Category Archives: Art

The Farnham Flower Festival

The Farnham Flower Festival is back at St John’s Church, over the weekend of May 14-15. There will be displays of flowers, art, craft, poetry, music, delicious cakes, drinks and a raffle. Entry is only £1. It will be open between 10am and 4pm on Saturday, 14th and 12pm and 4pm on Sunday 15th. It is sponsored by Florescence, award-winning florists who have a workshop downstairs at St Mark’s.

Among the exhibitors will be Hale School, William Cobbett School, Badshot Lea Bloomers,  Hale Methodist Church, Arts at St Mark’s, the Parish Choir, artists Susie Lidstone and Alison Ridgeon, Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice, Weybourne Community Church, our own churches, Farnham ASSIST, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, Elmaz Ekrem, winner of the Farnham Literary Festival’s poetry competition, and Florescence.

Bring your friends to see the wonderful displays and enjoy a community event here in the parish.

Craft Market

2023: March 18, June 17, September 16 and November 18

Come to our regular Craft Market at St Mark’s. We now run this four times a year and the dates are above.

We invite local crafters to take part and we have a wide range of creative people there selling a huge array of gifts for yourself and others. There are jumpers, teddy bears, soaps and soap dishes, candles, cards, earrings, necklaces, hats and gloves, glass gifts, knitwear, pictures, pottery, sweets, notebooks, coasters, mugs to go on the coasters… and much more, with new stalls added regularly, and all of it sold to a background of live music and refreshments in the adjoining room.

If you would like to hire a stall, click here for a form, or call 07842761919 or email craft@badshotleaandhale.org

Come and join us as a shopper or a seller, or just to enjoy the buzz and friendly atmosphere.

Your February magazine is here

The latest parish magazine is out now and inside you will find news, events, ideas, reflections, advertisements, pictures, contacts and more, to give you a snapshot of what is going on across our parish.

There’s lots of good news at the moment and lots to look forward to this year. Read on and find out more… And don’t forget to enter our poetry competition – write a Poem for Farnham and you could win £25!

You can download the magazine here:

Art @ St Mark’s

Anyone gasping for a cup of coffee and more art?

Our next coffee mornings with art are

Thursday 6 January and Thursday 3 February 2022

10.30 – 12.30

St Mark’s Church, Alma Lane, Farnham  GU9 0LT

We are going to be entering our work into the Maltings Unseen Artists exhibition, which takes place on the weekend of 19-20 February.  It is a marvellous opportunity to see our work on show in the town so we need lots of art to make a good display.

We are taking as our theme “St Mark’s”, so we need to get our artistic thinking caps on:-what St Mark’s means to us; Kitty Milroy Murals; and there’s always the winged lion emblem of St Mark; or perhaps a sketch of one of our services …  We will be bringing along a few ideas to the coffee mornings to get us started.  Or alternatively, why not come along for a chat and a cuppa? 

Drop in – 10.30 – 12.30 and who knows, you may find yourself picking up a pencil and trying a quick sketch.

If you are unable to get to our sessions and yet desperate to be part of Unseen Artists, you can drop your art off at any of our services at St Mark’s or send me a photo of your work.

(Lesley Shatwell – email: llm.lesley@badshotleaandhale.org)

To comply with copyright laws, it must be all entirely your own work.

A Kitty Birthday Celebration

Come and celebrate the Kitty Milroy murals and Kitty herself at St Mark’s on November 7th at a special communion service at 11am, with the Bishop of Dorking and the mural restorers Stephen Rickerby and Lisa Shekede, and a concert and talk at 7pm.

The now-famous murals were restored earlier this year and new lighting has been installed so that they can be seen in their full glory. They are now recognised as being of national importance and a jewel in Surrey’s crown. So, on the day before the anniversary of Kitty’s birth in 1885 and, coincidentally, her death in 1966, we want to invite everyone to St Mark’s for a celebration.

The morning celebration will be a communion service at which the Rt Rev’d Jo Bailey Wells, Bishop of Dorking, will preach, and there will be a chance to hear from Stephen Rickerby and Lisa Shekede who spent 10 weeks painstakingly restoring the murals between April and June this year. In the evening there will be music, talks on the murals and Kitty, along with refreshments and, of course, the chance to see the murals.

Everyone is welcome at both the service and the evening celebration and there will be no charge, but to keep numbers manageable, particularly in the face of Covid, the evening event will be by ticket only. To book your tickets, click here.

The murals were painted between 1911 and 1920 and depict the Annunciation – the meeting between Mary and the Angel Gabriel when Mary is told she will be the mother of Jesus – as well as scenes from the Benedicite, an ancient hymn of praise to God about the wonders of the natural world, and local views. There are figures depicting the natural elements and seasons, and the models for these figures are known to be local people. The whole is a stunning creation by a hugely talented artist and the murals and Kitty herself are finally being given the recognition they deserve.

Come and celebrate this amazingly talented artist and her work.

