Club Venue: Ducklington Village Hall, OX29 7UX

 

Oxfordshire

Chess Association

 

 

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Witney Chess Club meets on Monday evenings between 7.30 pm and 10.30 pm at Ducklington Village Hall, Standlake Road, Ducklington OX29 7UX. We are open throughout the year apart from the summer months (usually July and August) and over Christmas.

 

 

The village pond with The Old School

House and St Bartholomew's Church

in the background

 

The club has players of all standards; we have four teams in Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Oxfordshire Chess League for those who want to play competitive chess, but casual players who just want to play social chess are equally welcome.

 

As well as league matches, we also hold various other events such as quiz nights, junior tournaments, club dinners and evenings (open to all clubs in Oxfordshire who wish to attend) at which Grandmaster Peter Wells holds simultaneous displays or gives talks.

 

Annual subscriptions are as follows:

Full: £50.00 Senior/junior/concessions: £25.00.

 

Local History

 

The former village schoolhouse was built in 1858. The modern Ducklington Church of England Primary School is across the village green from the original site.

 

 

 

The Snake's Head Fritillaria

Today, Ducklington is famous for the rare Fritillary flower (of mainly the Snake's Head variety), many of which grow in a specially designated meadow just outside the village. Before the Second World War, many fritillaries had grown on fields all over the Windrush Valley.

 

However, the national drive for food production during the war meant that most meadows were intensively ploughed, the rivers dredged, and consequently the fritillaries were lost. Only the current fritillary field was left coincidentally unploughed.

 

The flowers have survived with help from both locals and farmers. Once a year, the local community celebrates Fritillary Sunday when the field, church and hall are opened so that the public may walk amongst and enjoy the flowers. The celebration has been featured in Country Life magazine.

 

Local History source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia [link]

 

 

 

 

© SC

 

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