Saint
Elsewhere...?Saint
Elsewhere...?
Hints as to the existence of
another St Faith dedication, in Little Wittenham, Berkshire (June 12th: note
below)There is, of course, the French shrine at Conques, which you can
read about on the 'Saint Faith' page (follow this
link). Below are features on some of the churches and places which
we have discovered: new discoveries are flagged up at the top of this
page and added towards the bottom. Finally, in THE
DIRECTORY, you can
see
the expanding list of all the
dedications
of which we are aware. The current, very provisional, total of churches
past and present
and
other buildings associated with St Faith's name is 55
(plus a ship, a crematorium, a rare token... and even a garage and a
pub)
Saint
Faith by any other name
June
12th, 2009. An entry giving the purported story of Saint Faith,
in an 1866 document sent to us by Mrs Mary Rae, descendant of our
founder, Douglas Horsfall, mentions a dedication 'in the names of Saint
Faith and All Saints, in Little Wittenham. Berks.' Upon investigation,
the church in that place is dedicated to St Peter, but a footnote to
one web page mentioning the place does indeed refer to the quoted
dedication. Pending further enlightenment, the church has been added
provisionally to the foot of the list of
English churches dedicated to 'our saint'.
The Maori
Saint Faith's
The photographs
are of a New Zealand St Faith`s. This is at Ohinemutu, Rotorua, and is
shared by Maori and Pakeha people in worship.
The lakeside building is
adorned with a distinctive window showing Christ walking on the water.
April 15th, 2009:
three new pictures of the church
brought back from a visit by Mrs Joan Utley
November 13th, 2008: A fully
illustrated feature on the church, based
on its guidebook, can be seen HERE
 St Faith's with the statue of Queen Victoria |
 St Faith's by moonlight |
 St Faith's across the lake: early morning |
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Saint Faith in the Golden Valley: Dorstone, HerefordshireTraditionally it is stated that Richard de
Brito,
one of the murderers of Thomas a Becket founded a chapel in the
neighbourhood
of this church in expiation of his crime. Stones found at the site of
the
church during two of its rebuildings indicate a date of 1256 and it is
considered that the original church on the site was founded by Johannes
de Brito who died in 1275. There is, however, a belief that a church
existed
on the site before the Norman conquest and that Richard de Brito added
a chapel to it. The church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. During one
of the rebuildings a tomb, thought to be that of Johannes de Brito, was
accidentally broken into and accompanying the bones of a tall man were
an ancient pewter Chalice and Paten together with fragments of silver
thread.
The
ancient church
was taken down in 1827 and a poor structure, in the old church warden
style,
was substituted, this new church being dedicated to Saint Faith. This
church
was removed some 50 years later and a new one erected in 1889, the new
building being designed by Messrs. Nicholson & Son of Hereford as
nearly
as possible on the lines of the old church. Some items were retained
including
the four bells, three from the 17th century and one from the 16th. The
present church consists of a Chancel, nave, South Porch and a Western
Tower
which retains the 13th century tower arch. Examples of the old church
have
been preserved and inserted in the Chancel.
It is believed that behind the date stone in the east wall of the
church is a glass bottle containing one of each of the coins in
circulation
in 1889. Below the foundation stone of our church there is also a glass
bottle containing coins in circulation during 1898, the year the
foundation
stone was laid. Another interesting point is that the two churches have
associations with Archbishops of Canterbury. St Faith`s, Dorstone
appears
to have originated due to the murder of an Archbishop of Canterbury,
Thomas
a Becket, whilst Robert Runcie is an "old boy" of St Faith`s, Crosby. Rare bats’ roost discovered in DorstoneBats in the belfry are not unusual in our churches, but St. Faith’s at Dorstone is home to not just one, but two of the rarest species in Europe. Conservation officers at Natural England have been alerted to the presence there of Barbastelle and Lesser Horseshoe bats. The discovery was made by ecologist Eric Palmer who has been radio-tracking Barbastelles in the Golden Valley and tracked one to St. Faith’s. He said the bats had chosen a well-appointed roost. He hoped their presence was not causing concern to the parishioners at Dorstone. They knew they had bats but were unaware how special their guests were. “We were thrilled that these two bats have been identified as in our church,” Ray Birchenough, a local naturalist and member of the congregation said. The Rector, Roger James, added, “I had no idea we were sheltering such an illustrious animal. I have only heard grumbles about the mess bats can cause.” (with thanks to Peter Stokes: update added February 25th, 2008) |
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One of the car/passenger ferries operated
by WightLink
between Portsmouth and Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight is called St
Faith. This 2968 ton ferry was built in Selby, Yorkshire in 1990
and
is named after the church of St Faith in Cowes, Isle of Wight. The ship
can carry 1000 passengers and 142 cars; her service speed is 12.5
knots.
