Spring is almost upon us! With grant funding from The Tree Council Arkendale Church have been able to plant a new hedgerow on the boundary of the churchyard extension with a beautiful mix of native trees and hedging plants. This will increase the biodiversity as well as providing a more private space for reflection in years to come. 24 volunteers from the local community came out to support planting the new hedgerow on Saturday 11th March. It was great to see so many helpers young and old! We’re very grateful to the Houseman family who granted permission for the hedge planting to take place. They also prepared the land ahead of planting – this made it so much easier to do the planting! Thanks to those who kept us fed and watered during the morning, tea, coffee and cake were much appreciated. We’d also like to thank local businesses - Johnsons of Whixley, Greentech at Rabbit Hill Business Park and Scotton Tree Care for helping us with our planting requirements.
Parishioners are celebrating the restoration of their much-loved church clock dating from the Victorian era following a £7,000 restoration project.Last year, residents came together to launch the Platinum Jubilee Clock Restoration Project for St Bartholomew's Church in Arkendale, near Knaresborough.A community event has been held to unveil the clock which features gold leaf gilded dials that match the original, and the clock mechanism has been deep-cleaned.Warden of St Bartholomew's Church, Robyn Cox, said: “It’s a new moment in time at St Bartholomew’s where the community came together with support from grant-funding bodies and local businesses to restore the clock dials and mechanism. It was a project we started to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of our beloved late Queen Elizabeth II.”Cllr Robert Windass, who represents the Boroughbridge and Claro division on North Yorkshire Council, was the largest funder with £2,500 from his locality budget.Cllr Windass said: “I’m delighted to join the community in celebrating the long-awaited unveiling of the church clock. The large-scale project involved making new clock faces to match the original, and the mechanism was overhauled to make sure it will run for many years to come.“It has been a joint effort to pull this off and I’m proud to have contributed some of my locality budget to such a worthwhile cause. By carrying out the restoration we have ensured the clock will remain at the heart of our community.”A significant amount of funding came from local sponsors and donations through a Sponsor a Numeral Campaign, as well as Thalia Waste Management at Allerton Waste Recovery Park, the Church of England’s ChurchCare scheme, the Moto Foundation and Hanson Cement at Allerton Park.The plaque has been carved by a local charity, Claro Enterprises, based in Harrogate offering support and voluntary work opportunities to adults with mental health conditions. It was made using offcuts donated by the furniture makers, Robert Thompson’s Craftsmen Limited, responsible for creating famous Mouseman furniture in Kilburn.
