Teignmouth WI could close in March unless new officers come forward

29 September 2026

Teignmouth Women’s Institute marked 60 years in July. Unless three people take the officer posts that keep a WI legal, the branch will have to close in March 2027.

The whole committee is standing down together. None of the 28 members has agreed to become president, secretary or treasurer, the three roles a registered institute is required to fill.

President Joanna Williams has held the chair since 2023. She told the Mid Devon Advertiser she wants new members first, not a rush of unwilling officers. Fresh faces might later choose to steer the branch. “It’s a super, super group,” she said. “There’s a lot going on, there’s something for everybody.”

They meet at 7.30pm on the second Tuesday of the month at Richard Newton Hall on Higher Buckeridge Road. Speakers this year have included a medical herbalist, a children’s author, a decluttering expert, an artist and a representative of Medical Detection Dogs. There are quizzes and competitions at the monthly meeting, and three smaller groups sit beside it: Explorers for days out, a lunch club that tries local restaurants, and Bright Sparks for craft.

The anniversary was a 1960s fancy dress party. Birthdays are marked. Spring and autumn suppers and a Christmas party still sit on the calendar.

The gap is not a lack of activity. It is the unpaid paperwork that keeps an institute legal under WI rules. Devon Federation still has more than 140 branches and about 5,000 members. That does not save a town group that cannot fill its own officer list.

Williams says newcomers will not be pressed into office. Anyone curious is asked to look at the group’s Facebook page and then come to a meeting as a guest.