winter Party. The Winter Party that warms your heart, and that warms the parts other parties don’t reach.

It’s on Saturday 11 February 2023, in the St Catherine’s Village Hall in Chestnut Avenue: the mid-winter occasion to meet your local friends and neighbours. Doors are open at 7:15pm and dinner will be served at 7:45pm.

What you are looking forward to:

To book your tickets, check this out:

Please note ticket requests for that non-members will be on a waiting list until just before the event as numbers are limited by the capacity of the St Catherine’s Village Hall