All Saints Church – November 2011

Our recent Festival on the theme of Baptisms Through the Ages at East Garston, has shown again just how fascinated we are in our history, heritage and treasures that recapture the past. Parishioners kindly lent their precious family memorabilia for us to exhibit and share. Our priceless ancient Baptism registers, which record every person baptised at East Garston Church since 1554, (before Queen Elizabeth 1st came to the throne) were on display. People marvelled at being able to study these documents not from behind a glass case, but to actually touch and (gently) turn the pages. Someone said to me “Is that the actual book dating back to 1554 and not a transcript or copy?” They were told yes, it is the actual book with the original spine.

When collecting the registers, I asked Dr Peter Durrant – The County Archivist, to tell the story of how Baptism registers came to be in existence from so long ago: In 1538 churches were first required to keep records of Baptisms. However not all parishes responded dutifully or uniformly to this decree. Interestingly though, a few parishes have records going back even earlier than 1538 – Letcombe Regis records start in 1536, though it may have been that the parish responded retrospectively to the decree in 1538 and tried to remember Baptisms of previous years.

In 1597 the requirement for records to be kept was tightened and it was decreed that Baptisms, Marriages and Burials now needed to be recorded in parchment books. Entries from earlier paper registers had to be copied in to these new books. It seems that people were not quite sure how far back they should go, and many parishes copied only from the beginning of Queen Elizabeth’s reign in 1558. The Lambourn registers, which date from 1560, must have been created as a result of this Act.

In 1754 Marriages now had to be recorded on pre-printed forms, with Banns called and recorded as present day. Before this time there is the suggestion that some clandestine Marriages were taking place with people moving to other parishes to be married. The records were not uniformly kept and though Banns should have been called before 1754, they were only very seldom recorded.
In 1812 an Act was passed requiring Burials and Baptisms also to be recorded on pre-printed forms.

1837 marks the introduction of Civil Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths. Before this point, the only records held were those of the church, which reminds us just how priceless and irreplaceable they are.
The Revd Tony Cumberlidge has been instrumental in developing a strong link with The Berkshire Records Office. Dr Durrant welcomes this interactive relationship, where, because our parishes show a high regard for and interest in the records of our past, he is able to entrust us to withdraw them temporarily, for special occasions, rather than them being perfectly preserved, but unseen, at The Record Office.

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We are currently preparing for our Harvest Festival, which takes place on 16 October. This is to be a Family Service followed by Harvest Lunch in the Village Hall. We have been struck, particularly since our celebration of Lammas, by how important it is to the parish to keep alive countryside traditions.

A few weeks ago in the Church Times, Ronald Blythe (of Akenfield fame), wrote of the diary of Victorian country clergyman Francis Kilvert, who first served as a Curate in his father’s parish near Chippenham. Francis began to write a diary, when he was 30. This spans 1870 – 1879 when Francis tragically died of peritonitis one week after returning from honeymoon, aged only 39. In his diary, Francis describes the decorations at his first Harvest Festival when he was a Curate at Clyro in Radnorshire.

In keeping with this we have decided to replicate the decorations that Kilvert describes, at our Harvest Festival at East Garston Church next weekend. So we shall be fixing sheaves shaped as St Andrew’s crosses on the walls of the church, linked together with a garland, not of wild hops as referred to by Kilvert, but of Old Mans Beard and bunches of grapes. We shall also have a cross of white flowers floating in the font, as he described and hopefully ”rare and magnificent ferns lining the altar steps”. This will be in addition to the children’s decorations, the autumn foliage and our Harvest Sheaf of course.

This preservation of ancient customs is aligned to another of our Vicar’s convictions, with which we readily concur : that we are stewards holding our church in trust, for generations of East Garston people yet unborn.

All Saints Church – September 2011

On July 31, East Garston hosted a celebration of Lammas tide –the beginning of the harvest season when traditionally a loaf was made from the first of the newly harvested grain and presented to the church. On a glorious summer morning 40 of us came together for services in three locations - PJS’s agricultural machinery yard, then high up to the top of the downs overlooking the valley and finally to the allotments on the other side of the valley. Each service led by The Revd Tony Cumberlidge included a talk illustrating an aspect of growing crops and harvest. We concluded with a splendid lunch in the Village Hall.

