Welcome to Wheldrake WI
Welcome to Wheldrake WI
If you thought the Women’s institute was all about Jam and Jerusalem, think again!
The WI is what you make it; it’s not about Jam and Jerusalem (unless you want it to be! - it’s about ‘inspiring women’! the WI is the largest voluntary women’s organisation in the UK with almost 220,000 members in approximately 6,000 WIs.
When you join Wheldrake WI you also become a member of the WI nationally which entitles you to a monthly magazine (WI Life). More importantly, you’ll become part of the largest women’s group in the UK. A community of women that has been making things happen for over 110 years. Wheldrake WI was founded on 11th March 1925 by a group of women who felt that community spirit should be given a chance to flourish wherever people live and to offer local women the chance to make friends, learn new (and consolidate old) skills, while benefiting the surrounding community and feeling part of it too.
Wheldrake WI has gone from strength to strength – we celebrated our 100th Birthday in 2025. We meet for a couple of hours at 7pm on the 2nd Wednesday of the month (except August) at White Rose House 70 Main Street, Wheldrake, York, YO19 6AA.
Our monthly meetings vary, sometimes a speaker on current events, topical issues, or inspirational achievements and adventures or a Members Meeting where we hold a games evening (Bingo, Beetle Drive or a Race Evening). At Christmas we hold a party with food and entertainment plus the odd glass of bubbly!
At each meeting, to raise funds we hold a Raffle plus a Stall selling a range of items. These make include books, jigsaws and home baking.
During the year we organise outings and events including theatre trips and visits to interesting places. As well as our main Members monthly meetings, we have several Sub Groups which meet to pursue specific activities. These are usually for Wheldrake WI members only and a great way to meet like minded people in a more intimate setting. When you become a member you will be asked if you are interested in joining any Sub Groups and our Events and Outings Team will help you with this. We are always interested in hearing about any new ideas.
Our current groups include:
Evening Book Club
Evening Dining Club
Lunch Club
Craft Club
Movie Nights
T’ai Chi & Qigong
The Darting Dollies Darts Club
Our current President is Barbara Ellis, who is supported by the hard-working Wheldrake WI Committee who meet each month to plan our Members Meetings. Although the programme for the year is planned well in advance there is still a lot of work to do just before each Members Meeting to ensure everything goes to plan. We are always looking for helpers to join our team.
Our members vary in age more importantly (for age is just a number!) we have a young minded, fun and firmly female agenda. Our aims are to enjoy ourselves and to do good for the village of Wheldrake.
We are a fabulously talented group of women and getting together means we can learn from each other and help each other progress.
In our monthly Members Meetings we swap skills, make contacts and form friendships. Visitors / speakers have included Burlesque, Wine Tasting, Race Night and ‘Meet the Butler’ (Yes, there really is something for everyone!).
We are always keen for new women to join our group. If you are not sure whether Wheldrake WI is your thing then please come along to a meeting and check us out. We pride ourselves on being friendly and would be delighted to meet you. Don’t worry about coming on your own, most of our members do. We will give you a warm welcome and make sure you are not left on your own.
In the 2025/2026 season WI membership currently costs £51 per annum (pro rata) and has many benefits;
- Membership of the largest Women’s Organisation in England and Wales
- 8 copies of the WI Life Magazine sent to your door
- Free access to our eleven monthly meetings and all the other free activities we can organise
- Additional social events, like visiting place of interest, theatre and our annual John Lewis Partnership Shopping Trip
- Access to our private Facebook where you can keep up with all our news and chat
- Free access to a huge variety of courses / both live and pre-recorded on WI Learning Hub
- Further opportunities from both North Yorkshire East Federation and National WI.
Looking forward to meeting you.