ROPLEY Courtyard Village Shop celebrated its 10th anniversary last Sunday with a party in the parish hall where villagers were treated to food and drink sourced from the shop’s suppliers.

The Courtyard Shop opened in October 2006 to cater for villagers. At the time there was one shop in Ropley on the A31 at The Dene which meant most residents had to cross a busy highway to use the facility.

A consortium was formed to fund the start up, through the issuing of shares, and a committee came together, under the umbrella of the Ropley Village Shop and Post Office Association, to organise the running of a community shop and post office in the heart of the village, next to the Coffee Rooms opposite St Peter’s Church.

Spokesman Nicky Cambrook said: “In 2009, it was converted to the new, more appropriate format of a community interest company. There has been a steep learning curve over the years, with the difficult balancing act of maintaining profit margins to cover the overheads, while at the same time keeping prices affordable for a limited customer base – and providing the village with a post office.”

Nonetheless, 10 years later and the shop, which has also received support from Ropley Parish Council and The Ropley Society, is as active as ever.

Nicky continued: “Run by volunteers in true community shop fashion, with a small team of employees led by shop manager Vonnie Archer, the Courtyard Shop has over 1,600 stock items on its shelves, two freezers for COOK frozen meals, a good variety of wines and local produce including honey, jams, wine, drinks.

“As the seasons change, so do the shelves. Hallowe’en items will be followed by Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter and picnic fare for the summer holidays. New lines get tried and requests for particular items are usually sourced and stocked. Every day, apart from Sundays, there is a delivery of fresh vegetables and bread – at the weekends the range of artisan breads, pastries and savoury treats is second to none – fish is delivered from Cornwall once a fortnight and meat comes from a local Alresford butcher.”

The shop is open from 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday and mornings at weekends, while the post office is open four-and-a-half days per week.

At Sunday’s celebration, not only did those attending enjoy a hearty lunch but a raffle with prizes ranging from half a lamb to shop vouchers, a hamper and cases of wine, and an auction by sealed bid for a week in a Pembrokeshire farmhouse, long weekend in Swanage, and a sculpture of lambs by a local artist, all kindly donated by locals. Proceeds will be ploughed back into the community through shop improvements and a general upgrading of the equipment, such as freezers, fridges and shelving.