Arrangements for the Licensing of Steve as our new Priest-in-Charge of the Thameshead Benefice have now been made
This will take place at All Saints Church Kemble on Monday 16th March at 7pm.
The Licensing is a formal Anglican service which is also an opportunity for all of us in this parish and the other parishes in the Benefice to welcome Steve to his new role – and to welcome his wife Linda too. Therefore it’s hoped that as many as possible will be able to come to the service at Kemble on Monday March 16th at 7pm.
The Bishop, working with the Archdeacon, Patrons and Parish reps are delighted to announce the appointment of the Rev’d Steve Bullock as the new Priest-in-Charge of the Thameshead Benefice.
Steve will continue as curate with responsibility here for a period, and we will look towards a licensing date in the new year. This appointment is subject to the usual HR procedures which are already in process.
Please do pray for Steve and Linda at this exciting time.
This charity can help villagers, who find themselves struggling to meet an immediate financial need or pressure, by means of a grant.
Enquiries and applications for financial support for, or on behalf of residents of Somerford Keynes or Shorncote should be addressed at this time to Mrs Clare Baker. This may be by email or telephone, in the strictest confidence at [email protected] or on 07870 851353.
Financial requests may be for a wide range of purposes which could include
supporting an individual’s educational needs by paying for textbooks or school uniform
the repair or replacement of essential but unaffordable household items
heating costs and/or general household bills
urgent health or dentistry costs
exceptional transport costs, such as for hospital visits
Each application is considered at the charity’s trustee meetings, in the strictest confidence, by the board of trustees : The Privacy Notice posted on the village website provides more detail about the trustees’ responsibilities in this regard.
The trustees are, or have been, village residents ; two are nominated for terms of four years by Somerford Keynes Parish Council, one by the Parochial Church Council (PCC) and another is co-opted every 5 years by the other trustees. They are:
Mrs Diane Gibbons
Mrs Ellie Tracy
Mrs Clare Baker
Mr Graham Shearn
The History of the Charity George Soley Foyle died in 1839 leaving a bequest of £200 to be invested by the Minister of Somerford Keynes, Wiltshire (now Gloucestershire). He instructed that the interests and dividends should be divided amongst “such poor and indigent persons resident in the Parish of Somerford Keynes as the Minister shall think proper”.
A few years later, in 1857, Joseph Mill provided an endowment “for the provision of blankets or clothing at Christmas for poor families in the Parish of Shorncote”. Three further charitable endowments followed and all five were subsequently consolidated in 1967 into the single Charity we know today, its’ objective being to provide grants of money or gifts for the benefit of residents in need in Somerford Keynes or Shorncote.
The Somerford Keynes Village Charity is registered and regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
(George Soley Foyle and other charities for the relief of poverty)
“The Charities”
Privacy Notice
The Trustees of the Somerford Keynes Parish Charities (“We”, “Us”, “Our”, or “the Trustees”) are committed to respecting your privacy. This Privacy Notice is provided for Our current and past beneficiaries, for anyone (“You”, “Your”) who wishes to provide personal information to Us; and for the Trustees themselves.
This Notice tells You about how We collect, process, use and share Your personal data, in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679), (the “Act”), as transferred into English Law from 25 May 2018.
In relation to any personal data You give us We are a Data Controller under the Act. We can be contacted by writing to the clerk of the Trustees at Apartment 2, Maple Grange, 7 Lime Crescent, Siddington Park, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 6GN.
Data (information) We collect and store about You.
We collect from You and store Your name and contact details so that We can provide You with information about or help from The Charities and in order to consider if you might become a beneficiary of The Charities. We do not seek to obtain any information about You from third parties unless we have Your specific consent but we may receive Your contact details from another agency You may have contacted for help, or from a concerned person.
Sensitive Personal Data (“Special Categories” under the Act).
We may receive from You information which You volunteer about Your health and financial circumstances and sometimes other sensitive personal information. This is not stored electronically but may be shared verbally between the Trustees unless you request otherwise. Your permission may be needed in order for the Trustees to consider an award of benefits.
