During her lifetime, Jane Cart gave money for a local baker to provide a basket of loaves to the Priory every Sunday morning. Some of the bread was taken to the altar and used for Holy Communion, while the remainder was distributed by the Churchwardens to poorer members of the parish after the service.

Following Jane's death in 1736, her Trustees commissioned a set of special shelves on which the bread could be placed during worship. For more than 200 years, these bread shelves stood on the west wall of the Priory, close to the Tower door, and were part of a wonderful tradition of practical care for those in need within our community. The distribution of bread eventually came to an end with wartime rationing in 1940.

There are still living memories connected with this tradition. Joyce Haddon, who attended our 8.00am service, remembered being allowed as a child to collect her bedridden grandmother's loaf from the Priory — a lovely personal connection between this small piece of church furniture and the lives of generations of local families.

The shelves were later moved from their original position and, when the glass porch was installed, were eventually removed. They have since been stored upstairs in the Tower. We are now hoping to return these historic shelves to their original position, restoring a small but very meaningful part of the Priory's heritage.

We have received permission to proceed with an application for a Faculty for their reinstatement. As part of this process, a Public Notice must now be displayed, giving details of the proposal and the opportunity for representations to be made.

Please see above to read the full Public Notice.