Hidden Treasures
In the summer of 2021 some much needed maintenance work was undertaken at the Baptist Church and in the process some lovely hidden treasures were revealed. Have you seen any of these before?
A wonderful WW1 memorial was discovered, hidden behind a shed and covered in ivy! It’s an amazing piece of the village’s history.
There are two of these lovely pillars at either side of the front church grounds. You can see this one in the photo of the old church building, when there was still a manse at the rear. Both pillars had been hidden by ivy for many years but are now able to be admired by those walking by.
This little corner of the front grounds had become hidden and overgrown but now it has been cleared. The plan is to make this area into a welcoming place to sit and read, chat with a friend, have your takeaway coffee from the Café Next Door or just take some time to enjoy the community garden that will be created there.
In the rear grounds we are blessed with fantastic views over the Johnson’s meadows and the countryside. Please feel free to enjoy our grounds too. It is a beautiful garden as well as a graveyard.
There are documents from William Curzon Herrick who gave an extra 30 feet of land to the Baptist Church in 1920 ‘for the burial of the dead’. There is very little space left in the graveyard but were pleased to be able to host the funeral of Barry Selby in 2021. Another co-incidence is that Barry lived in the house opposite the church on Main Street where the Baptist church originally started meeting in about 1780!
We want the church and its grounds to be used by the community. Please respect the grounds and only go round the back when Little Owl pre-school is not using the premises. (They are there Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays during term time)
And if you have any stories about people you have known with connections to the Baptist Church, we’d love to hear from you.