Welcome to Buckinghamshire Best Kept Village Competition
About Us
The results for the 2024 Competition were as follows:-
Gurney Cup- Winner -Weedon : Runner Up-Aston Abbotts
Morris Cup – Winner- Cuddington : Runner Up-Tingewick
Pushman Cup – Winner – Burnham : Runner Up- Haddenham
Tindall Cup-Winner-Stewkley : Runner Up – Wendover
DeFraine Cup – Winner Cheddington : Runner Up-Waddesdon
Michaelis Cup -Winner-Marlow : Runner Up -Buckingham
Sword of Excellence (Best overall) – Cheddington
Dashwood Trophy (Best Runner Up not having won a trophy in the past five years) – Waddesdon
Fisher Ryman Cup (Continuing commitment to the values and objectives of the Competition) East And Botolph Claydon
Community Award – Buckingham
The trophies were presented to the Winners on Saturday 21st September
Bill Chapple, Chairman of the Best Kept Village Competition, commented on the 2024 Competition…..
“Thank you to all those villages and towns who took part in this year’s Competition. Congratulations to the winners of the six Cups, the Runner Ups, the winner of the Sword of Excellence, the winner of the Dashwood Trophy, the winner of the Fisher-Ryman Cup and the winner of the Community Award and to all those that gained a Certificate of Merit. The standard of entries was again very high and showed how much diverse community effort is put in to keep our villages and towns looking so nice. The Winners will be presented with their trophies at ceremonies in the villages and town on Saturday 21st September. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our sponsors-The Buckinghamshire Council, Milton Keynes Council, RT Machinery (Winchendon), CloudyIT (Buckingham), The Buckingham Designer, the Audley Group and Motts Travel without whose support we wouldn’t be able to run the Competition.
We are now looking forward to a similarly successful Competition in 2025.”
Background to the Competition
The Buckinghamshire Best Kept Village Competition was founded in 1957 as an initiative driven by Sir Francis Dashwood and the Local Councils’ Association. The Competition’s objective is to encourage entrants to work together as a community, involving all age groups, to make villages and towns more attractive places, not only for residents but also for visitors. Due to Covid restrictions, the Competition was unable to run in 2020 and 2021 but was re-launched in 2022.
The Competition relies on the generosity of its sponsors. Entries to the Competition, charged at £25, will normally be invited from the parish and town councils in Buckinghamshire but entries from local groups and community organisations will not be excluded. The period for entries normally opens on 1st March and closes on 30th April each year. Judging normally takes place between 1st June and the middle of July. The results are usually announced at the end of July.
Our Features
Features that should be present in all applications
- Cemetery, graveyard (separate or attached to a place of worship)
- Green, playing field, children’s play area, nature conservation area
- Floral Displays (hanging baskets, tubs, planters)
- Village hall, community centre, church hall
- General environmental features (hedges, verges, ditches, pond, stream, pump)
Place of Worship
Place of Worship – this will include any denomination
Village
Village Green, playing field or recreational field with open access
Community Centre
Community Centre, village hall, church hall
Our Gallery
Cheddington – Winners of the DeFraine Cup and the Sword of Excellence 2024
Burnham – Winners of the Pushman Cup 2024
Marlow – Winners of the Michaelis Cup 2024
Cuddington – Winners of the Morris Cup 2024
Weedon – Winners of the Gurney Cup 2024
Stewkley – Winners of the Tindall Cup 2024
Documents
Message from Bill Chapple OBE, Chairman of the Committee
“I was pleased to announce the re-launch of our popular Best Kept Village Competition at this time last year following two years of absence due to Covid. The 2022 Competition was a great success and it continues to thrive. The Competition highlights the great community activity that goes on in our lovely Buckinghamshire villages and towns. It is a great way to recognise the contribution of many who give their time and effort to showcase and enhance their local environment. The Best Kept Village competition is not just for ‘pretty’ villages and towns – we want to see communities where everyone makes an effort to keep their surroundings well maintained. Judging is not just about the high streets but also the other areas in the village or town to emphasise all the community’s contributions. As the environment is taking a step up in the residents’ priority list so the areas of true conservation in our villages and towns are now very much part of the judging. The competition is a good opportunity for communities to celebrate all the positive aspects of life in their village or town. We already welcome the entries of many villages and towns and it would be fantastic to see new entrants taking part this year and rising to the challenge of winning one of our six trophies. The categories are divided between the very small village right up to the small towns. Please see the information on this website for guidance on how to enter.
Contact Info
Drop us your queries
We are looking forward to hear from you
Business Hours
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Thursday
- Friday
- Saturday Closed
- Sunday Closed
Featured Sponsors
Cloudy IT
We are proud to be at the forefront of driving the adoption of modern working IT practices in the council sector.
As a Microsoft partner, we work with councils and other organisations to digitally transform their operations, improving productivity and efficiency, whilst keeping control of costs.
Developed from years of experience working with town and parish councils, our modernisation programme and bespoke services directly address the needs of council clerks, officers, and councillors.
Through CloudyIT, your council can affordably deliver the latest cutting-edge technology, digital solutions, and training to align your staff, processes and your systems.
Buckinghamshire is filled with lovely villages and Buckinghamshire Council works with local parishes to help keeping them looking good. We are delighted to support the Best Kept Village Competition which recognises and celebrates the efforts of the individuals and organisations involved.
The Buckingham Designer
The Buckingham Designer specialises in graphic design and creating websites for small businesses and individuals. If you are looking to get online with your business, need help with an existing website, or require any other items designed such as posters, flyers or business cards, do get in touch.
thebuckinghamdesigner.uk
Motts Travel
Also within the Motts Travel Group:
Motts Leisure – Days Out in the UK by luxury coach
Crusader Holidays – Coach Holidays & Short Breaks in the UK & Europe
Milton Keynes Council
Milton Keynes Council is delighted to support the Best Kept Village competition as we know how important beautiful green spaces are to local people. We work alongside our parish partners to keep public areas looking attractive and welcoming, and want to recognise the fantastic work of individuals and communities who are taking pride in where they live and bringing joy for others
RT Machinery
Enthusiastic specialists in Lawncare and Groundcare Machinery since 2001. We supply a huge range of new and second hand machinery for sale or hire, service and support. If you need a ride-on, walk-behind or robotic mower, a tractor, strimmer, shredder, chainsaw, blower or turf care machinery, we can help. With a genuine will to please, we’ll help you select the right machine for your needs AND get the best results from your machine while you own it. Servicing and repair can be carried out on your site or in our workshop, or you can simply order your own parts from us to do your own work. If you’re in the area, do come into our showroom: there’s always a warm welcome!
Our website -https://rtmachinery.co.uk
Our latest sponsor is The Audley Group. Sat in pretty Horsleys Green, between Stokenchurch and High Wycombe, Audley Wycliff Park provides 156 high-quality retirement living properties. At the centre of the village is the Audley Club, with swimming pool, health club and the Aston restaurant and bistro-bar.
