Reverend Chris Keys retired as Rector of our Parish at the end of February. At his last service with us special prayers were said for him and his family. At the end of the service Malcolm Friend paid tribute to him, thanked him for 14 years work in our parish and presented a John Lewis voucher to him on behalf of the PCC and congregation. Chris was also given a number of individual gifts including this stunning watercolour of the Church, painted by Tom Jacobs from Combwich. Chris and Lorraine have moved to Norfolk to be close to their family, including grandchildren, so they will be kept very busy. Goodbyes are never easy especially as it leaves Chedzoy and Westonzoyland benefice without a rector. This period of vacancy, known as an interregnum in the Church of England, is the usual practice to allow planning for the future. While there is a vacancy, services at Chedzoy church continue as normal - 9.00 am for Holy Communion or 11.30 am on the first Sunday of the month - with visiting clergy and worship leaders. Please join us if you can.
The doors themselves are 17th or 18th century, but were boarded up internally sometime in the 1960s and the entrance fell out of use. The restoration work has seen the doors repaired and preserved, the surrounding stonework and threshold restored and the entrance brought back into use.The work was paid for by a generous grant from Historic England, memorial donations and individual donations from villagers. Our thanks to everyone who contributed. Thanks also to the contractors, Crowstep, for such an excellent piece of work. Our photo shows the doors before and after restoration.
Sydney Mason Collins was a wealthy man whose ancestors came from Chedzoy. He died in 1946 and was buried in our churchyard. As well as serving as a soldier he was a barrister, a fellow of Corpus Christi College and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquities.In 1950 a bronze equestrian statue was erected on his grave. The statue, designed and produced by Cecil Thomas FRBS, depicted Mr Collins dressed as a Captain in the Royal Engineers at the time of the First World War. For almost 60 years this statue dominated the western side of the churchyard. It was a commanding presence, watching silently over the church and churchyard.Sadly, the statue was stolen from us in 2006 and the village was devastated. Despite extensive enquiries it was never recovered and is believed to have been melted down for the bronze. Some villagers spoke of feeling physically sick when they heard the news, some even broke down in tears. People looked back with fondness to their childhood and happy memories of playing at the base of the statue.In 2018 the Village Hall Trustees made an offer to the church and the village to reinstate the statue. This offer was gratefully accepted and a replica was commissioned from sculptor Richard Austin who lives in Wadebridge, Cornwall. In June 2020 the replica statue was installed. It is sculpted from ‘Antius Bronze’, a material developed by the sculptor which looks like bronze and is as strong as foundry bronze. There is no scrap metal value in ‘Antius Bronze’.Our picture shows (left) the original statue and (right) its replacement. The church and the village remain deeply grateful to the Village Hall Trustees for their most generous gesture.
The theft of lead from church roofs is on the increase and our insurers have said they’ll no longer offer full cover unless the roof is protected by an alarm. Although we’ve more pressing uses for our limited funds, we’ve regretfully decided that installing an alarm system is the only sensible option.The roof is now protected by sensors 24/7. When activated, video footage of what’s happening will be transmitted automatically to a control centre. If people are on the roof the police will be called and an external siren activated. The footage is automatically recorded and made available to the police to help them identify and catch the thieves.The lead is also already marked with SmartWater, as are all items of value inside the church. (SmartWater is a liquid containing a code, whose presence can be seen under ultraviolet light. It’s applied to valuable items, so that if they’re stolen and later recovered by police, their original owner can be traced after laboratory testing of a sample).
