The Friends of St Cassian's invite
you to tea and to view an exhibition and video of past community events in the
Village Hall
At 3.30pm on Sunday 9th March 2008
We look forward to seeing you
In issuing this invitation the Friends of
St Cassian's would like to let parishioners, particularly those who have come to
live in the parish in recent years, know what we were set up to do, what we have
done for the church and how we relate to the Parochial Church Council.
The first point is that we are not
involved with the normal running of the church, such as the provision of
religious services, building maintenance, heating, electricity and so forth.
This is the business of the Parochial Church Council, which through a subvention
to the Diocese of Worcester also raises money to meet the cost of incumbents'
salaries and pensions.
The Friends recognize that in St
Cassian's Church the parish has a building of great historical, architectural
and social value which needs to be preserved for future generations. The
important word in that sentence is 'building', and it follows that most of the
money that we have raised in the past 40 years has been spent on the fabric,
with particular attention being paid to the roof and to the stonework, which
being of soft sandstone is subject to continual wear.
In that period we have spent in excess of £187,000.
In emphasising the building the Friends aim to appeal to all who live in the
parish, whatever their religious belief, and whether or not they go to church.
It may be of interest that the Friends were founded by a couple who, though
churchgoers, were not themselves Anglican.
Do join us on 9th March - we hope that
you too might be willing to become a Friend.
Robin Palmer
The Friends of St.
Cassian's
Originally formed in 1968, the 'Friends'
later became a registered Charity with the object of raising money for the ~
'Repair, maintenance, improvement, presentation, beautification and
reconstruction of the church and churchyard, contents and furnishings'.
St. Cassian's Noman Font
Since then it has sponsored
numerous fund-raising events which have enabled it, with other income,
materially to assist the Parochial Church Council in maintaining the fabric of
this lovely old church - architecturally one of the most important village
churches in the Worcester Diocese - and a 'Grade 1' listed building, at that.
'The Crusader' - William (or Roger) Corbett
c.1290
He presumably served in the crusade of Richard I
(Coeur-de-Lion) -
having earned the right to be represented 'cross-legged'
The 'Friends' invite all those,
of whatever persuasion, who have the interests of St. Cassian at heart, to
become members.
The Friends of St. Cassian’s.
We have a wonderful church, an architectural gem, graded 1 by English Heritage, and included in Simon Jenkins’ book of the 1000 best churches in the
country. Not only does it provide a home for regular worship, but it also attracts
a steady stream of visitors from home and abroad. It is there seven days a week – for anyone – as a haven of peace and quiet.
It is easy for present residents to take for granted the beautifully carved 12th
century font, the finely decorated 14th century chancel, the imposing 18th century
spire, the sympathetic but substantial restoration in the 1860’s, and the subsequent 20th century alterations. Previous generations have, self evidently,
cared for and embellished the building in a very positive way, and we in the 21st
century have a duty to pass it on to our successors in as good, if not a better,
condition as we inherited it.
The Friends, a registered charity founded over 30 years ago, aims to achieve just
that. While the Parochial Church Council retains its responsibility for the maintenance and repair of the building, in addition to its duty to run the day to
day activities of worship and mission, the Friends have in practice helped with major items of repair work which the PCC has been unable to finance from its
annual income. Over the years £64k has been spent on the stonework of the tower and spire, whose soft sandstone suffers from the ravages of wind and
weather more than other parts of the building. Repair work to the buttresses on the north wall cost £6k in 1981: a new leaded roof for the St.Nicholas Chapel
needed £30k in 1992 and a roof for the Vestry £15k in 1996: expenditure on external repairs to stonework elsewhere and to the boiler house chimney
amounted to £31k in 1994/5. These are the major items in a much longer list but
demonstrate the size of the sums involved in maintaining a building of this age.
The immediate project is to restore some of the stonework and glass in the East window, for which the Friends have set aside £25k. The work is due to begin this
year.
How have the Friends managed to help in this way? Fundraising events have contributed the major portion. A street market in June 1976, a Christmas market
in Hillpool in 1983, Wake 88, a two day event in 1988, and the Roadshow in 1994 have been the main contributors. Other equally enjoyable events raised smaller
sums, such as the open gardens day in Hillpool in 1998. All these have called upon the talents and time of a large numbers of the community whether or not
they would, if asked, have called themselves C of E. Their efforts have been greatly appreciated.
The Friends have also been the fortunate recipient of a number of legacies, the proceeds of which have been carefully invested with a view to
maintaining capital value and to ensuring an increasing level of annual income. Gift
Aid enables us to add to the regular and welcome contributions made by other members of the parish.
We have around 170 members at present and would very much like to add to that number – life subscription costs only £25, and for that
Friends may attend an annual meeting where they are brought up to date with actual and projected
plans for the church building, receive a complimentary copy of Roper’s history of
the church, enjoy such social events as are organised from time to time, and have
the opportunity to contribute further by taking part in the management of the Friends’ activities. Church membership, of whatever
denomination, is not a prerequisite of being a Friend – the aim is to bring together
those who have in mind the future of the historic building of St Cassian’s and its
central place in the life of the village.
Further information may be obtained from Michael Shaw (Chairman) 777401, Robin Palmer (Hon. Treasurer) 777236, or David Mills (Hon. Secretary) 777223.
The annual meeting this year will be held at 3pm on Sunday 20th March in the
Village Hall. If you are interested you would be most welcome. Friends of St Cassian’s Chaddesley Corbett
The Annual Meeting will take place at 3 pm on Sunday 20th March 2005 in The Village Hall
followed by a talk with slides by Mervyn Needham “Footsteps in the Andes” and then tea.