Sister ships on the same route are St Catherine, named after
the
point of land on the Isle of Wight, St Helen, named after a
village
in the east of the island, and St Cecilia, named after the
nunnery
at Ryde. The names were given by the then operators, Sealink. A new
addition to the fleet is the St Clair.
September 2004 update (thanks to David Fairclough). During the D- Day celebrations on June 5th this year, the “St Faith” was the only passenger ship cruising off the Bar Channel at Southsea and around the Solent, carrying many veterans to watch the departure of the naval convoy to France for the weekend commemorations. Her passengers were issued with 1940s style ration books in
order to
obtain breakfast and a drink onboard. It wasn’t the first time the ship
had been charted by the veterans: she was used in 1994 for the D-Day
review
cruise.
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The Rev'd Paula Porter Leggett, Rector of our namesake church in Canada, has told us about her Saint Faith's.
'The Christian Community of St. Faith is an Anglican congregation of the Diocese of New Westminster, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The parish was founded in the post-war boom in September of 1947, and used a one-room building for worship, banquets and even badminton. The present church building was built in 1955, with the first worship being held on Easter Sunday. The mortgage on that building was "burned" in 1969, at which time the building was consecrated.
We tell the story of St. Faith every year now on the Sunday closest to October 6th, but from my reading I believe the primary reason the church was named for St. Faith was to make a connection to the Church of England, particularly St. Paul's Cathedral where the remains of an ancient church dedicated to St. Faith exist, as well as a connection to the chapel of Westminster Abbey. Today the church is thoroughly 'Canadian,' seeking to include people of all ages, cultures and abilities. The last historical commentary written about the parish (1997) remarks that the parish has always 'been in the forefront of Anglican church renewal' and that 'from the outset the focus of the parish has been to "equip the saints for ministry".' Liturgical flexibility and creativity with continuity continue to be nurtured here. While changes in the neighbourhood and world have reduced the size of the congregation substantially, equipping the saints at all ages and stages of life, and taking the love of Christ into the world in practical and compassionate ways continue to characterize this community of St. Faith.' '
(See below for an older St Faith's presence in Canada)
Saint
Faith in Australia
St Faith’s, Montmorency,
Melbourne
Parishioner Barbara Talbot writes below about her Australian Saint
Faith’s.
Montmorency is a hilly, treed suburb some 15 kms north of Melbourne. It was originally built as a church primary day school at the instigation of the daughter of Bishop Arthur Green. It was opened in 1918, attached at first to the Parish of Diamond Creek with Greensborough, then became a parish in its own right in 1962.
The building was designed as a school with a recess which could be curtained off as a sanctuary for occasional church services. When the school was closed in 1921 the building became exclusively used as a church. Since the 1950s the site has been built up and the building expanded, and now has a hall, a kindergarten and various ancillary rooms.
In terms of churchmanship, St Faith’s Montmorency is ‘middle of the
road’, with candles and vestments. The Patronal Festival is celebrated,
and the main Sunday service is a Family Sung Eucharist. As with so many
churches, there are very few younger people in the church these days.
The
parish priest is Scott Bramley, and Barbara Talbot is happy
to be contacted at barbtalb@techinfo.com.au
Countdown to Closure
On January
16th, 2007, we were sorry to receive this sad email from Barbara Talbot
A Happy New Year to all at St Faith's,
Crosby, from Australia. Unfortunately we are in for a busy year here at
Montmorency. The Bishop has decided that it is time for us to move on.
We have been a part-time parish for the past ten years. On May 27th,
2007, we will have a Celebratroy Memorial Service, June 3rd will be our
Deconsecration Service and then we are off to Eltham to worship at St
Maragret's Church. St Faith's Church Montmorency will then close its
doors.
I have been here since February 1960, and
know that when the time comes it will be a sad time. We have to go
through the memorials, gifts, faculties, contents etc and this work is
keeping us too busy to feel the sadness yet. Eltham is only a couple of
kilometres away. Like Montmorency it is hilly and treed, with a lot
of mud brick homes and an artist area.
