Strutt & Parker were a generous main sponsor of the very recent Yattendon & Frilsham Fete and their bounty has been extended to the other very popular community event – Yattendon Classic Vehicle Day!
We really could not put on any event without these local companies and their generosity so many thanks to the good people of our local Estate Agents!
Yattendon is a small village with only one lane running through the main part – needless to say that on the morning of the event, it does get a little gridlocked due to the sheer volume of traffic wanting to get into one gate despite the sterling efforts of our marshals out in the road and in the field.
So if you lived nearby, you could drive up to the field and park on Saturday afternoon if you wish. We will already have the owner of the WW2 Sherman tank and his son staying overnight in the field so we think your vehicle will be safe. Of course, it would be at your own risk and insurance as neither the organisers of Yattendon Classic Vehicle Day or Yattendon Estates Ltd could take any responsibility for any loss or damage however caused.
But it might save a bit of time and angst on Sunday morning if you wanted to be a bit more relaxed at the beginning of the day.
Please let us know if you wish to do this – email commercial@ycvd.co.uk
Our major sponsor is Yattendon Estate and we are very grateful to Lord Illiffe who kindly gives us the use of his fields and his team of Estate staff on the day and throughout the year so we thought it would be nice to give a quick overview of this very local yet global company.
The Yattendon Estate is the amalgamation of several smaller estates acquired by the first Lord Iliffe between 1925 and 1940. Following his death in 1960, he was succeeded by his son, the second Lord Iliffe, who handed over the Chairmanship of Yattendon Estates Ltd to his nephew, the present Lord Iliffe in 1987.
The parent company has many interests outside of the Estate including marine leisure, property and local media. It has operations in the UK, Europe, Canada and North America.
The Estate’s portfolio comprises let residential, commercial, and agricultural tenancies. The majority of the agricultural land is farmed in hand, growing milling wheat, malting barley, feed barley, oil seed rape, maize, beans, peas, oats and temporary grass . They run a commercial timber enterprise and are one of the UK’s largest producers of Christmas trees. The Estate also runs various businesses including the Village Stores and Post Office, Vicars Game Ltd, Renegade Brewery and now, excitingly enough for us locals, the famous Pot Kiln pub in Frilsham has been bought by the Estate to be run by local landlord Rob McGill.
The estate used to have several dairy herds, pedigree Hereford cows and sheep but due to falling prices over the decades, it is now purely arable. Some of the buildings still remain, converted for other uses such as the Renegade Brewery & Taproom. There is a small herd of British White cattle which which graze the parkland around the village.
The Forestry Manager is responsible for the management of the 907 ha of commercial woodland and between 10 – 15,000 new trees are planted each year.
There are currently 1.2 million Christmas trees growing on the Estate and between 40,000 and 75,000 Christmas trees are sold every year, both for the wholesale and retail markets.
Vicars Game provide high quality meat and game to wholesale and retail markets, anything from Michelin starred restaurants to local pubs and from their farm shop in Ashampstead, members of the public.
Renegade Brewery, originally West Berkshire Brewery, began in a small unit on the estate and when the business started to grow the estate found the then tenants more suitable premises. In December 2021 the Yattendon Group took the opportunity to acquire the brewery’s business when it came to market and has developed into its current form.
There are over 50 commercial properties across the estate from small lock-up and workshop type units, through to modern distribution and logistics space and office space including a hairdresser, a florist, an airfield hangar, 2 pubs and nursery.
Cottages and houses make up a large proportion of the let portfolio and with over 170 residential properties spread across the local area, with maintenance and improvements along with the maintenance of the public spaces on the estate is very important there is a dedicated in-house maintenance team who ensure the village and surrounding areas are kept looking clean and tidy.
A month before our own event, it’s the annual Yattendon & Frilsham village Fete, always on the last Bank Holiday Monday in May.
This time, the square is blocked off from traffic and everything takes place in a traffic free environment. We have all the usual traditions of Morris Men, jumble stalls, plant sales, home made cakes and jam for sale, hog roast and a Pimms stand plus some rather more unusual attractions like Christmas tree throwing!
Entry is £4.00 with concessions at £2.00 and all money raised goes to local charities. Parking is free in 2 or 3 locations at either end of the village.
It’s a fun day out and in a good cause so let’s all keep our fingers crossed for good weather for the entire summer!
Yattendon is an old village which hasn’t changed much since the 19th century and we’re lucky enough to have quite a few old photos so it’s nice to share some here – see how many places you recognise!
I’ll add some more another time
UPDATE
Sadly with the devastating crash of one of the BBMF Spitfires and the death of the RAF pilot, the whole of the BBMF is currently grounded for investigation. We have no news as yet whether any flying will be taking place. We will update everyone as soon as we know.
Our thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues of the pilot and the BBMF family
“Per Ardua Ad Astra”
We are incredibly thrilled to announce that we will be having the iconic Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster scheduled to do a flyover during our event on Sunday 30th June. Obviously this depends on weather and many other factors but it should be an incredible addition to our event.
We don’t know the timing as yet but will announce it when we are advised by the BBMF
You may remember Bob Richmond who helped organised Yattendon Classic Vehicle Day for a few years, especially on the motorbike side. Well, he’s stepped back from the admin side and is now a very valued sponsor of the event as RCJ Carpentry & Joinery.
So if you need anything done, contact him on 07500 660418
Bob Richmond is a time-served joiner with over 36 years of experience. He and his team offer all aspects of carpentry and joinery. Customer service is very important to us here at RCJ Carpentry
Website: https://rcjcarpentry.co.uk
Bob will be helping marshal the bikes and scooters this year though so look for him by the cricket pavilion on Sunday 30th June
We are very lucky to live in a small rural community which is home to many small businesses and shops, all of whom support Yattendon Classic Vehicle Day. Lord Illiffe owns the display field that we use every year and he is also kind enough to allow us to utilise the goodwill and skills of his team at Yattendon Estates.
Our much loved local pub the Royal Oak in the village square is one of our longest sponsors and will be open for cold drinks and great food all day and another sponsor is Renegade Brewery & Tap Room which will be serving breakfast from 9am-11am and lunch from 12pm-4pm – you can walk to them from the display field
Yattendon Garage started the whole event 10 years ago and even though he has since retired to Wales, Roland still attends the event. The new owner Jo, has become an enthusiastic sponsor and supporter.
Eugene and his team at Yattendon Stores are always helpful and supportive of the event and stay open later than normal on that Sunday so if you need any last-minute essentials or a bottle of water, you can walk up to the square and see what’s on offer at this wonderful community asset.
But nothing can be done without the enthusiasm and hard work of the local people who work throughout the year to organise the event and then the many local volunteer marshals who direct cars, take payments, offer advice and help and everything else that needs to be done for a successful and enjoyable day.
Everything is in aid of the Thames Valley Air Ambulance so we are asking for just £5 per visitor car this year (cash preferred), display vehicles are still free
Join us on Sunday 30th June from 11am – 4pm RG18 0UR
There are currently a lot of scammers on social media who are pretending to either be running events or part of current events and asking for potential stallholders to send money.
They are usually from people with few likes or followers and with bad grammar and incorrect spelling but people will sometimes fall for them. They may get very rude and abusive if you start to question them as well.
If you see a post purporting to be from Yattendon Classic Vehicle Day and it’s not from the official site or an email address associated with .ycvd.co.uk, then please do let us know.
The other thing they do is pretend to be selling tickets that are no longer needed – we will only be charging for visitor vehicles on the day and display vehicles not at all so please beware of that scam as well.
Stay Safe Out There!