About AQIVA
AQIVA is a voluntary organisation dedicated to championing the Amphitheatre, Querns Wood and Four Acre Field from which we take our name. Our mission is to maintain and help develop these important community spaces for everyone to enjoy.
AQIVA is open to all who would like to join and is entirely free.
What does AQIVA do?
AQIVA engages in a range of activities, from gardening and conservation, to stewarding and education, As a member, there are a host of roles you can fulfill and activities to take part in. Whether you’re interested in rolling up your sleeves and working the soil, helping at in-person events, contribute to communications or just want to get involved with a local piece of history.
At AQIVA you’ll find a diverse group of people who share a love of history, conservation and community.

Caring for green spaces
AQIVA work in co-ordination with Cirencester Town Council to provide ideas and able bodies to work on improving the green spaces.
In summer 2021, members of AQIVA planted native hedges along the eastern boundary of Four Acre Field (pictured). These hedges provide important habits for insects and birds.
Our mission
Our aim, in the broadest possible sense, is to be involved in the promotion, development and protection of the complex, focussing in different ways, as appropriate, on history, heritage, health, leisure, education and the environment, with something for all ages.
With a combination of projects, events and activities, we have a series of short, medium and longer term objectives, some simple, some considerably more ambitious. We hope that we can be part of creating a legacy that will bring enjoyment and benefits to local residents, as well as the town as a whole, for many years to come.
Dig parties
The wide beds that shepherd visitors past the Obelisk and on toward the Amphitheatre need a lot of maintenance.
AQIVA arrange dig parties throughout spring, summer and early autumn to tend the beds, removing weeds and planting new plants.


Public events
This September we’re welcoming back The Ermin Street Guard for the first time since 2019. Join us on Sunday 18th September for a wonderful show of Roman military culture, including a working trebuchet that hurled more than one watermelon into the woods.
How do I join AQIVA?
You can join AQIVA simply by completing the form below or sending us an email.
Keep up to date with our newsletter
Find out all about our events and activities past, present and future in our quarterly AQIVA newsletter.
AQIVA Newsletter: Summer 2015
The ground along this strip had been left undisturbed for a great many years, and the preparation that was carried out prior to sowing never was going to clear everything that had been so long established, so the brambles and other vegetation that were there have...
AQIVA Newsletter: Winter 2014/15
Newsletter no. 4, so we’ve now had the full cycle of seasons. There’s been a longer than usual gap since our last missive, but AQIVA don’t have a December meeting so we’ve waited until after the January one to bring everything up to date. The Obelisk You may have...
AQIVA Newsletter: Autumn 2014
Here we are again, and maybe still a little bit of sunshine to come. Herewith, a little snippet for you (apologies if you already know): The Cotswolds – cot is an old word for a sheep pen, and wolds are rolling hills. So, sheep pens on the hills. You heard it here,...