ALL SAINTS CHURCH ACTIVITIES – SUMMER 2019
As part of our National Lottery (Heritage Fund) for roof repairs, we ran a series of activities over the course of the Summer. A list of these is provided here. We’ll use the village website to publicise future events.
Thursday 13th June Caring for God’s Acre 11 am and 3.30 pm
A day spent identifying and recording flora and fauna in the churchyard.
Moth Trapping evenings
Continuing our focus on the churchyard we have been given funding to purchase a moth trap and organised some drop-in moth trapping sessions over the course of the Summer. The moth trap will then become a resource for the school to use over the coming years as part of its wider curriculum activity.
Discovering England’s Burial Grounds (DEBS) survey
As well as identifying the feathery and furry occupants of the churchyard we looked more closely at the churchyard’s human occupants, or rather their gravestones. Working in conjunction with the DEBS project and Professor Harold Mytum, whose entertaining talk on gravestones to the Local History Group in September sparked a lot of interest, we explored new ways of photographing and documenting our gravestones to discover what they tell us about family history and patterns of commemoration from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Hard Hat Tours and Craft Talks
At some point during the course of works on the roof, we hope to provide an opportunity to climb the Tower, see the clock chamber, see the roof repairs and chat to the craftsmen working to ensure the future safety of the church. The Tower stair is very narrow and winding and good mobility are essential as you’ll need to step across the bell ropes in the clock chamber.
Visits further afield: Newcastle, Bolsover and Hardwick
As part of the HLF project, we visited Newcastle, to see the work of Robert Johnson, the architect who rebuilt Slingsby church, and the Smythsons, who rebuilt the castle in the early 17th century. The Derbyshire visit was likely to be on a weekday in July and the Newcastle visit was on 29 August 2019.
The TIME CAPSULE UNEARTHED 28 February 2015
A time capsule was buried under the foundation stone when All Saints Church was substantially rebuilt in 1867. It is recorded that photographs of the original church were put in the original time capsule. Slingsby PCC obtained permission from both the Diocese of York and English Heritage to examine the capsule. On 28th February, the foundation stone was carefully removed by a stonemason. For the results of the excavation please click here
We are looking for ideas for non-perishable contemporary items put back in a new capsule to mark the present time in history. If you have any suggestions please contact Margaret on 01653 628303, or [email protected] or Kate on 648739.
All Saints Church News (April 2015)
Church Fabric: new windows and future plans!
Those of you who have visited All Saints’ in recent weeks may have noticed a real difference in the quality of light at the west end of the north aisle. This is due to the wonderful new windows, replaced by Keith Dixon in memory of Margaret. The windows have been carefully designed to match those in the south aisle and clerestory and are a wonderful addition to the church. The PCC is very grateful to Keith, and to Margaret Mackinder, who as usual, arranged and oversaw the work on our behalf.
On Saturday 8th March we had a fantastic presentation from our architect, Andrew Boyce, about our proposals for creating a kitchen and toilet in the north aisle, reducing the length of the pews in the north and south aisles, creating a Local History cupboard in the south aisles, alongside new schemes for heating, lighting and installing a sound loop in the church. The proposals are based on our consultation mornings held in 2013-14 and on useful input from parishioners, visitors, the DAC Secretary, Phil Thomas, and English Heritage.
Everyone who attended agreed that the proposals will provide useful facilities that will make the church, warmer and more user-friendly, especially for those with hearing and visual impairments and accessibility issues. They will also allow us to offer better facilities for walkers and visitors, which is essential if the church is to be maintained in the future.
We hope to display copies of the drawings at the back of the church for you to view. If you have any comments, please do send them to the PCC Secretary, Kate Giles ([email protected]). Now all we have to do is apply for funding….which we hope to progress this year through the Heritage Lottery Fund. We will be greatly assisted in this by all the hard work and generous donations towards the Tower Appeal.