Our story
In the 1950s Fittleworth Village boasted a number of thriving shops and businesses, including a grocer, a butcher, a baker, a cycle repair shop, and a blacksmith; by 2011, following the closure of the village grocery shop and Post Office, there were none.
The first meeting to explore the possibility of building a new community shop was held in January 2016. Following a parish survey, funds were raised through grants, donations, fund-raising events, and the sale of a significant number of £25 shares to local people.
Fittleworth Stores opened just over two and half years from that first meeting; an eco-friendly purpose-built shop and café constructed with timber donated by a local estate.
The project has been an outstanding success. It’s truly valued by the community that created it.
In 2019 Fittleworth Stores was the subject of a case study produced by the South Downs Nation Park Authority:
Our funders
There are so many who have supported our community shop and café and to whom we owe a debt of thanks. This includes those who have bought shares in the shop, those who have organised or turned out to support the numerous fundraising events we have held and those local residents, business and landowners who have donated so generously to the project. We are also very grateful to the grant funders who have backed our project. Without all of this the shop and café would not have been possible.
We were delighted to receive a significant grant from the Sussex Downs & Coastal Plain LEADER, part of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, towards the build costs of our shop and café. We are also extremely grateful to our other grant funders who all contributed so generously towards the costs of the build and fit out of the shop and café including the Barlavington Estate who generously donated timber for the build.
Countryside Alliance Rural Oscars 2024:
Best Village Shop in Britain
June 25th 2024: The Countryside Alliance National Champions Awards were presented today at a special reception in the House of Lords. Fittleworth Stores was awarded National Champion Village Shop and Post Office!
The award was presented by Lord Herbert, Chairman of the Countryside Alliance. The citation read “As a community shop the services offered go way beyond that of simply a retail outlet. It acts to combat loneliness, support local producers and their Fittleworth Food Angels, set up during Covid, continues to provide support to those vulnerable households. The range and quality of goods on offer are all you need and more.”