St. Mary’s, Great Henny
I have been wanting to visit St. Mary’s for some time as it is a member of the Small Pilgrim Places Network (http://smallpilgrimplaces.org) .
It is a lovely little church down a quite lane. It is well sign posted from the road. There is a nice welcome notice on the outer door to the porch.
Also in the porch are some prayer cards and seeds to scatter – both are a nice idea. Inside I found more examples of care being given towards those who visit this quiet place. There are lots of cards for sale (and even a knitted hat!), information on retreats and some of the excellent Gospel Imprint leaflets (see http://www.gospelimprint.com/). Also local cookbooks and information on retreats. There were some ‘Chelmsford Holding Cross’s’ which I have not seen before. There is an open Bible and a prayer area with resources. One omission is that there didn’t seem to be anywhere to leave prayer requests nor a church guide. There was some pictures of the vicars of the parish back to 1786 and some information about the problems they have had with woodpeckers and the spire here (this also accounts for the decoy spire in the churchyard which is meant to attract the woodpeckers). There is quite a bit on the Small Pilgrim Places Network as well.
What is much harder to describe is the atmosphere of St. Mary’s. It really is a prayerful and peaceful place which is well worth a visit. There is an entry on a church near you and a website on http://www.northhinckfordparishes.org.uk/ which is a bit of a work in progress. Also an entry on http://www.essexchurches.org.uk and some interesting stuff on walks and cycle routes at http://www.explorestourvalley.co.uk – ‘Open Doors, Sacred Doorways’.
St. Mary’s is well worth a visit. One notable thing here is a CWWGC memorial in the churchyard to a woman – Amy Coote Galley who was in Queen Mary’s Army Auxillary Corps, who died on flu on 18.10.18. There is a story to tell here!
St. Nicholas, Stevenage
There are a surprising number of old church buildings around Stevenage. One such is St. Nicholas. I found it open as every Thursday morning there is a ‘Maintenance Day’ and I was shown around by a friendly man who loves this place. This has been a common theme of this study. There is a small bookstall and some welcome leaflets. Some lights come on when you enter the building which is a help on a dull day. There is a prayer request board and a new kitchen has been built in part of the church. The church website is at http://www.saintnicholaschurch.org.uk/ and has lots on it but doesn’t seem to have any specific visitor information.
St. Andrew and St. George’s, Stevenage
This is a magnificent church in the heart of Stevenage (unfortunately divided from the shopping centre by a dual carriageway). It is the largest parish church building since the Second World War. There is the Stevenage Museum in the undercroft and a tall campanile beside the church.
I found it open – I am not sure if it regularly is. It is stunning inside and worth seeing. Modern church buildings can often be utilitarian designed for multiple uses. Not this one. It is designed to to give a sense of awe and succeeds well in this. There is a votive stand and the usual ‘Saints and Pilgrims’ book displayed but not much else for visitors which is a shame as this has a lot of potential. The church has an entry on ‘a church near you’ and there is a website which is not yet functioning on stevenagechurch.org.
This is a church well worth seeing if you get a chance .
Holy Trinity, Stevenage
Holy Trinity is in the old part of Stevenage and is open each day and gets well visited judging by the entries in the visitors book (14 already this month). When looking at this I noticed a comment that shows the value of church being open. A picture of it is shown here.
I also found the usual ‘Saints and Pilgrims’ book and a prayer request box. There is a display about the history of the church and a couple of holy water stoups, a guide and a ‘bat’ giving a potted history to carry around. There is a votive stand so that candles can be left. Holy Trinity is quite a dark church but has a prayerful atmosphere. It’s location on a busy road between the old and new towns does mean that it gets quite a few people calling in. This is very valuable as many of the comments in the visitors book show. There doesn’t appear to be a church website as such but quite good use is made of their entry on ‘a church near you’. This doesn’t have any visitor information which is a bit of an omission.
Holy Trinity is a good example of how a church’s location can enable it to be well used and it is gratifying to find it open and welcoming. Many other churches could learn from this.
