A warm welcome awaits you at Ropley Courtyard Community Shop

We pride ourselves in being a friendly place to shop and that our prices are as competitive as possible.

We sell a wide range of products such as meats, eggs, milk, bread, fresh fruit and vegetables, newspapers (only if pre ordered), wines and spirits, alongside store cupboard and household essentials.

We now have the very useful addition of The Tack Room, where people are able to enjoy hot drinks such as tea, coffee and hot chocolate as well as soft and alcoholic drinks. In the summer there are tables and chairs in the courtyard for people to sit and enjoy drinks, snacks or ice creams.

Since the shop opened it has gone from strength to strength thanks to the support of the local community, Karen Jones, Nicky Dennis, Vonnie Archer, Sue Sansom, the Shop Management Committee and all our hard working and enthusiastic volunteers.

The current Shop Manager is Karen Jones. The Post Office is run by Nicky Dennis.

“We’re more than just a shop……” were the words of a volunteer. Do come in to see for yourself this lynchpin of the village.

	Shop	Post Office
Monday	8.30 – 5 pm	8.30 – 2.45 pm
Tuesday	8.30 – 5 pm	8.30 – 2.45 pm
Wednesday	8.30 – 5 pm	8.30 – 2.45 pm
Thursday	8.30 – 5 pm	8.30 – 2.45 pm
Friday	8.30 – 5 pm	Closed
Saturday	8.30 – 1 pm	Closed
Sunday	9-12 pm	Closed

Don’t forget you can always find out more about The Courtyard –

You can visit us at                     ropleycourtyardshop.com

You can like us on Facebook     Ropley Courtyard Shop

You can telephone us on            01962 773666 . Post Office 773190

You can email us at                   the-courtyard@btconnect.com

You can reach us through         MyRopley.org.uk

A brief history

The shop was originally conceived by a group of local residents who saw the need for a shop in the centre of Ropley, especially for those without a car, or with impaired mobility. The shop has gone from strength to strength over the years thanks to a lot of hard work by all our staff and volunteers and the unstinting support of our customers.

Many people will recall the enormous efforts to raise funding to “get the shop off the ground”, both literally and metaphorically , converting an old stable block to shop premises.

The official opening was performed in 2006 by Southern Television’s Sally Taylor. Initially managed by Lisa Murphy, assisted by Sue Sansom, later succeeded by Cindy Dance and then the inimitable Vonnie Archer, assisted by Sue Sansom, Doreen Gostage, Becky Shotton and of course the essential help of many volunteers. Currently the Shop Manager is Karen Jones with the Post Office being run by Nicky Dennis.

Originally set up in 2006 as the Ropley Village Shop and Post Office Association, in 2009 it was converted to the new, more appropriate format of a Community Interest Company.

There has been a steep learning curve over the years, with the difficult balancing act of maintaining profit margins to cover the overheads, while at the same time keeping prices affordable for a limited customer base. Providing the village with the services of a Post Office is key and we hope to be able to keep the Post Office going – while under pressure from the Post Office Association who are seeking to close Post Offices where they can.

Over the years things have changed – we have more fridges and freezers, new shelving and racking.Heating continues to be an expensive luxury so our stalwart volunteers still come in in mid Winter armed with gloves, scarves and fur lined boots! November 2023 saw the launch of the Tack Room (so named as it had originally been the tack room adjacent to the stables) as a venue for people to meet up and enjoy a cup of coffee from the newly installed coffee machine in the shop.

The grants we have received from the Parish, District and County Councils, together with the generous donations from well wishers such as the Mason family, have really helped us to provide the services of a truly successful business.

We have our own website and Facebook page, with many followers. We hope that our loyal customers find this useful and that we attract new customers this way as well.

There is always a warm welcome for you at your local community shop.