Charities

The Bread Charity is a combination of the following charities:

• William Hewitt's charity from a will dated 4th April 1599
• The charity known as Hewitt Senior's founded by will in 1480
• John Kay's charity from a will of 1741
• The charity of Henry Mirfin from a will of 4th May 1744
• Sarah Poles charity from a will of 1747
• The charity of John Ward from a will of 1669

These charities and the property thereof is administered and managed together as one charity known as The Killamarsh Combined Bread Charity in accordance with the Governing Document of the scheme by a body of Trustees. The scheme is approved by the Charities Commission.

Purpose of the Scheme
The Trustees are responsible for applying the income of the charity in relieving either generally or individually persons resident in the Parish of Killamarsh who are in conditions of need, hardship or distress by making grants of money or providing or paying for items, services or facilities calculated to reduce the need, hardship or distress of such persons.

Trustees and Trustee Meetings
The charity has three trustees. The Parish Council nominates the main trustee who in turn will co-opt two other trustees. The Council nominated Trustee is Mrs Jill Wormleighton.

For up to date information, please see the Charity Commission.

Killamarsh Conservation Group was established by Eva and Stephen Thompson with the aim:

- to involve residents of Killamarsh to make the village cleaner, nicer and colourful,

- to engage residents in regular cleaning of public areas from the litter and

- that all residents will benefit from improvements of public spaces in the village.

The group has its own Constitution and Public liability insurance.

Everybody is welcomed to join the Group, membership is free.

The group finance the projects by fundraising and applying for grants. All money, incl. donations go towards the projects and if the group has social events they are financed by its members - the only exception was the groups 5-year anniversary celebration.

The first event the group organised was a litter pick in a response to the amount of litter in the village.

Eva and Stephen spoke at a Parish Council meeting to explain what they wanted to do, how they wanted to help the village and residents. Killamarsh Parish Council awarded the group with a donation of £100 to buy tools, bags etc that were needed for the litter pick.

Since then, the group have organised several group and individual litter picks and donated over 50 litter pickers to residents who have showed an interest in clearing the litter.

The group stopped organising litter picks in 2021 when another voluntary group, the Killamarsh Wombles, were established in the village purely to deal with litter picking. The Conservation group continue to litter pick individually and some members of the group became members of Wombles.

Killamarsh Parish Council approached the Conservation group and asked them to help with maintaining the overgrown vegetation in the Memorial Garden on High Street. In July and August 2017, the Conservation group started its work there which left the space clearer and looking much better.

The group prepared a plan of how the Memorial Garden could be changed to make it a more welcoming place for residents to enjoy. The group discovered that the Memorial Garden was on registered land and therefore funding could not be applied for. Unfortunately, the redesign was not supported by the Parish Council and the plans were withdrawn.

In 2018, the group applied and were granted a licence to make flowerbeds on Sheepcote Road from NEDDC. Since then, the group ensures that the flowerbeds are maintained for the benefit of all residents to enjoy.

In spring 2018, the group were awarded a grant from DCC Community Leadership Scheme approved by County Councillor D. Charles - their first project at Killamarsh Infant and Nursery school. The group created flowerbeds in the front garden area to the entrance of the Infant part of the school and they continue to maintain this area.

Another project the group got involved in with Killamarsh Infant and Nursery school was the transformation of the old overgrown and neglected former vegetable patch within the school grounds. It was the groups biggest and most expensive project to date which they were able to deliver thanks to the funds received through the CO-OP Community Grant and own fundraising. The project took 2 years to complete.

Following NEDDC approval, the group installed several bird nest boxes in St. Giles churchyard in 2018. The group check on them annually, clean them and have seen that the birds do use them.

In the same year - 2018 - members of the Group met with local Scouts group and brought several bird nest boxes for the scouts to put together and place in their gardens.

In 2019, NEDCC and the Conservation Group came to agreement regarding St Giles closed churchyard and what the group could do there to improve the appearance of it mainly in regard to the overgrown vegetation. The group did several clearance sections through the years and got positive response from the Killamarsh residents. The group ended the project in 2022 being informed that their help was no longer needed.

The group is passionate about looking after the environment and started a scheme to help via the collection of crisp packets for recycling in the village which was very successful. Local schools took part with collection boxes in the CO-OP store and Nags Head pub. The scheme started in Autumn 2020 and continued collecting crisp packets for recycling until April 2022 when this scheme changed. Within this time, the group collected up to 40 kilos of crisp packets which otherwise would go into black bins and landfill.

The pavement on Upperthorpe Road was not cleared for years and on a few sections, it was difficult to walk as more than half of the pavement was covered with mud and grass. So at the beginning of 2021, the group cleared the worst part of it.

In spring 2021, the group were awarded another grant from DCC Community Leadership Scheme approved by County Councillor D. Charles. The group identified a place in the middle of the village at the corner of Bridge St and Kirkcroft Ln which is owned by Killamarsh Parish Council, and applied to the Council for permission to transform it into wildflower area. After receiving approval, the group changed the plain grassy spot into a beautiful wildflower area. The result of their hard work is appreciated by the residents on social media.

In September 2021, the group organised an event about issues related to climate change. The display included lots of information about what the people can do at home to make even just a small difference, how long some goods need to fully decompose etc. Chesterfield bee keepers were represented with facts about our bees. The group prepared quizzes for children and adults to check their knowledge about nature and climate change, colouring pictures were available for young children. Killamarsh RAGE were also present to give information about the threat of losing green belt land in the village.

The group also transformed the front garden of the nursery part of Killamarsh Infant and Nursery school. In spring 2021, they were awarded another grant from DCC Community Leadership Scheme approved by County Councillor D. Charles. It took nearly a year of very hard work digging out and cutting back overgrown hedges and self-seeded trees. Their goal to make this a safe and attractive space, without spending any funds on maintenance.

The group obtained a licence from NEDDC to enable them to plant daffodils, crocuses and snowdrops around the village from January to March 2023.

It took nearly 3 years of preparation work to create a wildflower area at Norwood. This included consultations with NEDDC and Rykneld Homes Ltd, surveys with residents and obtaining funding. In February 2023, the group laid seeded perennial wildflower turf on South Crescent. Killamarsh Junior School were invited to bring children along to the site after it was finished to plant spring bulbs around the edge of the wildflowers. Approval has also been given to plant a few trees in the area.

In June/July 2023 the group prepared information and educational panels for St Giles school on the theme of recycling.

The Killamarsh Wombles are a dedicated team of volunteers who aim to keep the area as clean and litter/fly-tip free as possible, not only for the community but for the wild life. Since starting their huge dredging projects 3 years ago, especially along the canal, verges and TPT, more vegetation has grown giving insects, small animals and birds a better chance of survival. They have worked with local councils to arrange more litter and dog waste bins, ensured that drains have been unblocked which helps to keep Killamarsh from flooding and they trim the greenery along the Cuckoo Way to make for an easier walk or cycle. They have many people giving up their free time whenever they can, to Womble independently, in duos or teams and they organise at least 2 group picks per week. They are an inclusive group and always welcome new members of all abilities. They have a great time with plenty of tea, cake and banter and it is described as truly awesome to be part of a very happy group of people.

Killamarsh Heritage Society aims to provide a celebration of our Killamarsh village history from its origin to the present day.