St. Martin’s, Knebworth
I have been continuing my exploration of the churches of Hertfordshire and have had a chance to look around a few in the Stevenage area.
St. Martin’s was designed by the famous Sir Edwin Landser Lutyens and opened in 1915. It is a magnificent church which is open each day and is well worth a visit. The sign outside tells people that it is open. Inside, it is spacious, well loved and bright. Some parishioners were waiting for a mid week service to begin and told me about the church. They obviously thought a lot of it. For visitors I found a prayer request book, a simple guide and a welcome letter from the Rector. The Diocese of St. Alban’s ‘Saints and Pilgrims’ book is displayed (and open at the right day!). There are also cards and some books for sale as well as various booklets about the Christian faith. The church website is at knebworthparishchurch.co.uk and this has nice, clear, visitor information on the home page.
St. Edmund’s, Shipston on Stour
St. Edmund’s was open but the sign outside didn’t say so. It is quite dark inside but there is also quite a bit to see. There are guide books and some family history booklets. Also some gospels with a simple note ‘Please take one’ and some prayer cards to take away. 22 people had put entries into the visitors book this year.
There is a nice prayer area here with a prayer tree, prayer book, votive stand and some suggestions for prayers. This is all around a chapel in which the blessed sacrament is kept. This makes for a prayerful place to sit quietly for a time. Very good. There is a toilet here also. The church website is at http://www.st-edmundsshipston.co,uk which is a good site but doesn’t have any visitor information on it.
St. Margaret of Antioch, Bygrave
I think that this church might be locked normally but it was open when I called as some hedge trimming was taking place and a long lead trailed into the church. It is a quaint, simple little church in a well kept churchyard. It is signposted off the road. There was no guide booklet inside and only 2 people had put entries in the visitors book this year. All of which helped me to conclude that here was a church I was very lucky to find open. It ought to be open each day as their are neighbours how could keep an eye on it. It is also an interesting little church. Anyway, I enjoyed a picnic on a bench here and watched the world go by.
St. Nicholas, Hinxworth
A church that would be easy to miss if it wasn’t for a very welcome sign on the road. It is open each day. Steeping down to the light interior I found a very well looked after church with some nice modern pews. There were a some of the sgmLifewords booklets to take away and a display about how to help with the current refugee crisis. There is a folder of good prayers to use and the village quilt is displayed on the wall – these are always worth a look at and I admire that work that has gone into them. 40 people had signed the visitors book this year. A nice church to visit.
St. Mary, Wallington
St. Mary’s was open and proved to be an interesting church to visit. There is quite a bit of local history here as this is where George Orwell married and a copy of his marriage entry can be purchased (his real name was Eric Blair) and they make quite a bit of this connection. This is a good example of how how a connection with a famous person can be used to enhance the visitor’s experience of a church. There are various local history booklets for sale – a couple focus on George Orwell. The wider history of the place is not forgotten either.
37 people had signed the visitors book this year – several of them ramblers. Is the church on a well known walking route? ‘Saints and Pilgrims’ is displayed as well and there is a folder about the parishes World War 1 casualties. These have become common and are a welcome development. There are some wonderful old pews here (which don’t look very comfortable) which contrast with a modern altar. It is always fascinating to see how church buildings develop over the centuries.
An interesting church to visit but which could do with some way of accommodating prayer requests.
All Saints, Sandon
All Saints is an interesting church to visit. The massive brick buttresses on the tower were added in the 17th century as I assume that it was in danger of collapse. Inside, I found a parish cook book for sale (these often have very good recipes in them) and some mugs and post cards for sale. There is an area for children and a display of their work. 14 people had put entries into the visitors book this year. ‘Saints and Pilgrims’ was on display as well.
There are bats in this church and a small display told me that these are Pipestrelles, Brown Long Eared, Serotine’s and Natterer’s. It is good to see these endangered species made a feature of.
The church is beautifully kept and worth seeing. Their is a poignant memorial to a fire fighter who died whilst trying to rescue someone from a fire in a block of flats.
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