Category Archives: Church Buildings

Church Buildings, Events, News Releases, St John's Church

Invitation to hear about plans for St John’s – postponed.

2 Comments

Please note, this has been postponed. Look out for a new date later in the year.

Come and hear about the ambitious plans to create a community hub and café in St John’s Church, at an exhibition on Saturday, March 28, at 3pm and 7pm.

The church is going to be developed so that it is not just a place of worship but a centre designed to meet some of the needs of groups in the community, including people with learning difficulties, those with dementia, young people wanting a place to go outside school hours, and those with issues affecting their mental health. There will also be a soft play area, office space and flexible areas for groups to use.

The church has carried out extensive research into what is needed and is working with groups and individuals, including the county, borough and town councils; the local clinical commissioning group; and charities, particularly Post19 which supports young adults with learning difficulties. Plans will be announced formally at a launch at the church on Saturday, March 28.

Lesley Crawley is leading the development of the new hub and café. She said: “We know that there is a real need for a place where people can meet both formally and informally, in groups and organised sessions, or simply by dropping in at the café. We are holding a public launch for the plans for the new hub on March 28 so that everyone can see what will be happening. Please do come and join us.”

Please note, plans for the launch are going ahead at the moment but obviously we will follow any advice from the Government and Church of England about gatherings during the coronavirus outbreak.

Drop us an email or leave a comment to let us know if you are coming and which session – 3pm or 7pm.

Art, Church Buildings, St Mark's Church

How to record a church

Leave a comment

St Mark’s Church is welcoming new visitors every month at the moment – a group of ‘recorders’ who can be seen walking around inside the church making careful notes and taking pictures in order to ‘record’ the church.

The idea is to record everything inside – the windows; memorials; ironwork; textiles; the Kitty Milroy murals and other decorations; ‘Emily’ the organ; the woodwork; stonework; and documents – and to produce a report which will essentially give a snapshot of the church in 2020.

The recorders are members of The Arts Society Farnham, and are led by Margaret Popovic and Alison Boydell. They chose the church after reading in the local press about the nationally important murals painted by Kitty Milroy a century ago, and about Emily the Edwardian organ who has just been restored.

“St Mark’s is a lovely, very individual community church with wonderful paintings,” said Alison. “It will take us several months to record it and then we want to move on to St John’s.”

For an online look at St Mark’s click here, then click on the ‘Google Sphere’ links on the page

Church Buildings, St Mark's Church

New light on an old mystery

Leave a comment

We have come a little closer to solving the mystery of the old wooden altar at St Mark’s. The altar is Tudor in style and has an inscription “GIVEN BI HENRIE LVNNE 1608”, but St Mark’s was built in 1883, 275 years later.

Bob Skinner, a great friend of the church and a leader of Weybourne Community Church, has been on the case and found this cutting in the Surrey Advertiser from December 4, 1880. It’s still three years before the church was built, but read on:

Cutting about Lunn altar

It reads:

‘PRESENTATION TO THE PARISH CHURCH. – The Parish Magazine for December, just published, says:- “A working party of ladies in Farnham have presented a new altar to the Parish Church. This, with a new altar cloth, was placed in the church on St Andrew’s Day, Nov. 20th. The old altar and altar cloth have been accepted by the Vicar of Hale for the use of a church which it is intended to begin next year at Hale Common.”

So, the altar was in St Andrew’s Church – the Parish Church in question – until November 1880. St Mark’s was built over the next three years on land given by Bishop Sumner, the Bishop of Winchester (the area was in the Diocese of Winchester at the time) and flint from the common was used to build the walls.

We still don’t know the full history of the altar but it is possible that Henry Lunne, who has been recorded as living in Farnham in the second half of the 16th century, gave it to St Andrew’s as the church was well established then. In fact, parts of St Andrew’s date from the 12th century.

If anyone does know any more however, let us know. Leave us a comment here or email news@badshotleaandhale.org

Church Buildings, Events, News Releases, St John's Church

Christopher Herbert to deliver lecture

Leave a comment

Christopher Herbert, a celebrated speaker and authority on church art and architecture, will give a talk at St John’s Church, Hale, on Art, Architecture and Christianity in Victorian England this Wednesday (June 5th, at 7.30pm), as part of the 175th anniversary celebrations of St John’s.

Bishop Christopher Herbert is the former vicar of The Bourne, Canon of Guildford Cathedral and Bishop of St Albans, and visiting Professor in Christian Ethics at the University of Surrey. He is a sought-after lecturer across the UK and in Europe and has been a guest lecturer at The National Gallery; the Courtauld Institute; King’s College, London; the University of Leicester; Westminster Abbey and at The Arts Society (NADFAS) groups in the UK and mainland Europe. He has also lectured for Swan Hellenic on their Rhone cruises.

The talk will look at the way Victorian England responded to massive changes in society and the world with assertive confidence but also with nostalgia. In architecture and painting, these two conflicting forces gave rise to some fascinating and provocative work both in the Church and in society.

Christopher Herbert retired to Farnham where he had been vicar of The Bourne between 1981 and 1990. In addition, he was Director of Post-Ordination Training for the Diocese of Guildford and was made a Canon of Guildford Cathedral, before becoming Archdeacon of Dorking in 1990. He became Bishop of St Albans in 1995.
He is a prolific author and much of his writing is based on the themes of prayer and spirituality, for both children and adults. Among his best-known books are Ways into Prayer and Pocket Prayers. In 2002 he completed a major piece of research into ‘The Image of the Resurrection of Jesus in 15th Century Northern European Art’, for which he was awarded an MPhil by the University of Leicester. He was awarded a PhD by the University of Leicester in 2008, for his ground-breaking research on ‘The Origins of the Easter Sepulchre in Pre-Reformation England’.

Admission to the talk on Wednesday is free but donations are welcome. Refreshments will be provided.

For further information on Christopher Herbert, visit www.threeabbeys.org.uk

Church Buildings, St John's Church

Have your say on the future of St John’s

Leave a comment

As St John’s Church turns 175 this year, we are launching a major improvement and fundraising project and want to know what facilities you would like the church to offer.

Residents and local organisations are invited to complete a short survey to help us learn more about what our community needs and how the church can better provide this.  It can be found by clicking here.

 

Advent, Christmas, Church Buildings, Social Events

Badshot Lea Christmas Lights switch on

Leave a comment

23561399_1517829351636802_4747106213135004656_nCome to at St George’s on 20 November between 17:00 and 18:30 to celebrate the switching on of the Christmas Lights. There will be hot dogs, hot chocolate and mulled wine available to buy. The switch on of the lights will be at 6pm and in between there will be music from the Sea Cadets, the School Choir and the Church Choir. We will finish at 6.30pm.
.”