Crosstalk Lillington, St Mary Magdalene, Parish Magazine NOVEMBER 2019 1 At the Harvest Supper on 12th October. Tackling the quiz (above) and helping Hazel Baker celebrate her birthday (right). 2 FROM THE VICAR Dear Friends, How do you do your shopping? Are you someone who goes around the supermarket picking and choosing items at random as you pass them or are you someone who goes armed with a list? I am most definitely a list person. Unless I’ve got a list then I’m almost certainly likely to arrive home without the washing powder or the bread. Lists are very useful and if a piece of paper isn’t to hand then I’ll often write my list there on my hand. Carrying large amounts of information around in our heads can sometimes lead Are you someone who to things being overlooked or forgotten. goes around the Forgetting inanimate objects is one supermarket picking and thing, but forgetting people is quite choosing items at random? another. November is the month, it seems, for remembering people. We remember those who gave their lives in the service of their country and we remember those whom we have loved but have gone ahead of us. Lists are therefore an important feature in the month of remembrance. On Sunday 3rd November we will gather at the 5.30pm service to remember those who have died over the last twelve months, and be inviting their families to join with us in worship. Those wishing to remember loved ones will add other names and candles will be lit and memories cherished. On Sunday 10th November we will be around the war memorial at the base of the church tower to remember by name local people who died in the two world wars. Lists of names carefully recorded and honoured. Each name represents a life lived and prayer will be offered for God’s continued safekeeping. But can I also take this opportunity to commend another list that we read out on Sunday? Each week we publish a list of those who have particularly asked for prayer. It is a list of people, some of whom are very young, others who are very old. Each person on the sick list is a name we commend to the healing love of God. And we also remember the families of those who have recently died. Please take the hand-out and make it the focus for some of your prayers during the week. Prayer quite literally changes and transforms and lists are really very useful to those of us who from time to time forget. With every blessing William Smith. 3 WARDEN’S WORDS Do you feel a little sad when summer is over? I certainly do. However, it is good to reflect upon and value our experiences so that they are put into our own ‘memory bank’, not always relying on photographs and computers. This summer I have visited several churches in our area, plus some in Cornwall, one being the 13th century St Just in Roseland Church in the diocese of Truro and close to the River Fal. It is one of Cornwall’s most visited churches, with its 6th century Celtic heritage and its setting in a unique sub- tropical garden. There is certainly a special atmosphere and it is visited by pilgrims from all over the world, mainly due to the legend of Joseph of Arimathea bringing Jesus ashore there. Closer to home, there is our own beautiful Stoneleigh Church. Sometimes we overlook the gems we have on our doorstep. Two priests are mentioned here in the Domesday Survey of 1086 and the church was probably a wooden building at that time. I especially remember the beautiful Norman arch which is in such fine condition and certainly worth seeing. The supporting shafts contain rare carvings and the font is reputed to be one of the finest examples of late 12th century work in the country and features the twelve Apostles. Having visited the lovely town of Alcester three times since I moved here, I have become a great fan. I feel it has the atmosphere of a quintessential English market town with a wonderful community feel. The Malt Mill Lane social housing development in the centre of town has become a tourist attraction, with its mix of Elizabethan, Georgian and modern houses. A visit to Alcester would not be complete without seeing St Nicholas’ Church where people have been worshipping for nearly 1000 years. The present layout dates from 1871 when galleries and box pews were removed and replaced by a Victorian gothic chancel with transepts. 4 I made a trip to Malvern for the first time this summer and went to Great Malvern Priory. It was a monastery for 450 years until, in 1541, the church was bought for £20 by the local people to save it from destruction – what foresight and generosity they showed! They would be pleased to know that their legacy still stands as a testimony to the faith of many generations. The final visit I shall mention is a delightful trip taken in August by our Home Group to St John the Baptist Church at Hornton, led by Charlotte Sanders. Hornton is a Home Group village with a lunch at Hornton population of about 320 and is well known for its stone. The church is a good example of an ancient building (late 12th century) which has been adapted to serve as a venue for village social, charitable and cultural events. We had a very entertaining and informative talk by one of the Churchwardens who showed us with great pride the recently installed kitchen and toilet, expertly and tastefully incorporated into the church itself, as there is no space elsewhere. The biggest thrill for many of us was seeing the remains of 14th century wall paintings which once covered the south wall. The paintings that can be seen today are as a result of expert restoration in 1982. We all liked the 13th century carved owl, high up, looking down on the altar. Reflecting on these summer visits, I take with me the fact that we have a wonderful Christian heritage to explore and enjoy. Local people continue to play a part in preserving our lovely church buildings for future generations and adapting them to changing needs, encouraging people to feel welcome and inspired. Maureen Reynolds 5 The Machen Pershouse Fund Margaret Rushton of Lillington Local History Society has provided this fascinating article on the origins of one of the church’s charity funds. The Machen-Pershouse Fund is an active charity based at St Mary Magdalene’s church which supports the Love Lillington Prayer-Money- Action Grants. The grants are awarded according to need or request, by three parishioner-trustees. The Fund is named after the three donors, Col. John Machen, Ellen, his wife, and farmer Edward Pershouse, who in the 19th Century, left money in trust to the Vicar and Churchwardens, to be used in various ways to benefit the poor of the Parish. Colonel John Machen J.P. (1821-1887) John Machen was born in Scotland, the son of a Glasgow merchant and magistrate. He became a surgeon by profession, and started in practice in Dartmouth, Devon. On 8th August 1852, at St Petroc’s Church, Dartmouth, he married Ellen, widow of Robert Glason, late of H.M. 62nd Regiment of Foot and Upper Tooting. They moved to Leamington, to Lillington Lodge, close to Arnold Lodge on Kenilworth Road, where they remained for the next thirty years. In Dartmouth, John Machen had been an energetic supporter of the Volunteer movement, and in Warwickshire he played a prominent role in raising the 10th (Leamington) Warwickshire Rifle Corps in 1860, becoming its first Captain. On his retirement from the Volunteers on age grounds in 1884, he was elected its Honorary Colonel. He qualified as a Magistrate in 1860, and chaired the Kenilworth Petty Sessions, held at Milverton, from 1879. John Machen was also a well-known Freemason, holding a number of masonic offices over the years, from chairing meetings to organising charity concerts and balls. He was one of the subscribers to the Pump Rooms in 1861. He was also deeply involved in the running of the Warwick Board of Guardians, the Income Tax Commission, the Warneford Hospital, and the Dispensary. He was an honorary auditor of the County Council Treasurer’s accounts in 1861, and in 1863, was one of five justices of the peace who signed a document requiring the county council to enforce the Highways Improvement Act in the Warwick and Kenilworth District. He supported the establishment of the School for Cookery, at the Albert Hall, Kenilworth Street in 1876, where he was listed as a patron alongside Lord Leigh, Sir Eardley Wilmot, MP, Dr 6 Jephson and Mr Wise of Woodcote amongst others. For a number of years, he chaired the Lillington Local Board, where he sat from 1860 until his death, and was a Churchwarden at Lillington Parish Church. In 1869, he was secretary of the North Warwickshire Hounds, and submitted an appeal to the Leamington Courier, for subscriptions (maximum one guinea), to a testimonial for Mr Oswald Milne on his retirement from the Mastership of the NW Hounds in that year. In December 1861, following the death of Prince Albert, a meeting was convened to discuss an appropriate memorial for the town of Leamington. John Machen recommended that if Leamington were to raise a subscription in the Prince’s memory, an appropriate use of the funds would be the repair of the church or the baths, and that a special portion of either building should be dedicated to the late Prince.