Dear Village FriendsURGENT APPEAL TO KEEP OUR CHURCH OPENThe village church, due to no or few services and fundraising events being held in 2020, has seen a 40 percent fall in income.This has resulted in our inability to fully meet our payment obligation to the Diocese called the “Family Purse” which funds the running of the church and most importantly the clergy. Our contribution due for 2020 was £11,573 but we were only able to pay £6,000 i.e. 52%. Besides this we have our normal running costs to pay: insurance, electricity, water, fire extinguishers, gutter cleaning, lightning conductor inspections etc, not to mention upkeep of the churchyard which alone amounted to £1,356 last year (The Parish Council paid a small grant of £200 towards this). We are not the only Church in this predicament but West Hanningfield appears to have been particularly affected by the corona virus lockdowns. Out of 18 parishes in the Chelmsford South Deanery, we are number 18 in terms of payments made! A rather embarrassing position to be in.Our main fundraising activities, Village BBQ, Grand draw and the Carol service, were not able to be run. These can generate £4-5,000 on their own. Adding the big attendance days for Easter, Harvest Festival and Christmas the absence of donations and income from all these make a big difference to our finances.The consequence of us being unable to meet our obligation to the Diocese is that we may lose the excellent and stable clergy cover we benefit from at present. We understand that the Diocese is introducing a “Traffic light” system under which those Parishes meeting their obligations will be classed as “green” and thus able to carry on as normal. Those that do not will be classed as “red” and therefore in danger of losing their clergy. That is the clear threat we now face.Thanks in large part to the generosity of those supporting the Friends, we have a lovely church building with a sound roof and soon to be a safe tower once the belfry is repaired and the bells are rehung after safety concerns leading to their removal. All this is to no avail if our church is closed down because we no longer have a worshipping community, the ability to hold weddings, funerals and christenings and to provide the pastoral care befitting a Christian community, especially now during the pandemic. We are therefore appealing to everyone, whether you may have come to the church for services or events or simply like to know that the church is available to everyone in normal times, to consider giving a donation for us to pay this year’s Family Purse of £11,882 and possibly catch up on our 2020 outstanding deficit of £5,573 a target of say £16,000. With about 250 households, it equates to £64 per household or £5.50 per household per month.Please help if you can by donating to St Mary and St Edward’s Parochial Church Council in whatever way suits you best.a. directly by BACS transfer as a one-off donation or Standing order to:West Hanningfield Parochial Church CouncilAccount 40489883Sort code 20-19-95Reference Parish appeal (Add your own name if you wish), orb. by cheque payable to West Hanningfield Parochial Church Council. Please deliver to our Church Warden Ann Usher at Applegate House, Church Lane or just call her (01245 400532) and she can arrange to collect, orc. Giving online: from the 'donate' button on the home page of our part of this website I very much hope you can support this appeal.David Gibson CAPCC member and Acting TreasurerSt Mary & St Edward’s Parish Church.
West Hanningfield Bells Restoration Project Update August 2020First phase completedIt is over a year since the Church bells were taken down and sent to John Taylors bell foundry in Loughborough, initially for safe keeping. The bells had to be taken down for health and safety reasons: some of the headstocks were in a very sorry state. This has given the archaeological and carpentry experts unhindered access to study the bellframe and tower to assess their significance, what repairs need to be carried out and, very importantly, how it should be done in order to preserve the heritage. How are we preserving our heritage?The bell tower has been standing since circa 1383 and now two of the huge supporting uprights need repair. The rotten wood at their base needs to be removed and replaced while the tower is supported by a scaffolding structure. The medieval bell frame, which is of national archaeological importance, requires careful restoration and repair work in accordance with the advice received from the number of experts who have studied it.Before the bells can be rehung, they need to undergo some restoration work, including new wheels and fittings, to make them safe and in good order for the next couple of hundred years. This work will be carried out by Taylors in Loughborough.The bells are a unique set of 4 Miles Graye the Younger bells dating from 1676. Other churches have bells by the same bell founder but ours are the only set remaining that can be restored to ring full circle.Just before the pandemic struck, we had a very keen group of local village people learning the skills of bell ringing. We know already that many enthusiasts from across the country, and some from abroad, would love the opportunity to ring our unique set of bells. The bell tower was constructed after the Black Death plague of 1360 and Peasants’ Revolt of 1381. The bells were cast after the Great Plague of 1665. How fitting that the restoration of the bell tower, bell frame and bells could help mark the end of the global Covid 19 pandemic.What happens next?The first step is to repair the tower structure and the bell frame.Once this has been done, the bells can be restored and rehung. With all approvals in place, and following 6 years of preparation, we are now in a position to proceed once the funding is in place.What can you do to help? The cost of this whole project is £78,000. The corona virus pandemic has severely hampered our fundraising efforts but we are still working hard to get grants for the majority of the funds needed. Any donations would be most welcome, however big or small. They can be made to:West Hanningfield PCCSort Code 20-19-95Account No 40489883If you are able to Gift Aid your donation please get in touch with the churchwarden 01245 400532As part of our exhibition of some of the original woodwork and metal fittings used to hang and ring the bells, we hope to display a list of any donors who wish to appear on it. We are also looking at the possibility of getting names cast into the new headstocks of the bells. Watch out for details soon or get in touchAnn Usher, ChurchwardenOn behalf of the PCC
