The Mid-Elloe Villager & The Free Community Magazine for Fleet, Gedney, Holbeach St. Marks & Holbeach Hurn 2020 1 No.443 DECEMBER 2020 Parish Contacts The Rural Dean Revd. Rosamund Seal 01406 424989 [email protected] Authorised Lay Ministers Mr. David Smith 01406 363388 Deanery administrator – Caz Dennis – 01406 423460 [email protected] (Office hours Monday – Thursday 9.00-1.00) For all enquiries about Baptisms, Weddings and funerals Churchwardens: Fleet For any enquiries contact: PCC Secretary, Gill Graper 01406 423803 Holbeach Hurn Mr. David Baker 01406 362420 Mrs. Kay Jenkinson 01406 424428 Gedney Mr. William Webb 01406 363673 Mrs. Jill Duffey 01406 365586 Holbeach St. Marks Doris Johnson 01406 701250 Nick Worth 01406 701459 2 Useful Community Contacts The Pilgrim Hospital 01205 364 801 Queen Elizabeth Hospital 01553 613 613 Holbeach Hospital 01406 422 283 Johnson Community Hospital Spalding.. 01775 652 000 Peterborough City Hospital 01733 678000 Long Sutton Medical Centre 01406 362 081 Boots Chemist Long Sutton 01406 362 331 Samaritans 116 123 National Rail Enquiries 0845 748 495 Registrar Long Sutton 01522 782 244 Sir John Hayes 01775 711 534 NHS Direct 0845 46 47 Cllr Nick Worth 07866 415688 South Holland Parish Volunteer Car Service (Mon - Fri 09:00 - 12:00 / 13:00 - 16:30) Call Sharon: 01406 366820 or 07834 634336 3 It is hoped to produce a magazine MAGAZINE EDITOR: MARK ELSOM each month which will go on the [email protected] website and be emailed to as many people as possible. We Copy for the magazine should be with Mark hope you will understand that in by 18th of the previous month, marked Mid Elloe Magazine. these difficult times it may not always appear at the beginning of ADVERTISING EDITOR: GILL GRAPER a month and the content will be reduced. People who wish to [email protected] submit items should still do so by 01406 423803 18th of the previous month. For all enquiries about Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals please con- tact the Deanery Administrator, Caz Dennis, on 01406 423460 (office hours Mon- Thurs 9.00-1.00) For urgent pastoral issues please contact the Rural Dean – Rosamund Seal – 01406 424989 For all other enquiries please contact the churchwardens - details are in the Mid Elloe Community magazine. SEE US ON THE WEB The Magazine and details of services will be put on the new church website every month so please do check there for details of what is going on in your Parish and in the Benefice. Fleet: www.achurchnearyou.com/church/14562/ Gedney: www.achurchnearyou.com/church/14564/ Holbeach Hurn: www.achurchnearyou.com/church/14569/ Holbeach St Marks: www.achurchnearyou.com/church/14564/ 4 5 6 Belfry News Fulneys Timepiece It’s always a pleasure to visit towers other than ones own and many of these have, in addi- tion to bells, a church clock, not generally of great interest to bell ringers. They are there, chime the hours, some the quarters, some get in the way as at Tydd St Mary where a muffled curse is sometimes heard from the tenor ringer as his or her elbow clouts the too proximate clock case. Despite this they are wonderful old pieces of skillfully made ma- chinery, that at St Pauls Fulney being a prime example. A product of William Potts of Leeds it was installed at a cost of £142.7s 3d and commenced service on October 7th 1885. Weight driven, hand wound, an hour chimer it requires wind- ing at seven day intervals. Last July after clearing the debris from the bell chamber we noted damage to the chiming hammer. It appears that the tenor on some past date had been rung with the clock hammer in the “on” position, hitting and driving the hammer under the bell and hard up against its sound bow. Bearing in mind that this bell weighs just short of three quarters of a ton and assuming it was rotating through 360 degrees , whoever was on the rope must have had quite a shock. However the clock movement is in good condition and with a little lubrication on bearings and escapement, a gentle swing of the pendulum, off it went. Unfortunately although the movement is serviceable it had not run during the past 10 years, but for what reason? I think the problem at Fulney is one facing us all, ageing congregations, willing but with the usual problems of age. The time train clock weight must come in at about 100 lbs or so and has to be cranked up some 40 feet every seven days. A young lad or girl could “eat it”, but for aged persons like myself it requires quite an effort. In