In 1966 a group of ladies arranged a meeting in Burwell Village College to assess the interest in setting up a Flower Club.  The East of England Area had been formed in 1954, a few years before NAFAS itself and so this was quite a novel enterprise.

 

The well attended meeting, which was chaired by the College Warden, decided to follow up the idea, resulting in the formation of Burwell Flower Club which became affiliated to the East of England Area shortly afterwards.

 

The Founder Members were Greta Jennings, Iris Double, Billie Bryant, Dolly Welsh, Muriel Hawes, Mary Hardiment and Wyn Hancock.  Over the years the club also attracted members from Newmarket and the surrounding villages and eventually became known as Burwell & District Flower Club.

 

In those early days the help and encouragement received from people like Margaret Newman, Marjorie Watling, Anne Fotherby and Geoffrey Legge was invaluable.  Marjorie went on to become National Chairman of NAFAS.

 

Over the years the Club has taken part in RHS Shows at Chelsea and Malvern and Cathedral Festivals including Westminster Abbey, Bury St Edmunds and Ely.

 

Meetings are now held in the Mandeville Hall and we celebrated our 50th Anniversary in 2016.  Sadly none of our founder members are still with us but we remember them with fondness and gratitude for their vision and the legacy they left us.

 

The Burwell & District Flower Club continues to welcome anyone who has an interest in flower arranging, flower display and floral art.  It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or experienced- we are sure you will find yourself welcome at our meetings.

 

We have had both male and female members and a wide range of ages- our oldest member was over 90 and our youngest joined when she was 13.

 

Members and guests come from a radius of about 10 miles from Burwell.