The "Chinnor Pump" began life back in 1970, created by Brian Jackson (Glynswood Print) and was called "Chinnor Chronicle", later to become the "Chinnor Roundabout", setting out its stall as a means to air people’s views and by doing so stimulate interest in local affaires. It promised to advertise to a wide section of the community and maintain public interest. The first issue started with an opinion column explaining the rationale for the newspaper and its value to a growing community and provision for more coverage of local affaires than was currently available in the other local papers. This was followed by a debate about the village water status, local GP Dr. Hood saying his children would not drink the tap water. Apparently testing was carried out regularly but a letter of complaint would be sent to the water board.
Good news! A Lloyds Bank was to be opened in the High Street bad news the Rura District Council has apparently refused to provide a public convenience on the playing fields and the state of Chinnor sewage was reported to be not fit for purpose. It was hoped that improvements would be made to the Henton sewage works before more houses were built. News of the completion of the new primary school in Mill Lane with the keys having been handed to the headmaster Mr. Geoffrey Manser. This was on the 6th July the scheduled date of completion being 14th September. Information about the new temporary hutted building in Station Road heralded the news of work towards a new centre for the village youth. Members of the Chinnor rifle club and the RAOB have joined forces to run the donkey derby on Saturday 29th August. The CPC approved a request from the Allotments Committee for a water supply to be installed on the allotments. Other topics covered included: school swimming awards and a contribution by Chinnor Clairvoyant who predicted a great future for the Chronicle.
Among the advertisements was ‘A 1964 sunbeam rapier series iv price £325’. The edition finished with a selection of properties for sale. Advertisement rates for the Chronicle classified 3d. per word box 5/- single column inch 18/- The edition concluded with a joke too painfully awful to retell.
You can view a PDF of the first edition of the Chronicle on the Chinnor Heritage website HERE. I'm not sure how long it lasted in this format. Some years later, the Parish Council/Councillors thought it would be a good idea to resurrect it as a village magazine/paper. A group of 7/8 Councillors investigated this and with sponsorship from the Parish Council, The Chinnor Parish Pump arrived. Each person had a job to do i.e Adverts, counting/distributions, accounts, setting for print, printing etc. The adverts were so popular that the Council only sponsored the first couple of editions and then the Pump went completely independent and has remained that way ever since.
It was agreed by the management team that the Pump would be printed and delivered free with revenue from adverts. Young people were recruited and paid to deliver to Chinnor and surrounding villages. They decided it was best to make Chinnor Parish Pump a limited company and it still is. Over the years, some Councillors left the village and some resigned leaving left just 2/3 people. Linda Cameron, one of the remaining councillors from that time, helped where she could and eventually became a director. They paid someone to set it for printing and Alan John printed it.
Eventually Linda continued alone with a couple of people being paid to do some of the work. Alan left the village and they looked to other printers. Over time, the advertising dwindled with only the occasional new one, this is only to be expected, because if companies are struggling it’s one of the first expenses to go. Linda spoke to the Parish Council explaining the situation, and they felt strongly that the Pump should remain independent but agreed to help monthly by paying for their insert, just like any other company paying for their advert. This helped for a time. As was mentioned in the September 2025 edition, that in 2021, fourteen pages of of the pump contained adverts, but by 2025 it was down to just six pages. This makes a big difference when it comes to income. Costs to produce the Pump are not just printing and distribution, the limited company administration needs funding too, accountancy fees, corporation tax and other sundry expenses need to be met. Linda continued as best she could but after more than twenty years, decided it was time to give it a rest.
I joined Linda's team in late 2024, mainly to help with the Desktop Publishing part of compiling and formatting the pump ready to be sent to the printers. I worked with Joni Cameron initially and then took over the role completely, also helping organise the distribution until physical issues prevented me from doing that part. When Linda made the decision to close the pump down in the autumn of 2025, I offered to take over the business as I see it as a valuable community asset, especially for those unable or unwilling to use the internet. I have achieved this by setting up a whole new Ltd Company "New Chinnor Pump Ltd" to continue to produce, print and distribute the pump on the same monthly basis. I also set up this website to provide a digital version of the pump with archive copies also available. I have managed to keep some advertisers on the books and bring in new ones, plus some sponsorship and donations.
Well that's our story so far, if you know of any further history of the Pump, Roundabout or Chronicle, I'd love to hear from you and include it above. Maybe you might have an older copy stored away that perhaps I could borrow, scan and present it as part of the archives.
Here's to the future of "The Chinnor Pump".
Chas Large
September 2025
Thanks to Dr Fiona Mantle for her contribution to this history.