short they had no one to ascend the tower and wind the handle on a regular weekly schedule. Luckily their PCC secretary , Jackie Nicholson has a willing and able son, Aron, who has volunteered to do this task. As for William Potts, his company founded in 1833 ran until 1934 when it was sold to Smiths of Derby. During that time the firm made 510 hour chiming clocks of which that at Fulney is just one example. Long may it continue to tick, tell the time and when the hammer is repaired, sound the hours. John Bennett 7 FLEET CHURCH NEWS 50/50Club Winners November 1. Bert Howell 74 £25 2. Stanley Knight 50 £15 3. Wendy Goose 88 £5 Subscription renewals for 50/50 Club are due at the end of the year. Letters will be sent to all our present subscribers. For 2021 it has been decided to charge £10 for each number purchased, but also to raise the prizes to £30, £20 and £10 every month. Please find the proforma for subscribing and full details of how to pay on a separate page in the magazine. We are most grateful to everyone who supports the church in this way, particularly following this very difficult year where we have suf- fered a huge decline in income, having been unable to organise a Flower Festival or Arts and Crafts Festival. CHRISTMAS DRAW The Draw for the Christmas Raffle, organised by the Friends of Fleet group, will take place on Saturday, 12th December. Please ensure all sold ticket stubs are returned to Eileen Gilliatt at least a week before the Draw. The PCC of Fleet Church is very grateful to the organisers, for arranging this raffle and agreeing that the proceeds are to be giv- en to the Church. The full results of how much was made will be given in the Feb- ruary magazine. We would like to thank all those who have donated prizes (over 70 in total, including a television, an Alexa and £50); also our thanks go to everyone who has helped to sell the tickets and who has bought tickets – a real community effort. The money raised will ensure we can pay for the inside deep clean necessary so that the church can once again be opened in 2021. There have also been some extra costs, not paid for by insurance, but to repair roof joists before the reroofing could take place. We hope that everyone who has contributed in any way to the Raffle will be pleased to know that the proceeds have helped to ensure the church building is once again safe and in a good state of repair. 8 FLEET CHURCH NEWS November has been a busy and successful month. The Reroofing work has been completed and we are very grateful to the architect, Tim Benton, and the contrac- tors, Careys, for the efficiency and hard work that has resulted in the renewal of the area of roof that was stolen in January, before the worst of the winter weather sets in. A tremendous amount of time and effort also had to take place, completing all the necessary permission forms and the Faculty required, before any building work was allowed to take place. This voluntary labour of love was meticulously carried out by Peter Graper (former churchwarden) and Peter Bush (PCC Treasurer). An alarm system will be in place by early December and we are very grateful to the Mary Bass Charity for funding this necessity which will keep the insurance costs for the church lower. The Lych/Kissing Gate has not been forgotten. Finally, we have secured the ser- vices of the thatcher who worked on the thatched roof 15 years ago. He is able to carry out the work hopefully early in 2021. We are awaiting quotations from local builders to carry out the other work necessary. We are fairly certain that our Insur- ers will pay for all this work. The list of jobs in order to reopen the church is not complete yet. We need to get a professional deep clean done of the inside of the church, which has been somewhat taken over by the bat population! Then there is a risk assessment to be completed because of the present pandemic and finally we look forward to a time when the church can be opened for private prayer and perhaps one service every month. A year ago the PCC had been discussing some major fund raising with a view to having an inside toilet and new servery, so that Fleet Church would be able to offer an area where a variety of community events could take place regularly, alongside it being a place of worship, mission and outreach to everyone in the community. A delegation of five experts from the Diocese visited the church in November 2019 to assess the needs for the long term future of the church.