Your October magazine is out!

The latest parish magazine is out, full of information about what is going on in your community here in North Farnham, and reflections on life and faith.

This month we consider generosity, particularly generosity of spirit, and celebrate the joy of the recent Confirmation service in the parish. There’s a collection of clothing and other items for refugees, a campaign for a new cancer centre, the return of Messy Church, an invitation to take part in the Big Draw and in a pet service and a reflection on the fact that pets are good for us. All these, along with local community news, local businesses and ideas, prayer and reflection, if you click below:

Coffee, cake, Kitty and the Big Draw

Fancy a cup of coffee with Kitty? Milroy that is. Join us at St Mark’s on Thursday, October 7, 10.30am-12.30pm, for coffee, cake and art and take part in The Big Draw.

Morning coffee and art will be resuming at St Mark’s, once a month, on the first Thursday of each month and the first one will coincide with The Big Draw Festival. Artist Philip Ryland will be dropping in to give us some guidance. Admission is free and you don’t have to book.

The Big Draw is a charity dedicated to raising the profile of drawing as a tool for wellbeing, thought, creativity, social and cultural engagement and runs The Big Draw Festival, the world’s biggest celebration of drawing.

While you are at St Mark’s spend some time admiring the Kitty Milroy murals in the church, our recently restored and nationally celebrated murals painted 100 years ago by local artist Kitty Milroy.

The September Magazine is Out

Our September magazine has just been published full of plenty to read and discover for this coming month.

We kick off with the Autumn Fayre (on Saturday, September 4, at St John’s Church, 12-4pm) then take a look at our new monthly craft market, get ready for Harvest, meet our new Youth Minister, have a think about Living in Love and Faith, and look forward to the Confirmation service on September 19. There’s a message from Anne Young in Cornwall, a huge thank-you to Wendy Edwards who is retiring, some thoughts on the changes ahead from the Church Cat and lots more, including local businesses who advertise and support us in our work.

To read all about it, download your copy below, or if you would prefer a printed version email the editor, Stella Wiseman.

Another creative triumph at St Mark’s

St Mark’s Church was once again buzzing with creativity with Artz @ St Mark’s over the weekend July 30-August 1. 

Walls, tables and easels were covered with paintings and quilts, there were cushions, violins, knitting, tapestry, a prom dress, as well as music and dancing, all of it displaying the talents of local people who joined in for the first, but not the last, Artz @ St Mark’s, organized jointly by the Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale and a group called North Farnham Voice which exists to enable local residents to have a say in the present and future of North Farnham. 

North Farnham Voice was founded by Catherine Powell, the newly elected Surrey County Councillor for North Farnham. Catherine said: “l just knew there were a lot of artistic and creative people in North Farnham because so many volunteered to make the PPE scrubs for the NHS during Lockdown. They carried on making them into the spring of this year to provide a supply to the COVID vaccination clinics too, so we asked them to come and display their own work. 

“A large number got involved again this weekend and helped make it a real success.  About 220 people dropped by over the weekend and there was never a dull moment with all the live music too. What’s more there wasn’t an inch of wall or table space left for the want of an exhibit.  The church came to life with the colour, variety and the sound of people and really played it’s part as a great place for the community of North Farnham.” 

Refreshments were served and many people took advantage of the occasion to view the newly restored Kitty Milroy murals in the church. 

St Mark’s also holds craft markets on the third Saturday of the month and the next one will be on August 21 from 10am to 2pm, at St Mark’s, Alma Lane, Farnham, GU9 0LT. 

Artz @ St Mark’s – This Weekend!

There will be a celebration of art, craft, music and dance this weekend when the first Artz @ St Mark’s takes place from Friday, July 30 to Sunday, August 1 at St Mark’s Church, Hale.

Cllr Alan Earwaker, Mayor of Farnham, will open Artz @ St Mark’s at 6pm on Friday, July 30 and over the course of the weekend there will be an exhibition of painting, quilting, needlework, knitting, even a prom dress, along with music and dancing which includes the band Cajun Boogaloo, Northumbrian pipes, saxophone, the organ and Appalachian dancing. 

Refreshments will be served and there will be the opportunity to see the newly restored Kitty Milroy murals.  The opening times will be Friday 6-8pm, Saturday 10am-4pm and Sunday 2-4pm.

Rev’d Lesley Crawley, Rector of the Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale, of which St Mark’s is a part, said: “I am awed by the creativity of the people around us here in Farnham and grateful to them for sharing their work and talent with us. We saw a lot of it during lockdown when we held our online Lockdown Art Club and we are so looking forward to being able to show the work in person now. 

“We hope lots of people will come to see the work on display and enjoy the music and dance, and also take the opportunity to see the beautiful murals painted by Kitty Milroy 100 years ago and now restored. Please do come and join us over the weekend.” 

St Mark’s is on Alma Lane, Hale, Farnham, GU9 0LT. There is a small amount of parking at the church.