Revd. Margot Hodson
Vicar
Revd. Helen Barnes
Curate
Revd. John Race &
Revd Jonathan Hawkins
Associate Ministers
Tim Shaw &
Tricia Stradling
Churchwardens
Marie Sutton
Parish Administrator
We are the Church of England (Anglican) parish church in the village of Haddenham in Buckinghamshire. St. Mary's, Haddenham is the largest parish in the benefice of Haddenham with Cuddington, Kingsey and Aston Sandford and is part of the Diocese of Oxford. We are also responsible for the ground-breaking Cafeplus+ initiative which meets monthly in the village.
Our church services offer a variety of worship styles and activities to suit everyone. Children are very welcome. There is a crèche room for the very young in church, and also Children's Church during the Sunday mid-morning services. There is a loop system in church for those with hearing difficulties.
Our magnificently situated church building has been home for many years to a thriving Christian community. We hope that, if you are able to visit or join us, you will find space to discover more about God and the Christian faith, time for prayer and reflection, and also the opportunity to make new friends. Our aim is to be outward looking, open to all, and to share the love of God in Jesus Christ with those around us.
Over £1000 was raised on Saturday 29th January 2011 at the inaugural concert in aid of the new Friends of St Marys charity which was launched this week. At a public meeting on Thursday a constitution for the charity was proposed and approved by all present and an executive committee formed to start the work of the new organisation. Expressions of interest in membership are now being received and once a bank account has been setup, membership applications will be accepted. An annual membersip fee of £10 per annum (minimum) was proposed and agreed upon at the meeting. Registered Charity status will be sougth in due course.
Friends of St. Mary’s will promote the restoration, preservation, repair, maintenance and improvement of the historic church building, contents and churchyard. It will promote and organise fund-raising events and, in due course, grant funds to the Parochial Church Council who, with the churchwardens are legal custodians of the church building and have responsibility for its upkeep. Contrary to popular belief there is no central government or church funding for the maintenance of buildings such as St. Mary’s—work is funded partly by small grants from various charitable trusts but most money currently has to be raised by the church congregation.
There are many people in the village and beyond who would be willing to support the aims of the ’Friends’ but who would not see themselves as part of the worshipping church congregation. Membership of the ‘Friends’ and becoming involved in its activities will allow
them to show their support for an important part of the village’s heritage. ‘Friends of St Mary’s’ will be about celebrating and encouraging interest in the church building and its history.
As well as helping to raise funds, it is hoped that the ‘Friends’ will take an active role in caring for the church and churchyard. The task of maintaining a 13th Century Grade 1 listed building and over an acre of churchyard can be an onerous and financially demanding one
and it is hoped that ‘Friends’ will feel able to join the existing voluntary effort of church members to keep costs to a minimum by joining occasional maintenance working parties.
The churchyard itself is an important space—primarily for grieving—but also a significant opportunity for wildlife conservation. Recent investigations have shown the presence of long-eared brown and pipistrelle bats using the roof spaces of the church as a summer roost
and a project is under way in association with Aylesbury Vale District Council to encourage swifts to nest in specially designed boxes. Promoting wildlife conservation is therefore another area in which Friends of St Mary’s could become involved.
At this early stage we are seeking expressions of interest from those who would support the aims of the Friends of St. Mary’s and would be prepared to join us in caring for this significant building and surrounding land in this most picturesque of villages.
If you would like us to send you furhter details of membership please send Friends of St Mary's an email
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The last quinquennial report on the condition of the church building in 2007 identified the chancel roof tiles as likely to require attention within a few years. The relatively harsh winter caused further damage to the tiles on the chancel roof and with signs of the ingress of water through the north transept roof earlier this year it became clear that some costly remedial work was going to have to be carried out. An examination of the chancel roof suggested that we could defer the work on the south side but the north side tiles were in need of urgent replacement. Although it proved difficult to locate any particular point where water was entering the transept roof, the poor condition of the 50 year old roof covering suggested that it be replaced as soon as possible.
Chancel roof
Work commenced in late October 2010 and over 4000 clay tiles from the chancel roof have now been replaced with new equivalent hand-made tiles of 2 shades in order to retain a weathered appearance. We must use appropriate traditional materials when carrying out restoration work on this listed bulding and fitting the right tiles to retain the historic character of the building has proved to be a costly exercise. The picture on the left shows the roof with all the old tiles removed and with new underlay and battens fitted ready to receive the new tiles.
Before work commenced we were advised to check for signs of the presence of bats in the roof space and when this was confirmed, work was delayed until the animals had left for their winter roosts. In replacing the tiles it was necessary to retain openings for bats to return to the roof for a summer roost in order to comply with current wildlife legislation. This has been achieved by introducing special ridge tiles with openings to allow the bats to enter the roof cavity. We are assured there is no danger of the bats being able, once inside the roof, to find their way inside the church and despoil the interior with their droppings. The work is now nearly complete on the chancel roof and the new tiles look splendid. (right).
North transept roof
The north transept roof is a different story. With evidence of water damage visible in the interior of the north transept - sometimes called the 'side chapel' it was expected that there would be some remedial work required required before the roof could be replaced. When the old roof was removed in mid November, several sections of the lath and plaster ceiling collapsed and many of the timbers beneath were found to be saturated. More seriously, the central 15th Century beam supporting the roof has been found to be in poor condition at the point where it bears on the north wall. Repair work to this area had been carried out in the past and further investigations have shown that earlier reinforcement work to the wall and upright wall mounted support is satisfactory to bear the load of the beam and compensate for the short end section of eroded timber.(below left - arrowed). Yes - that is a hole in the ceiling to the left!
Following these investigations, work can now continue on making good the roof timbers and subsequent replacement of the roof.
More news will be added here as we get it!
Brown long-eared bats at St Mary's
The brown long-eared batDuring a routine inspection prior to commencing repair work on the north transept and chancel roofs, the presence of brown long-eared bats was detected using the transept roof as a summer roost. Because all British bats are protected species and it is illegal to disturb them or to obstruct their roosts we must delay the repair work on the roof until they have left their roosts to hibernate elsewhere. The roof work will not now commence until late October at the earliest.
Many churches are home to a seasonal bat population and it is no surprise that we have them too. The interests of nature conservation, building conservation and the use of a building for worship are sometimes in conflict but in our case there is little obvious sign (droppings!) of their presence in our church building. The safeguarding of the natural world is part of our Christian duty and we are pleased to be able to play our part in the conservation of these animals.
Although the Brown long-eared bat is not regarded in conservation terms as a threatened species it is nonetheless protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c) Regulations 1994. It is an offence for anyone intentionally to kill, injure or capture a bat, deliberately to disturb a bat in such a way as to be likely significantly to affect the ability of any significant group of bats to survive, breed, rear or nurture their young, or the local distribution of abundance of that species. It is also an offence to damage or destroy any breeding or resting place used by bats, or intentionally or recklessly to obstruct access to any place used by bats for shelter or protection.
