Parish Profile
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The Benefice of Shillington, Gravenhurst and Stondon PARISH PROFILE April 2012 Page 1 Our mission is to provide a welcoming place of worship where, with open minds, we can live God’s love together within a supportive and listening community. Page 2 THE BENEFICE OF SHILLINGTON, GRAVENHURST AND STONDON PARISH PROFILE Contents The villages of Shillington, Gravenhurst and Stondon 4 The churches 6 Church Services 8 Congregation and activities 10 Publicity and finances 12 Our vision for the future 13 The new incumbent 14 Church Support and local links 15 Click on the map to see where we are Page 3 THE VILLAGES Shillington and Gravenhurst Many local activities and groups thrive including, Toddlers, Playgroup, Cubs, Brownies, Guides, Scouts, WI and a Lunch Club run by the Congregational Church. Apart from agriculture, local enterprises in the form of plant nurseries, kennels/cattery and small service industries have developed within the community. Gravenhurst is a smaller settlement of some 500 souls, set on a hill over the valley to the north and just less than two miles distant by road. It is another picturesque Set in rural Bedfordshire and surrounded by village and it and Shillington are blessed with hills and open farmland, Shillington is a as fine a network of footpaths and charming village with a population of some bridleways as one could find anywhere. Its 2000 inhabitants. own church, St. Giles, was declared Shillington originally comprised a number of redundant in 2007 and the former Parish of hamlets or “Ends” with tracks connecting Upper with Lower Gravenhurst was merged them. Now houses border the ‘figure of with that of Shillington, All Saints becoming eight’ road network of the village, with paths its Parish Church. Only a few villagers, and bridleways across the enclosed large however, make the journey. There is still areas of open meadowland. Housing some resentment in Gravenhurst about the consists of a mixture of old and new and a loss of its own village church. broad range of accommodation types. Schools Both Gravenhurst and Shillington have Lower Schools. Although neither of these is a Church School, the Vicar’s input into the schools is encouraged. School buses provide transport for children to nearby Middle and Upper Schools. Many of the older houses are recognised by their distinctive creamy yellow Arlesey brickwork. While the make-up of the population is becoming increasingly suburban, there remains a core of residents who have lived in Shillington all their lives. Shillington is served by two shops, one of which is a Post Office. There are three public houses, two of which also serve good food, and two garages/petrol filling stations. Page 4 Stondon Council and just north of the border with Hertfordshire. Stondon’s population has increased dramatically in recent years due to major housing developments on the eastern side of the village and there are now approximately 2000 residents. We are well served with various shops, hairdressers, a pub, an Indian restaurant,our own doctors’ surgery and a village hall. There is a group of small business units at Manor Farm and Rectory Farm near the church. Stondon is a thriving village situated in mid Bedfordshire, three miles from Shillington. The village includes areas known as Lower Stondon & Upper Stondon. The name "Stondon" derives from the Saxon word meaning Stone Hill. The A600, which links Bedford & Hitchin, runs along the Eastern edge of the village. Station Road connects us to Henlow RAF The Mount Pleasant Golf Club is a very camp and Shillington and runs through the attractive 9 hole golf course, with 18 different middle of the village crossing the A600. tees, covering approximately 70 acres and The village is about 6 miles from the A1 (M) the Fairway Bar and Bistro is open to road which provides a direct route from everyone. London to Edinburgh and approximately 11 Stondon Motor Museum has over 350 miles from the M1 motorway which connects examples of vintage vehicles and an London to Leeds. Lower Stondon is impressive collection of model aircraft. approximately 10 minutes from Hitchin Local activities include regular church and Railway Station and approximately 5 minutes chapel coffee mornings, WI, Stondon from Arlesey Station. Recreational Association, Mothers and Both Hitchin & Arlesley stations provide fast Toddlers group and Rainbows. rail links to Stevenage, London, Cambridge Schools We have a thriving pre-school and and Peterborough. Stondon lies 5 miles to a Lower School which has strong links to the the North of Hitchin just within the church. administrative area of Central Bedfordshire Page 5 THE CHURCHES All Saints, Shillington A fairly recent project, successfully All Saints Church sits high on a hill within the completed, was the installation of a new village Conservation Area, providing