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Forbes Field Reviewed After
three and a Half Years
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With the recent planting of the final planned tranche of trees and completion of a rustic stone cairn, the main tasks of the Forbes Field project, launched in January 2022, have now been accomplished. From 2025 onwards, work will switch principally to the maintenance of the Field as a valued village asset. In the meantime, this report describes our latest activities.
Over a dozen volunteers from the Management Group and the Friends of Forbes Field turned out to our Field Day on Saturday, 16 November. Although representing a smaller number than in previous sessions, a lot was achieved by this gallant band, kindly reinforced by Janey Whipp’s parents, who were visiting Chilmark. Work undertaken included: the replacement of three poorly Cherries in the Orchard; the planting of four Field Maples and three Silver Birches in the high, southwestern, corner of the Field; the clearing of tree bases and hedgerows of weeds to give trees and young whips a better chance of future growth; and not least the strimming of a number of areas to tidy up the Field and its entrance area. And not forgotten, switching off the water supply at the roadside stopcock. As a result, the Field is now ready for winter.
Wednesday, 20 November saw us complete the rustic stone cairn located near the highest point of the Field. It now features an elegant plaque donated by the Forbes family that simply states: ‘Forbes Field Given to Chilmark in 2008 by Diana Forbes who lived here for over 70 years’. Looking over the cairn, visitors will enjoy not only a fine view of the Field but also one of the village as a whole, just as Diana Forbes intended sixteen years ago. That said, we still have a little landscaping to do in this corner of the Field, which we’ll undertake next year. We anticipate that the area in the vicinity of the cairn will become a pleasant picnic spot in summer months, with the newly planted Silver Birches and Field Maples providing a pleasing backcloth and shade in the years to come.
In closing, and on behalf of all members of the Management Group, I would like to thank most sincerely all those who have supported the Forbes Field project so enthusiastically and effectively over the past three years. The results of this great community effort are now plain to see and to experience: please visit the Field and be prepared to assist us in sustaining it as an accessible and attractive place for all in Chilmark to enjoy long into the future. We have some fun events in store!
Mungo Melvin
Chair, Forbes Field Management Group
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July 2025
VE 80 Celebration in Forbes Field, 8 May 2025​
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During the late afternoon of Thursday, 8 May, about 80 people gathered in Forbes Field to celebrate VE 80, eighty years to the day of the German unconditional surrender, bringing an end to the Second World War in Europe. Blessed by warm early summer weather, serenaded by some contemporary 1940s swing music and fortified by great food and drinks from the BBQ and bar run by the Reading Room Committee, a really good time was had by young and old alike. The event was open to all from Chilmark and Teffont: from the latter, we welcomed David Robinson who brought along his immaculately restored Second World War Willis Jeep.
An undoubted highlight of the celebration was the playback of an extract of prime minister Winston Churchill’s memorable radio broadcast to the nation on 8 May 1945, which was followed by Mungo Melvin giving a short speech to honour the fallen and to stress the contemporary relevance of the nation’s ‘fight against tyranny’. We then awarded themed prizes such as spam and camp coffee to the gentlemen and ladies who wore the most convincing Second World War costumes.
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We would like to thank all who made this such a successful event. In particular, we are very grateful to Carl Jacobs of the Cricket Club (tents); Henrietta Cockrell, Rebecca Lee, Alison Whipp-Long, Rich Mann and Dathan Trent of the Reading Room Committee (bar and BBQ); Heidi McCormack and Neil Pattenden of the Forbes Field Management Group (prizes and bunting); and last, but by no means least, Janey Whipp of both the Reading Room Committee and the Forbes Field Management Group, who organised and coordinated the whole event with Alison Whipp-Long.
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In sum, we can all be proud of our VE 80 celebration in Forbes Field, which is becoming a valued community asset. As one senior resident noted, it was ‘wonderful to see all the trees coming into leaf and growing so well. Chilmark is a remarkable village.’ So do make good use of the Field in the future: it is open to all to enjoy. Diana Forbes, who so kindly donated her field to the village in 2008, would surely endorse that message.
