This July we may not have rejoiced in the Sheepfair but a special birthday was celebrated by a business that has become somewhat of an institution in the village. The Overton Gallery was opened, in what was a run-down old newsagent, way back in 1995 by Richard & Zoë Hawkins. The couple took the time to chat to CommunityAd about the gallery turning 25.
So, Richard and Zoë, were you local to Overton before opening the gallery? If not, why did you choose Overton?
No, we weren’t local before opening the shop – we came from Hertfordshire. Richard’s mother lived in Ecchinswell and stumbled across Howard’s Newsagents which had been closed for some time. We came down to view the shop and fell in love with the village and the lovely community!
What makes Overton such a lovely community to be a part of and how different is it from when you moved in?
The village is very different from when we first moved here in 1995. It has been wonderful to see the village evolve as time has gone on into a bustling and thriving community. There are lots of reasons why Overton is such a lovely community to be a part of. One being how friendly the people are – it always amazes us how many people we bump into when just popping to another local shop and how welcoming everyone is. There is also an abundance of social groups to get involved in and events such as the Sheep Fair and the Wheelbarrow Race which are great fun! Our children, who are now grown up, have been able to get involved in lots of activities, including sports, Brownies and the Overton Dramatic Society over the years. There isn’t another village that would come close to having all of these facilities right on their doorstep so we certainly feel very lucky.
We’ve been so happy to have lived here for 25 years and would like to thank our lovely customers for their support.