kitchen and toilet on the ground floor of the the focal point of the village and visible for bell tower. miles around, particularly impressive when flood-lit at night. Described as the ’Cathedral of the Chilterns’ by John Betjeman, the imposing Church building (Grade 1 Listed) dominates the village. There has been worship on the site since the eighth century and the oldest parts of the present church date back to the eleventh century. Such a large and beautiful old building inevitably needs a great deal of “TLC” and the community has done and continues to do exceedingly well in raising funds to finance necessary works of restoration and improvement. Most of these There are a wealth of treasures in the fabric works are co-ordinated by the very active of the church in the form of brasses, stained Friends of All Saints Church whose purpose glass windows, the peal of five bells and an is to ensure that the fabric can survive into extensive collection of graffiti. the next century and beyond. We are particularly proud of our churchyard which is extensive and which is tended by a large team of volunteers. It is designated as a County Wildlife Site and one particular area is set aside as a “wilderness” where the growth of wild flowers is especially encouraged. Page 6 All Saints, Stondon building are the font – a stone Altar Slab – a granite Piscina – and an Image Bracket. There are some fine stain-glass windows – all memorials to the Long and Lines families. The brass Lectern was presented in 1910 in memory of the Revd Hull and the brass Candelabra and Altar Pieces were presented by past Rectors. Much restoration work has been done to the church over the years, firstly in 1971-72- made possible by the generosity of Miss Hull (daughter of Revd Hull Rector from 1844 - 1890). More work was carried out in 1993-94 to extend the Vestry and last year extensive work was carried out including installing opening windows and ventilation drains to try to resolve a damp issue. There is a war memorial in the churchyard commemorating those villagers who died in the two world wars. Burials take place in the churchyard and there is ¼ acre of newly consecrated ground available. The churchyard is well maintained by local A congregation has worshipped on this site contractors and is financially supported by since at least the twelfth century – the the parish council. present church building was consecrated on March 19 1857, replacing the Norman Building of c1150. The church building is grade II listed and is under the patronage of the Bishop. Much of the old materials were incorporated into the new structure – the inner doorway of the tower dates from about 1250. Other remains from the Norman Page 7 CHURCH SERVICES Our Congregation and Worship: All Saints, Shillington Services The Electoral Roll currently numbers 66. First Sunday 9.30 am Family Service The Eucharist service is held every Sunday (with communion) morning at 9.30am. 6.00pm Choral Evensong The service on the first Sunday of the month takes the form of a Family Communion Second Sunday Service, usually led by certain members of 9.30am Holy Communion the congregation, and the hymn-book, Hymns Old & New, is used for that service. Third Sunday On other Sundays the Holy Communion 9.30am Holy Communion service is conducted using “bespoke” (and very easy to follow) service books with purple, green or gold covers according to the Fourth Sunday season and The New English Hymnal hymn- 9.30am Holy Communion book is preferred. Sunday School (aka “Sunday Club”) is held Fifth Sunday (elsewhere in the village) concurrently with 9.30am* Holy Communion the Eucharist service and the children join towards the end of the service to receive a blessing. Also on the first Sunday of the For a number of years, Revd. Jane Wheatley month, at 6.00pm., Choral Evensong (Book conducted a weekly (term-time) Bible Study of Common Prayer) is held in the Chancel. (also performing the function of Confirmation All Saints Church is fortunate to have a very Classes) and members of the Congregational able and committed Choir, competent to lead Church have joined in with this. Choral Evensong when so required. * During this Interregnum, the congregation of We have become used to special services All Saints Church is joining with that of the being held on Saints’ and certain other High Congregational Church for a United Service Days, especially in Holy Week. These tend whenever there is a fifth Sunday in the month. to be shared with Stondon, with one or other We hope that this can continue. church providing the venue. As for ecumenical links, there is a Methodist Chapel in Upper Gravenhurst whose congregation is, sadly, dwindling. Shillington’s last remaining Methodist Chapel closed just a few years ago and has recently been converted into a dwelling house, with the old “schoolroom” now housing the Village Store and Post Office.