Children
If You are under 18 we will seek specific consent from Your parent or legal guardian for the information about You which We store, process or disclose.
How We may contact you.
Our usual method of communication is by a personal visit to Your home. We may also telephone You or use hand delivery to Your home address. You can stop Us contacting You by telephoning or writing to the clerk.
Your choices about what We collect and Implications of withholding data.
Your name and contact details must be held by Us while You are a beneficiary. If You prefer Us to use or store less personal data about You, You can provide us with less, for example by not providing a telephone number.
Our use of Your personal data.
For as long as we hold your data, it will be used for the following purposes:
PURPOSE
LEGAL BASIS
To consider the provision of financial grants.
Necessary to inform Our decision.
To provide information upon request.
Necessary to respond to such requests.
To enable the financial records of the Charities to be examined and verified.
Our duty under the Charity Act 2011.
How long We retain Your personal data.
Unless required by law to hold Your personal data for longer, We will hold it for no more than 3 years after You cease to be a beneficiary. We are required by law to retain records of grants made in any year for a period of seven more years.
Disclosure of Your personal data.
We are a registered charity governed by its Trustees. The information which You provide to Us is shared between the Trustees, which include a person nominated by the Parochial Church Council of Somerford Keynes, two Trustees nominated by Somerford Keynes Parish Council, and two Co-optative trustees who may live in the Parish. Financial records, including receipts for grants made, may be inspected by an Independent Examiner appointed by the Trustees. We will not provide Your name and address or any other information about You to the Parish Council, PCC, or any other third party.
Your rights under the data protection legislation.
You have the right to access any personal data that we hold about You, by submitting a request to any of the Trustees.
You have a right to request that any inaccuracies be rectified or erased.
You have a right to ask Us to erase some or all of Your personal data.
You have a right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office http://www.ico.gov.uk if You have any concerns about Our handling of Your data.
Changes to this Privacy Notice.
We may change this Privacy Notice at any time, in which case a revised notice will be placed on the village website, www.somerfordkeynes.org.uk . If the changes are material to our future relationship with You, We will notify You in writing.
Following their meeting on July 17th, the trustees of the Somerford Keynes Village Charities, are reminding Parishioners of its’ existence to help those who may be struggling to meet an immediate financial need or pressure.
The requests may be for a wide range of purposes and with ‘Back to School’ fast approaching, this could include paying for text books or uniform. Other examples might be an unexpected household bill or the replacement of an essential but unaffordable household item.
Enquiries and applications for financial support at this time, for, or on behalf of residents of Somerford Keynes or Shorncote should be made to Mrs Clare Baker by email or telephone in the strictest confidence. Clare may be reached at [email protected] or on 07870 851353.
More details about the charity, its’ aims and privacy notice may be found on the village website under ‘Notices’.
Ahead of their next meeting on 17th July 2025, the trustees of the Somerford Keynes Village Charity are inviting applications for financial assistance for anyone currently struggling to meet an urgent need.
Financial requests may be for a wide range of purposes which could include
• supporting an individual’s educational needs by paying for textbooks or school uniform
• the repair or replacement of essential but unaffordable household items
• heating costs and/or general household bills
• urgent health or dentistry costs
• exceptional transport costs, such as for hospital visits
Enquiries for, or on behalf of residents in Somerford Keynes or Shorncote, should be made to the Reverend David Austin, and will be handled in the strictest confidence.
More information on how to do this, the charity’s purpose, process and privacy notice can be found under Notices.
A huge “thank you” to everyone who came to the Open Garden on 6th July, braving the rain but also enjoying half an hour of sunshine too!
We are very grateful to all who contributed in so many different ways and especially to the Needhams for generously hosting the event and allowing us to enjoy their beautiful garden
It costs around £1,000 a month to keep our village church open and this is our main annual fund raiser – so we are delighted that despite the generally awful weather, we still raised the magnificent sum of just over £1,100