Regards to you all,
Barbara Talbot
Saint Faith has given her name, not to a church as
such,
but to an area to the north of the city of Norwich with associations
with
our saint and with her Abbey at Conques, in southern France, dating
back
to the early Middle Ages. The village of Horsham
St Faith, and the adjacent smaller village of Newton St Faith,
bear
her name, as does the Norwich
City Crematorium (see new
addition at the foot of this item: March 2008) and the airfield
nearby.
Thoughts
on a
PilgrimageSee also 'A
Cinderella Church' below for another Norfolk discovery - not in Great
but in Little Witchingham!
Saint Faith in Wales
‘Faith to Faith’
'Our Church is about 45 years old and, like yours, is red brick built. It looks a bit like a health centre! It is a modern-style, dual-purpose building, with a good stage at one end and ‘God’s end’, which is full of Frank Roper metalwork and unusual coloured glass [large chunks set into the east wall, as opposed to a stained glass window] at the other.
St. Faith’s,
Llanishen, is
the daughter church of the parish; the main church is a centuries-old
stone
building in excellent repair and dedicated to the Welsh saint, Isan.
For many
years St. Faith’s has been the poor relation, with little money or care
spent
on it, except that its congregation love it. But I love St. Faith’s
too, and
during the recent interregnum, which lasted nearly a year, and now with
the
added bonus of encouragement from my new Vicar, I have been encouraging
the
people to ‘see what we can do about our church’ We have already raised
over
£5,000 pounds and bought new chairs, done some decorating,
increased our
congregation and better served the local community and social projects
in
Cardiff.
2005: Gillian later moved elsewhere in South Wales, and has
retired from full-time ministry, but we
remain
in contact with her and with 'her' Saint Faith's.
2008: A link to Gillian's photographs
of the tiny St Faith's Church at Welsh Newton Common, Hereford, appears
below or can be accessed HERE
More
news from St Faith's, Llanishen in 2008
Gillian has provided us with a
selection of
photos, taken by her son, of her previous parish. the one below shows
the church banner in the sanctuary at Llanishen.
Follow this
link for a separate page of words
and pictures,
uploaded on January 30th, 2008.
One of the more unusual churches dedicated to our
patron saint was the chapel of Stanley Royd Hospital in Wakefield,
which
previously rejoiced in the name of the West Riding Pauper Lunatic
Asylum:
the name inscribed on the church silver. It has been closed for some
years
now, and abandoned, but it was, according to a history of the
institution,
a place of refuge and peace, big, but never frightening or impersonal.
Patients
came down there from the wards, into a church
with two lofty naves and no transepts. The organ was at the end of one
nave and at the other a magnificent stained-glass window, picturing
members
of various hospital professions with patients. Beneath it, a real
patient
had painted an unforgettable Last Supper, with the thirteen figures all
bearing the same haunted face.
Social
segregation was built into the architecture of this St Faith’s. The
arches
separating the twin naves strictly separated male patients and staff
from
female ones. In later years, all this changed, and the far smaller
congregation
used only part of one nave. But to the end, as the chaplain relates,
‘the
church never changed, so that all the time, at every service, I was
conscious
of the special role of this particular church – to be a focal point for
the hospital’s purpose of caring and healing. It is abandoned now. Then
it was the heart of the asylum.'
(With
thanks to the
Revd Roger Grainger and Mrs
Angela Capper for information)
Thanks to a contact from local resident Mark Davies, who specialises in
recording some of the fading glories of the past in his area, we can
now link to a gallery of his evocative photographs (two of which appear
below) of the closed and
decaying church, as well as many images of the whole complex which it
served. The Asylum/Hospital is a magnificent piece of Victorian
architecture, ornate and spacious and highly decorated, and it is sad
to see it unused and at risk from vandals.
Mark's pictures, with accompanying text, may be
seen by following THIS
LINK within our site. Featured are the fine east window, and
atmospheric pcitures of the decay of this fine church.
Follow THIS LINK for Mark's original
'silverstealth' webpage, featuring the pictures and text reproduced
from our feature above.
By clicking on THIS LINK
you can explore the rest of the building; from there the gallery links
supplied access further pages about the origins, history and present
state of this fine building, haunted by memories of its past.
.
(February
3rd - 5th, 2008)
Another Australian Saint Faith's
Ian Gibson writes about Saint Faith's, Burwood, near Melbourne
The parish was established at the end of the 19th century. At the
time
the church was in an orcharding area, and for many years it was at the
terminus of a tramline that went into central Melbourne. The suburb
really
took off in the baby and building boom immediately after WWII, and that
really marked the transition to a fully fledged suburban parish.
