Downham Market's Twin Town Civray

The Beginnings

In the Autumn of 1975, Swaffham European Club acted as a marriage-broker to introduce Civray and Downham Market to each other, and twinning between the two towns officially began in 1976, with both towns holding ceremonies and the two Mayors,  Raoul Cartraud and Tinker Taylor, signing the charters. Our copies hang in the Assembly Room of the Town Hall for all to see.

Since 1976 hundreds of people of all ages have made the cross Channel crossing between Downham Market and Civray, with a pattern quickly emerging of Civray visiting us one year, and us returning the following year. The timing is normally the first week of August for a duration of eight days. Guests are always accommodated in members' homes and the Twinning Clubs organize a week of activities to show visitors something of their country and its way of life.

For many years these August visits have normally held about 50 people, and in addition there have been shorter weekend visits to commemorate special anniversaries and to act as "taster" visits for those who have not been before.

You can find in Downham Market a road sign telling you how far it is to Civray, and you can phone from Civray from a public box which is in a resplendent Post Office red with gold crowns, both examples of special twinning gifts.

Where is Civray ?

The usual route to Civray is from Calais to Paris, then south west to cross the River Loire at Tours, and on to Poitiers. Civray lies about 35 miles from this city, just off the main road to Bordeaux.

It is a town of about 3000 people on the attractive River Charente and has been there since Roman times. There are a number of historical buildings, but the jewel in the crown is undoubtedly the splendid 12th Century Romanesque church of Saint Nicholas which dominates the market square in the town.

For further information please visit the Downham Market Twinning Club's website by clicking here