WI - The Bigger Picture
The National Federation of WIs
History of the WI
Denman College
Surrey Federation of WIs
Post Mill Group
The National Federation of WIs
The National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) is the largest women's organisation in the UK with 205,000 members in 6,800 WIs in England, Wales and the Islands, of which DEWI is proud to be part.
NFWI plays a unique role in providing women with educational opportunities and the chance to build new skills, to take part in a wide variety of activities and to campaign on issues that matter to them and their communities.
The national headquarters of the WI is in London. It also has an office in Cardiff, NFWI-Wales, and a residential college in Oxfordshire, Denman College. It produces a membership magazine, WI Life.
WI members gather from all over England and Wales once a year for the AGM. London almost comes to a standstill when over 5,000 women swarm from the Royal Albert Hall to Kensington Gardens for a picnic lunch.
The Modern WI - A BBC interview
History of the WI
The WI movement began at Stoney Creek, Ontario in Canada in 1897, when Adelaide Hoodless addressed a meeting for the wives of members of the Farmers' Institute.
The first British WI meeting took place on 16th September 1915 at Llanfairpwll on Anglesey in North Wales. The WI was originally set up in the UK to revitalise rural communities and to encourage countrywomen to become more involved in producing and preserving food during the First World War to help increase the supply of food to the war-torn nation.
Since then, our aims have broadened. Today we play a unique role in enabling women to gain new skills, take part in wide-ranging activities, and campaign on issues that matter to them and their communities. The WI is a diverse organisation open to all women, and there are now WIs in towns and cities as well as villages.
Our 6,800 WIs are grouped together to form 70 county and island federations, each with a regional office.
Denman College
Denman College is the WI’s own residential adult education college at Marcham, a small village near Abingdon, Oxford. 6,000 students a year attend 500 short courses to develop new skills, knowledge or hobbies. Whether your choice of course is Belly Dancing, Bookbinding, Baking or Byron, there is a course for everyone. Courses are also open to non-members, both men and women. It is a wonderful retreat where our members make new friends, enjoy learning a new skill, whilst getting away from things for a few days.
Denman College is the WI’s own residential adult education college at Marcham, a small village near Abingdon, Oxford. 6,000 students a year attend 500 short courses to develop new skills, knowledge or hobbies. Whether your choice of course is Belly Dancing, Bookbinding, Baking or Byron, there is a course for everyone. Courses are also open to non-members, both men and women. It is a wonderful retreat where our members make new friends, enjoy learning a new skill, whilst getting away from things for a few days.
The college was established in 1948 at Marcham Park which was purchased in 1947 with 100 acres of land for £16,000. The college was named after Lady Denman who had recently retired after 30 years as the first Chairman of the NFWI.
Body Fit Camp at Denman College
The Computer Room where intensive study takes place well into the evening,
and the Dining Room which provides a welcome break between course sessions.
Denman's "state of the art" Home Economics Centre which was
remodelled in 2009 and is now called the Teaching Kitchen
A typical Denman bedroom, designed to provide every comfort for students during their stay. Many of the bedrooms have been adopted by county federations which meet the costs of furnishing, and add many delightful homely touches to their rooms, such as hand-made soft furnishings and accessories.
Surrey Federation of WIs
Surrey Federation has a tradition of fun and friendship, with a strong network of valued friends throughout the county. SFWI holds a variety of events, where members and non-members can get to know each other, and become involved in a range of activities. From the federation headquaraters, based in Guildford, the SFWI helps and advises WIs throughout the county.
Sylvia, Margaret and Dawn on a guided walk round Godalming, organised by Surrey Federation.
Post Mill Group
Post Mill is a group of five local WIs to which DEWI is affiliated: Lingfield Evening, Pollards Oak, Oxted and Godstone. Group meetings are held several times a year; these are either talks or social evenings, and coach outings are also laid on from time to time. The purpose of Post Mill Group is to encourage neighbouring WIs to get to know each other. We pool our resources to get the very best speakers.
Post Mill Group members and friends enjoying "Those lazy hazy crazy days of summer" at a Jazz evening at Crowhurst