The church is unusual. The nave is circular, with a sanctuary incorporated in an extended elongation of the nave and a chapel and (once baptistry, now oratory) at the north and south sides of the nave. It was an important new architectural direction when the church was built in 1957: this was still a decade before Vatican 2!
Since about 1950 the parish has always had priests in the Catholic (and almost always liberal Catholic) tradition, although at the milder and unfussed end of the spectrum - the parishioners are firmly "middle" church, and there is virtually no liturgical formalism.
We have a collection of reproductions from Conques around the parish premises, but the image that would interest you most is an icon written some 15 years ago by a parishioner in vivid colours. This is now in the oratory.
The parish takes very seriously St Faith's patronage of prisoners, and links this dedication to its support for Amnesty International. (I am personally a current member of the International Executive Committee of AI.)
(added May 31st, 2005)
To mark the 1700th anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Faith, this icon, by Eva Vlavianos, was commissioned at Conques.
The Bishop's Messengers and St Faith's
A little book, published in 1950 (priced at two shillings!) by The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, supplied to me by Fr Dennis Smith, and whose cover is reproduced above, tells a remarkable story. The St Faith’s of the title is in the Brandon Diocese of the Anglican Church in Canada, and it was there that Miss Marguerita Fowler came from England fairly early in the last century and founded the Canadian ‘Bishop’s Messengers’ to spread the gospel, and establish schools and missions over a very large area. Starting at Swan River Valley, then the northern limit of the main settled area, and a parish itself some 400 miles square, she and her workers extended their influence over the vast areas leading north to Hudson Bay.
The Mother House of this lay order (it seems never to have been monastic as such, although they wore distinctive clothing, created a Rule, recited daily offices and held retreats) became known as a true household of faith. "We called the house St. Faith's because we already had a vision of the work opening in many directions, and we realized we were out on "venture of faith",' Miss Fowler wrote in 1931. She and her helpers worked tirelessly in remote areas, both with white settlers and with the Siioux Indians, and established Sunday Schools and medical facilities.
She retired eventually to England where she died in 1970. An internet search of the current Diocese shows no trace of St Faith’s name, the mother house having been renamed and its purpose changed, although the scattered mission outposts her team helped to set up exist today as staffed Anglican parishes. What also remains is a plaque in Brandon Cathedral, recorded on its website. It reads
To the Glory of God
and in memory of Margeurita (sic) D. Fowler O.B.E.
Founder of Bishop’s Messengers of St Faith’s 1928,
Born 1884 –Died 1970.
It was placed there, according to the Cathedral, ‘on Feb. 26, 1973 in honor of a great pioneer lady whose vision and fervent dedication to a calling has furnished the people of Swan River and surrounding areas with a unique experience in courage, Christian love and charity.’
The little book (apparently quite a rarity) tells the story of this indomitable Anglican lady. She chose our patron’s name for its meaning rather than its story, but her life and work add a very real lustre to the long story of Saint Faith and all those associated with her down the centuries.
(29 August 2005)
The St Faith's Token
The ubiquitous Google internet search engine throws up some intriguing oddities. The St Faith’s Token, illustrated above, is a rare South African coin, whose origins seem to be obscure, but which is recorded on numismatic websites. Here is what one such site says:
‘Some rare South African tokens from
the Umzimkulu region: St
Faith's
Token.
The first St Faith's token "discovered" by a numismatist (Scott Balson) – as recorded in Dr Theron's 1980 book on South African tokens. Not much is known about these tokens but there is a Roman Catholic Mission, if you dare cross a real scary old timber bridge over a deep gorge in the St Faith's, Umtentweni, district East of Ixopo. Up to date, three or four St Faith's tokens have been found - the value of this token being about R3750,000 and although this token is rare, it can still be purchased today.’
More than this I have been unable so far to discover, having drawn a blank on Umtentweni and its ‘real scary old timber bridge’. Another website reckons the St Faith’s 6d token to be actually unique, and values it at $3,000. It would be interesting to discover more about the Mission, its connection with our patron and the origin and use of these tokens.
(29 August, 2005)
Saint
Faith in Pennsylvania
In March, 2007, I received this email, informing us of the existence
of yet another St Faith's church - this time in Havertown,
Pennsylvania; as a result, the church was added to the 'foreign' list
below.
'I was rector of Saint Faith parish in the
Blessings and peace,
The Rev. Robert H. Brown'
And at the beginning of April this charming picture, from the same correspondent was emailed to us.
