Tribute to Mary Young

It is with much sadness that we report the recent death of Mary Young, one of the founder members of The Arts Society North Wiltshire. Helen Alsop and Mary Young found a venue in Chippenham and managed to form a Committee, with the first meeting held in April 1979. Helen was appointed Chairman, with Mary as Vice Chairman. In October 1979, the first inaugural lecture given by Lucinda Fletcher on ‘The English Country House’ was attended by 179 members from a membership of over 200 members already signed up. By 1990, the Society had outgrown the Chippenham venue and moved to our current venue, the Assembly Hall at Melksham. Now, 47 years later, our Society is thriving with a membership of over three hundred. We owe a great deal to both Helen Alsop and, of course, Mary Young. Both have remained as Founder Chairmen and have regularly attended lectures travelling up from their homes in Bath. Our thoughts and enormous gratitude remain with her.