CHIPPENHAM TOY LIBRARY CELEBRATE 25 YEARS

 
CHIPPENHAM TOY LIBRARY CELEBRATE 25 YEARS – A BRIEF HISTORY
Chippenham Toy Library is non-profit making and is run by volunteers, a parent committee with helpers.  It was set up Jane Ball and two of her friends in 1976 and was originally based at Chippenham Technical College where the toys hired out were actually made by students from the college.  Eventually the committee had enough money to start buying some toys, which they did, and this is how the whole thing started 25 years ago!
Following its initial success, the Library outgrew the college and had to move somewhere larger that also offered storage space.  In May 1988, the Toy Library took up residence in the Causeway Methodist Church, where they opened twice a month to people and groups from Chippenham and surrounding areas.  In October 1994, the Library was relaunched and started only opening once a month, on the first Saturday, as we do now.
Our records indicate that at some time between 1976 and 1985, the Committee elected to become a sub-committee of the North Wiltshire Pre School Playgroups Association, to which they had to pay an annual membership fee.  Then in November 1991, the PPA become part of the national body, which meant they were then registered as a charity and the Toy Library were being accounted for VAT.  It was at this point that the Toy Library became a working party sub-committee of the NWPPA and they took over the accounts/money/insurances etc., associated with the Library.  The PPA are now known nationally as the Pre School Learning Alliance with whom we are affiliated, and we are still a sub-committee of the local North Wiltshire branch.
The Library charged a nominal annual membership, and each toy had a small hire charge.  This is the same in 2001; the annual membership fee is now £3 and the toy hire charges range from 25p for, say, a small jigsaw, to a maximum of £2.50 for a go-kart, for example.
Unfortunately, in May 1997 the owner of the Methodist Church sold it to be converted into a private residence and gave the Toy Library notice to leave.  Following this there were some difficult months ahead for the committee (at this time the committee were Sue Rhodes, Sue Milner and Eryl Simpson) as it proved extremely difficult to find suitable alternative premises. They needed a room to meet as well as safe and dry storage space for the toys, all for the lowest rent possible.  After a lot of hard work and the realistic threat of closure, in September 1997 North Wiltshire Housing Association (now WESTLEA) offered space in one of their warden assisted housing blocks, and in October the library opened for the first time at ‘Parklands’ in Malmesbury Road, where it is based today.
Over the years there have been lots of people directly involved with the Toy Library, some of the Committee members were Annette Kirschner, Wendy Marselle,  Marion Wortley, Jenny Pullin, Barbara Jones, Christine Fowler, Pam Rutter, Francis Shires, Kath Wilkins, Anne Showering, Lynda Gulwell, Sharon Wright, Jane Hemmings, Sue Payne and Chris Grant.
In June 1998 the committee had a reshuffle, Eryl Simpson became Chair, Sue Milner remained as Treasurer and Kerry Law joined as Secretary. In June 1999, both Eryl and Sue resigned and Eileen Burtt took over as Chair, with Dawn Lamb as Treasurer.  Since then there has been only one change and that is Julie Blackwell has taken over as Treasurer.
If you are reading this and have been a Committee Member in the past, but your name is not mentioned please accept our apologies and contact one of us to put the record straight, so in another 25 years time you will have your mention!