Web search reveals that the current Rector is the Reverend Patricia
A. Oglesby; interestingly all the references in Google refer to 'Saint
Faith Church' rather than sporting the usual apostrophe.
(feature added April
2nd, 2007)
St
Faith's
for Sale
(added September
7th, 2007: directory list amended accordingly!)
Peter Stokes (St Faith and St Laurence, Harborne, Birmingham: see the
entry for this church above), supplies
this sad sales pitch from a recent Sunday Times.
IS IT
WORTH IT?
St Faith's Church, Belper Lane End.
Derbyshire, £200,000
What it is: St Faith's is a
deconsecrated stone church at Belper Lane End, in the Derwent valley.
It is named after a teenager from southern France who was martyred in
AD304, or thereabouts, for refusing to make pagan sacrifices. Built in
1890 (for £304) as a chapel of ease to the larger Christ Church,
it was attended by the nuns of the convent of Saint Laurence, an
Anglican order, and served as a Sunday school. The last service was in
2005: the Anglican diocese decided to sell because the congregation had
shrunk to just two people. The hamlet is on the outskirts of Belper, a
bustling market town that serves as a gateway to the Peak District. It
is 10 miles from Derby and 25 from Nottingham. The agent has set a
deadline for sealed bids — on the official form — of noon this
Wednesday, September 5.
The problems: The church is
effectively a shell, and the adjoining vicarage has been turned into a
meeting hall. The diocese still owns it, and the ecclesiastical
trappings, including the altar, the pews and the font, have not been
removed. It is described as a "hot potato" by the selling agent — an
attempt to win residential planning permission has failed on appeal, so
a buyer is taking a big risk if they want to move in anytime soon. The
community has set up a website to save the property.
The advantages: More than 75
brochures have been sent out since St Faith's was put on the market in
midsummer. "It has created immense interest," the agent says, "but
without the residential consent, turnout on viewing days has been low."
Approval for residential use would almost double the asking price.
December
23rd, 2007: Latest news from St Faith’s, Belper Lane End
Jenny Raynor, wife of a
previous curate at St Faith’s, describes a
recent visit to the church
'Belper is a relatively small
town, so we thought there would be no
difficulty in finding St Faith’s Church. Within a few minutes, we found
what was once the Convent of St Lawrence and has since been converted
into trendy (and obviously expensive) apartments. Across the road was a
congregational church and the parish church of St Peter was just down
the road. Local people had heard of St Faith’s, but no one seemed able
to tell us where it was. Eventually the offices of the local paper came
to our rescue and pointed us in the right direction. Even so, we
stopped at a grocer and newsagent’s shop to check the directions and it
was here that we heard the full tale. The shopkeeper and her family had
been leading lights in the church for almost a lifetime and had seen
numbers fall off. It was united with Christ Church, Belper at the
bottom of the hill where some of the practices (e.g. the use of
incense) were not considered best suited to St Faith’s (Belper, that
is). In time, a plan was put forward to close St Faith’s and use the
proceeds to fund a youth worker.
There is some debate as to whether the church has actually been sold,
and to what purpose it will be put. While it is said that there is a
covenant that it cannot be converted into living accommodation, the
word on the street is that it might become a wine bar (though we felt
it was too far from the town centre to be a realistic proposition).
One of the more curious aspects of the building is the apparent housing
tacked on to the east end, which look for all the world like two
houses. As it is so far from the convent (probably a couple of miles),
we wondered whether some of the sisters lived in the houses and so were
able to worship in the church.
The other interesting fact we picked up is that the ‘church’ is
probably more active now than it had been for some years leading up to
its closure. They recently held a well-attended Harvest service on the
field opposite the church and have plans for other activities, too.'
The Raynors' photographs below show the church, and a poster giving
evidence
of the strong local support for the church.
Watch this space – or, if anyone hears more, please let us know.
=
Room at
the Inn for St Faith's!
A recent feature
in the Sunday Telegraph
brought to light a new church dedicated to our patron saint -
at Dunswell, north of Hull. The church, a daughter church of St
John, Newland, was damaged in the devastating floods to hit the area
last summer. As a result, the congregation have for some months been
worshipping in the Ship Inn at Dunswell.
The article reproduced below tells the story. The church has its
own website - follow this link - which will also give access to
other newspaper articles, with some equally dreadful headlines!
The people
of St
Faith's, who will worship in their village hall and, of course, their
local, over Christmas, hoped to be back in business in their church on
January 13th, 2008.
