A big "Hats Off to Swaffham Ladies' Circle" party was thrown by the last six members for invited guests, including former chairmen from the 1970s and '80s and friends from other ladies' circles as far away as Hunstanton, Sheringham, Cromer and North Walsham.

And the organisation finished with a flourish by presenting cheques for £1,055 to Swaffham and Litcham Home Hospice Support and £150 each to the Olive Tree Project and East Anglia's Children's Hospices.

Secretary and treasurer Julie Rowlatt said diminishing numbers and lack of new members forced the closure of the Swaffham circle, which had been running continuously since 1960.

It suffered the same fate as its male equivalent, Swaffham and District Round Table, which folded in 1999 after failing to attract new members. That organisation had been going for 40 years.

Miss Rowlatt explained that four of the circle were reaching the age of 45 at which they had to leave the organisation and a fifth was leaving the area.

"Our chairman Vanessa Pearce was going to be the only one left and it clearly wasn't practical for her to continue alone," she said. "We tried everything we could to get new blood in but it became inevitable we had to close.

"The girls are still going to meet socially, just not as the ladies' circle, so our friendships will last."

Swaffham Ladies' Circle's motto was fun, friendship and fundraising, and over the years members tried activities such as tenpin bowling, wall climbing and even tank driving.

They were also keen fundraisers and the money handed over to the hospice group on Monday was the proceeds from a fashion show held at Swaffham Assembly Rooms on April 16, and the other two cheques cleared out its charity account.

Miss Rowlatt said: "We are hoping the chains of office and our minutes and scrapbooks will go to Swaffham Museum so they can display them – and if anyone wishes to affiliate a new circle in years to come they could go and get them from the museum."

She said 43 women, wearing hats of various kinds, were at Monday's meeting – the 1,018th.

"We had a nice meal and time to reflect on things and talk to people we hadn't seen for a long time," she said.