| County | Somerset, South West |
|---|---|
| Postcode | BA2 8PU |
| Opened | 1997 |
| Post Office | No |
| Management | Managed plus volunteers |
| Legal | ViRSA IPS model rules |
| Premises | Previous shop |
View a map of where to find us
9am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday
9am - 1.30pm Saturday
Closed Sunday
The Parlour Shop has been part of village life in Wellow for many years. In 1997, the previous owner had to give up due to personal circumstances but no new buyer appeared on the scene. A group of like minded people felt we had to save our village shop from closure. So, a group of willing investors contacted an organisation called ViRSA (Village Retail Services Association) for information on running a village shop. After a meeting with ViRSA, and deciding to proceed, the investors came up with the necessary capital and The Wellow Village Shop Association was formed. The shop was duly registered with the Registrar of Friendly Societies and the new venture took off. We have some 50 members of the Association who have each paid a £10 non-returnable membership. Another organisation that has been of great assistance both financially and morally is Community Action. Community Action is a registered charity, supported by The Countryside Agency, Bath & North East Somerset Council, North Somerset Council and South Gloucestershire Council, that works with local communities to improve the quality of life, primarily in rural areas. They very generously provided £500, through the Village Shop Grant Scheme, towards the purchase of freezers and shelving within the retail area and have provided support through their magazine and office.
The shop is run by a part-time paid Manageress, Mrs. Lorraine Curtis and a band of many hard working Volunteers together with an occasional part-time paid Shop Assistant. The day to day running of the Shop is in the hands of Lorraine and the volunteers but under the guidance of a volunteer Management Committee.
We have been trading since 12th December 1997 and whilst having a shaky start consolidated to achieve a reasonable return up to December 1999. Since then, due to a number of factors, not least of which was a 4 month closure of the through road from Hinton Charterhouse to Peasedown St. John denying us, much relied upon, passing trade we have had a financially disappointing year. This situation cannot be allowed to continue and despite continued requests and disclosure of the advantages in both the short and longer term of using your village shop, the village as a whole continues to lack whole hearted support for your shop. As such the Management Committee is due to meet in early January 2001 to make a strategic review of the viability of The Wellow Village Shop Association. Much depends on the results of the December sales and the overall financial viability. But, it cannot be denied that "the picture is not rosey!" It really depends on the residents of Wellow to make a continued and greater effort to use a service that once gone will not rise again.
Article from http://www.cromwellow.freeserve.co.uk/
“Owing to family commitments, this business is for sale.” So read the notice on the board outside The Parlour Shop in Wellow, near Bath, in August 1997. The young owner had decided that she couldn’t cope with both it and her new-ish baby. It wasn’t until late in October, however, that we in the village woke up to the fact that no-one appeared to be buying the shop; and that if we didn’t do something about it The Parlour would close, probably forever in December 1998.
The next few weeks were hectic. The village was alerted by posters and a late entry in the Parish Newsletter. Then those who hoped to set up a co-operative to save the shop had to find out what was involved. Community Action, the local RCC, immediately sent a batch of invaluable information with details of the help we could get from ViRSA.
ViRSA’s South West field worker squeezed in an early visit to Wellow, and at a meeting on 14 November told us just about everything that we needed to know – from how best to establish a company to the pros and cons of selling newspapers. The village responded quickly with generous offers of financial support, promises of help in the shop, and assistance in assessing the viability if the project. Local businessmen examined the books, a resident solicitor advised on legal matters, the Parish Council gave its blessing and the owner of the shop joined in with cheerful training sessions to budding shop assistants.
Not everything was easy. A survey of every household in the village showed we had less support than needed to pay a part-time manager and a part-time assistant. Indeed at one point the whole scheme appeared about to collapse for lack of a manager. But miracles do happen – and an experienced retail manager appeared from next-door-but-one – and volunteered to help for three months. You can’t turn down an offer like that. On 30 November we decided to go ahead; in December we took over the shop in time for the Christmas rush.
Through ViRSA, we are registering as a non-profit-making association under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts and interest in our shares has been lively. The manager puts in hours of work, ever enthusiastic and full of ideas – might he stay on? The volunteers arrive on time, cope with the till and the ham-slicer and are enjoying themselves. Community Action has turned up trumps again, informing us of grants, helping us with applications and a £1,800 grant from Country work for shopfitting. Best of all are the frequent comments from our customers on how pleased they are that the shop has stayed open. Wellow has very limited public transport, and many people who live there, particularly the elderly, are without cars. For them, the shop is a necessity. For all of us in the village, it is a boon: a source of supplies, a social centre, a key contributor to our sense of community
Article by Marion Osborne of Wellow Village Shop Association from Rural Focus Summer 1998
01225 835438