Singing
Saint Faith
January 8th, 2008
Thanks to ex-chorister Miriam Jones, we have discovered the existence of a hymn tune bearing the name of our patroness. It was written by George E. Lewis, believed to have been a one-time organist at our church, and is headed 'Hymn Tune and Double Chant'. The words of the well-known hymn, praying for peace and protection at night time, are by John Keble (17982-1866), founder of the Oxford college which bears his name. We await further enlightenment about Mr Lewis, and look foward to a 21st century revival of the opus, perhaps at a future Evensong!
Saint Faith's in retirement in East Yorkshire!
January 12th, 2008
A
church dedicated to Saint Faith existed in the village of Leven, in the
East Riding of Yorkshire, until its demolition in 1844. Information
gathered from various websites tell us that this medieval church stood
one and a quarter miles from the middle of the present village. The
church, in use from 1350 to 1843, was probably preceded by an earlier
wooden church of the same name. Although the church itself is no longer
standing, the old graveyard is still there with tombstones which are
still readable. The present Holy Trinity church in Leven was
consecrated in 1845 on a site on the main road and beside an already
established village. A pilgrimage is made each year by villagers from
Holy Trinity to St Faith's where a short service is held. The old St
Faith’s Rectory, sited on the Beverley road on the outskirts of the
village, is now known as Abbeyfield House, a residential home for
senior citizens. A settlement of flats and bungalows houses about 20
senior citizens, with a resident warden. The late, Mrs Kathleen
Vickers, the mother of Mrs Angela
Capper, wife of Fr Richard Capper, one time vicar of our St Faith’s in
Great Crosby was a residen there up to the time of her death.
Further research reveals that there was a medieval fair held in Leven
on St Faith’s Day, presumably then as now October 6th. The church,
seemingly made of brick and boulders, is reported to have been in
disrepair during the 16th and 17th century, and was largely demolished
in 1844. It appears that the chancel remained for a time for funerals
until the closing of the churchyard in 1876 and the demolition of the
remaining part of the building in 1883.
The ‘new’ church in the village, contains part of a 9th century cross
shaft, a late 13th-century font and the head of a 15th-century cross
from the old St. Faith’s churchyard., as shown below. Finally, a
separate source records the probable existence of a medieval holy well,
now buried, in the vicinity of the old church.
Saint Faith's for the Future
Under the headline 'Makeovers breathe new life into village churches', the Daily Telegraph for March 22nd, 2008, featured rural churches which, faced with dwindling populations and congregations, are finding ways of surviving and diversifying.
Among them is our namesake church in the little village of Hexton,
in Hertfordshire, about which the article simply says that they have
'built a kitchen and laid a new wooden floor, allowing the nave area to
be used by playgroups, youth clubs and the local primary school. It has
also hosted fashion shows, concerts and a farmers' market.' The article
was accompanied by the photograph below.
Google search however reveals that they also have a website, which
explains more about the perilous state from which the building has been
rescued and its imaginative use. Part of its home page reads:
'St Faith's building has a fine East Window by Harry Stammers, two Georgian pulpits, and an 1820 organ. In 1947 two sides of the tower collapsed. In 1961 thieves stripped the lead off the roof. The nave deteriorated into a damp and seldom used space, though regular worship continued in the chancel. A restoration project began in 1994. In 2000 the whole village decided to refurbish the nave as both a church and a community centre. This was completed in 2006. Now the nave, known as St. Faith’s Community Centre, is in daily use by groups, the playgroup, the school (which has no hall) youth club and WI. St. Faith’s was among the twelve national prize winners for ‘The Best Church Building for the Future, 2005’.
It is great to hear of this success story, and we wish St Faith's, Hexton, every blessing for the future. Visit their website for more words and pictures.
Feature
added March 26th, 2008.
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Saint Faith's with a Tin Roof! |
The little Church of St Faith, Welsh Newton Common, in the Diocese
of Hereford and close to the Welsh border, is likely to be the smallest
of the churches dedicated to our patron.
Thanks to the Reverend Gillian George-Rogers, now of Monmouth but once
of St Faith's, Llanishen (the only known Welsh dedication), we
can add a page of words and pictures -
follow THIS
LINK to see the building inside and out and to learn that
small can certainly be beautiful! (online May 13th,
2008)
From the top of the
spectacular Portsmouth Spinnaker Tower, 'our' ship sails in from the
Isle of Wight in May, 2008