President: The Lady Peyton of Yeovil, Chairman: Mr Justin Martin, Secretary: Mrs Rosemary Prince
The Friends of Crewkerne Parish Church was established in December 1994, its object being: "to beautify and assist in the maintenance of the fabric of the Parish Church …. and to preserve and protect it as a place of Christian worship".
- 'The Friends' - The Purpose
- St Bartholomew's parish church is a Grade I listed building and appears in 'The 100 most Beautiful Churches in England'. Many people value it as a magnificent and peaceful building and as an essential part of Crewkerne's history and community. Our 15th century church requires constant maintenance and repair. Routine and minor maintenance and repairs are carried out voluntarily by church members and are usually managed from within the church income donated by church members. However, the church looks to its 'Friends' for help with major and expensive works, like roof replacement.
- The Friends have made contributions amounting to more than £100,000 in the last 10 years or so towards:
- " Conservation of the stonework on the distinguished west front
" Repair of stonework around the all the windows, including the fine tracery
" Recovering of the high nave roof, and repair of the ancient timbers
The current project - renewal of three roofsThe Church Architect, in his last Quinquennial Report, advised that the lead covering to the roofs of the nave, the north aisle and the chancel should all be replaced. Having completed the nave roof, attention has turned to the north aisle roof, where evidence of damp penetration in the form of a powdery fungal growth can be seen from inside the church. With the Friends' help again, and a large donation, the Church Council has been able to let a contract for this repair, and work will be carried out in late 2009 and early 2010. The full cost will exceed £100,000.
Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there! Repair of the chancel roof must now be addressed. Although the scheme has yet to be designed, the cost may well exceed £70,000. There is currently little money available for this, so fundraising must continue. The Friends' activities will be directed at this project for the foreseeable future
- Forthcoming events are:
- Midwinter Concert: 18 December at 7.30 in St Bartholomew's
The Friends are sponsoring this concert, which sees a return by popular demand of Reg Meuross, Jackie Oates and Phil Beer. Reg is one of this country's finest singer/songwriters, Jackie is an accomplished young fiddler, singer and BBC radio 2 Folk Award winner, and Phil is the brilliant multi-instrumentalist from Show of Hands, England's finest "roots" duo. Tickets are available at the Town Hall, or by phoning Geraldine Clotworthy on 01460 76058. Last year's concert sold out, so don't leave it to the last minute!
- Membership of the Friends
- Membership of The Friends is open to anyone who is interested in the preservation of the beautiful and historic parish church of St Bartholomew's whether or not they normally attend services. The nominal subscription is £15.00 p.a., but those who wish can give more. An application form is available. If you would like to join the Friends you may download an application form in .pdf format, complete and send it to the address shown. If you would like more information on the work of the Friends of St Bartholomew's Parish Church please send an email to the address on the contacts page.
www.stbartholomew-crewkerne.org