There is not room here, to do justice to this most memorable occasion, which painted a mosaic of life in a thriving rural parish, so we have decided to have an exhibition at our Harvest Festival on 16 October, when we can display photographs, name all the principals who took part and thank everyone properly, who contributed and came. In the meantime, please click here to view the Lammas photographs and commentary posted on the web site. Thank you to everyone who came or took part.

The church is responsible again for the cake stall at the village garden fete at Parsonage Farm on 3 September. So we are asking the parish once again please to support us as you have done so magnificently in the past, by baking cakes or savouries for the stall. Thank you if you can help us. Freddie and Sue Tulloch who are organising the fete, have generously arranged for the church to be a major beneficiary from the proceeds of the fete.

Our Festival on September10 and 11th is now taking shape. The overall theme is Baptisms through the Ages at East Garston and we would very much appreciate the loan of orders of service, baptism certificates, gowns, photographs and any other memorabilia, for our exhibition. We are wanting to feature baptisms of long ago as well as the recent ones. The County Archivist has agreed that we are able to have all our (six) baptism registers on display – the earliest dating from 1554.

The programme is too full to detail here, but the publicity campaign will begin shortly. We are very pleased to have a return visit of guest artists: Joya Logan – contralto, Andrew King – organist and the Wantage Youth Brass – who play for us at our Remembrance Service, at our Concert on Saturday evening 10th September. Those who came to the Christmas Concert will have fond memories of these artists.
If you would like to help in any way with the festival, we would be most grateful - please contact Sally 648 679. Thank you.

All Saints Church – August 2011

Happily the Revd Tony Cumberlidge is now back with us, taking our services again. As there is a fifth Sunday in July, it is East Garston church’s turn to host a joint service. Since August 1st is Lammas Day, we have decided to celebrate this ancient church countryside festival on 31 July, by having short services “in the field”.

Lammas, like Plough Sunday and Rogation is not as well known as Harvest, but in by-gone years
It marked the start of the harvest season, by the baking of the first loaf made with the newly harvested grain.
We will meet at 10.30am in the yard at the agricultural machinery company of PJS, (in centre of East Garston) for our first short service. We will then go high up on the side of the Lambourn Valley for our service overlooking the ripening grain fields, and thirdly we will return to the centre of East Garston to the Allotments and then to the Village Hall for a parish lunch.

 

We are very pleased to welcome a young couple from Manchester, Lee Mitchell and Kimberley Ainsley, who are to be married at East Garston church on 20 August. The Marriage Measure of October 2008 has made it possible for people to be married in churches outside the parish where they live, providing that they have a qualifying connection with the parish in question. Lee’s great grandmother and grandmother were brought up in East Garston and both are buried in East Garston Churchyard. The family have relatives in the village and the couple have visited the parish and the church over several years and see their marriage with us as part of “coming home”. We are very happy that this couple’s marriage in our church has now been made possible and we are looking forward to their special day.

 

There will be more next month about our Festival on 10th and 11th September, when we are having an overall theme of Baptisms through the Ages at East Garston. In addition to the concert on Saturday evening, we are having an exhibition of the fifty most recent Baptisms, as well as photographs and memorabilia of Baptisms going back in time. The County Archivist, with whom we have a very good relationship, is keen to help us by allowing us to display our Baptism Registers at the exhibition. We may not be able to have the most ancient one which dates from 1554, but we are hoping so.

 

We shall also be using our 16th century and 17th century silver chalices at our Holy Communion Service on Sunday morning. On Sunday afternoon, we are having a special Family Service of Re-affirmation of Baptism Vows, when the 50 most recently baptised children and adults, and all who have been baptised at East Garston previously –( if they wish) will be invited to the altar rail for a blessing by The Revd Tony Cumberlidge. We will be pleased to welcome all who wish to come to the service and we will conclude with a tea-party for all, afterwards in the Village Hall.

Please contact Sally 01488 648 679, if you have memorabilia of Baptisms (present day as well as going back in time ) that you would be prepared to let us display – thank you.