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May 2025
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Mission Accomplished!
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With the recent planting of the final planned tranche of trees and completion of a rustic stone cairn, the main tasks of the Forbes Field project, launched in January 2022, have now been accomplished. From 2025 onwards, work will switch principally to the maintenance of the Field as a valued village asset. In the meantime, this report describes our latest activities.
Over a dozen volunteers from the Management Group and the Friends of Forbes Field turned out to our Field Day on Saturday, 16 November. Although representing a smaller number than in previous sessions, a lot was achieved by this gallant band, kindly reinforced by Janey Whipp’s parents, who were visiting Chilmark. Work undertaken included: the replacement of three poorly Cherries in the Orchard; the planting of four Field Maples and three Silver Birches in the high, southwestern, corner of the Field; the clearing of tree bases and hedgerows of weeds to give trees and young whips a better chance of future growth; and not least the strimming of a number of areas to tidy up the Field and its entrance area. And not forgotten, switching off the water supply at the roadside stopcock. As a result, the Field is now ready for winter.
Wednesday, 20 November saw us complete the rustic stone cairn located near the highest point of the Field. It now features an elegant plaque donated by the Forbes family that simply states: ‘Forbes Field Given to Chilmark in 2008 by Diana Forbes who lived here for over 70 years’. Looking over the cairn, visitors will enjoy not only a fine view of the Field but also one of the village as a whole, just as Diana Forbes intended sixteen years ago. That said, we still have a little landscaping to do in this corner of the Field, which we’ll undertake next year. We anticipate that the area in the vicinity of the cairn will become a pleasant picnic spot in summer months, with the newly planted Silver Birches and Field Maples providing a pleasing backcloth and shade in the years to come.
In closing, and on behalf of all members of the Management Group, I would like to thank most sincerely all those who have supported the Forbes Field project so enthusiastically and effectively over the past three years. The results of this great community effort are now plain to see and to experience: please visit the Field and be prepared to assist us in sustaining it as an accessible and attractive place for all in Chilmark to enjoy long into the future. We have some fun events in store!
Mungo Melvin
Chair, Forbes Field Management Group
Summer 2024 News
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During the course of the summer, we held a ‘Friends Day’ designed to give some tender loving care to our young trees and hedging, which we had planted during the spring. This occasion was rounded off by a convivial BBQ for the Friends of Forbes Field, who have done so much to support the project over the last two and more years.
Other significant work towards developing the field as an attractive community asset has continued, notably with the erection of noticeboards describing the Community Orchard and the Western Grove of trees, together with the main noticeboard conveniently located near the entrance to the field.
We also installed a rubbish bin near the entrance, and laid the foundation slab for a cairn that will be built at the field’s southwest corner, the highest point. On current plans, the cairn will be constructed on 19-20 September. Significantly, it will incorporate a plaque provided by the Forbes family that will record Diana Forbes’ generous gift of her ‘3-acre’ field to the village in 2008. In due course, we expect that the cairn will act as a focal point for visitors who will enjoy a fine view of the field and the village in all its glory.
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Cheerful Cherry-Planting
Saturday, 10 February 2024, witnessed our seventh big planting day in Forbes Field. Under sunny skies, twenty cheerful volunteers planted ten Bird Cherry trees (Prunus padus) and one Apple tree, together with nearly 100 metres of mixed hedging including Blackthorn, Dogwood, Guilder Rose, Hawthorn, Hornbeam and Spindle – involving the insertion of over 350 whips. In addition, a number of giant molehills of spoil left over from the planting of the northern strip of Black Poplars and White Willows last December were removed, much tidying up the appearance of the Field. Looking ahead, the Forbes Field Management Team is now designing the interpretation panels that will inform visitors as to the history of Forbes Field and describe the present project and the scope of its work. Do come and visit the Field and see what has been achieved over the past two years.
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Feb 2024
