The WI was started in 1897 at Stoney Creek in Ontario, Canada by Adelade Hoodless, a staunch campaigner for the education of women.  The first WIs in Britain were formed in 1915 to revitalise rural communities and encourage women to become more involved in producing food during the First World War. Now, with 205,000 members in 6,500 WIs, it has grown into the largest voluntary women’s organisation in the UK.

The WI was founded in Worcestershire in 1918 and Chaddesley Corbett WI started in 1920.  The first meeting took place on October 8th in the Institute Hall, where the Village Hall, rebuilt in the year 2000, stands today.  We are one of over 130 different WIs with a total of nearly 4000 members that make up the Worcestershire Federation of WIs.  You don’t need to live in Chaddesley Corbett to be a member of our WI.  A large number of our members do, of course, live in and around the village, but also a growing number of ladies join us from Kidderminster, Bromsgrove and Droitwich, so we must be doing something right!

Our monthly meetings are held in Chaddesley Corbett village hall on the first Wednesday of each month (except August) and start at 7.30pm.  We generally have a speaker who will talk, show slides or give a demonstration on just about anything that we think will interest our members. Our Programme page will show you what we’ve got happening this year.

As well as the monthly meetings we arrange various other activities and outings throughout the year.  So, you see we’re pretty busy and that’s without considering the events that the Worcestershire Federation arrange for all WIs in Worcestershire to take part in!  Take some time to look at our Activities pages where there’s more information about all the things we get up to.  The joy of it all is of course, that you can be involved as much or as little as you want knowing that there will always be a friendly face around to make you welcome.

Why not come along to one of our monthly meetings and see for yourself what we get up to, visitors are always welcome.  See the Contact Us page for the address of the village hall and a map.  If you decide that you want to join the WI, the annual subscription from May 2024 is just £48.00.  This includes 8 issues of WI Life magazine during the year to keep you informed about what's happening in the WI all over the Country.

If you would like any more information about Chaddesley Corbett WI, then click on the Contact Us page for details of how to get in touch with us.  More details on the Worcestershire Federation can be found at www.worcestershirewi.org.uk and the National Federation at www.thewi.org.uk.