The project to restore St Peter and St Paul involves plans to establish a local history research centre that will act as an archive of information relating to all periods of history at the church and the village of Algarkirk.

Local residents are being encouraged to participate in the development of the heritage centre through a range of researching and recording opportunities. A small group of residents are already busy cataloguing documents, recording oral histories and mapping the churchyard.

The whole of Algarkirk cum Fosdyke is included in the Acre Books which divide the areas into 32 sections, each section called a Bounder. Volunteers Ashley and Madeleine Fox have begun to map the history of their ‘Bounder’ using the Acre Books of 1734 and 1813. The books, which were primarily used at the time for the collection of rent, reveal a wealth of information including old road names, key places, who lived where, what rent was paid and to whom.

There are opportunities for local residents to each record the history of their own Bounder, with help and advice from the research team.  Training is also available for those who are interested in delivering guided tours of the Grade I medieval church at the centre of this project.  

An online collection of images, videos, sound recordings and text has been set up on the historypin website, view it at http://www.historypin.org/en/algarkirk. If you would like to contribute to the collection you can do so be creating a free account on the historypin website, or by contacting the Algarkirk research team. 

To find out more about how you can get involved with this exciting project please contact algarkirk@heritagelincolnshire.org or call 01529 461499. Information is also available on the project website: http://www.algarkirkchurch.org.uk/.

What a year! It has been just twelve months since we heard that Fr Gary Morgan was leaving us to take up a new post in Wainfleet. The prospect of getting through the year without a vicar was daunting – especially when in the spring thieves stole more lead from our roof. However, despite the setbacks, and the ongoing need to raise funds, we have a number of successes to report:

Firstly, our congregation has grown into a warm and friendly group, although there are still lots of empty places in the church and a very warm welcome for everyone that joins us.  

Secondly, the church itself is several steps closer to achieving approval for the conservation and restoration project that is being funded by the Heritage Lottery Programme.  We have staged a number of events over the past year, from heritage fun days to craft workshops and a pamper evening, all to help raise funds and awareness, and to involve villagers in the process. It is wonderful to see people coming into the church and having fun again! We have lots more planned for 2016, so do keep an eye on the website and the notice boards.  Early consultation on the plans for making the church into a multi-functional space that can be used by the community as a real centre of activity, as well as a place of worship, are already underway. We expect to be able to present the plans for public consultation by February next year,

Thirdly, in addition to the book swap, which enables anyone to pop into the church any day except Monday to borrow one of the books on display – a mini village library – we have also started the Crafty Coffee and Cake club. Every month there is an open invitation for folks to join us for a couple of hours of fun and companionship. As with all of our events, there is no charge, although donations are always welcome.

There is also a history club that is just starting up for those who are curious about Algarkirk’s past, and we are always looking volunteers who can commit a couple of hours here and there as we try to build towards a better future. We hope that next year will see the start of further regular community activities so there is something for everyone. 

Obviously we couldn’t have done this without the support and co-operation of lots of people who have cleaned, baked, put up posters, sold tickets and helped out in so many ways. Thank you all so much!

Of course, it hasn’t all been good. And it is with great sadness that I write of the passing of Fr Phillip Wood, who came to our church as a visiting vicar and, together with his wife, Yvonne, came to be a real pillar of support. In the too few months he was with us, he won the love and respect of all who met him, and played a considerable part in building our congregation. We shall remember him with gratitude and with a smile, because it is impossible to think of Phil, as he liked to be called, and to be sad!

It only remains, on behalf of the PCC,  to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a joyful and healthy New Year. Whether for worship or one of the activities, we hope to see you at St Peter and St Paul’s very soon.

We are very sad to announce the passing of Father Philip Wood, who died suddenly in the early hours of 28th October. We shall miss him greatly: he did so much for our church and congregation in the short time he was with us, and was sincerely loved and respected by all who knew him. Our prayers and thoughts go out especially to his wife, Yvonne, and their children at this time of loss.

Services at St Peter and St Paul will continue as usual with Communion at 11.00am on the first Sunday of the month and Morning Prayers at 9.00am on the 4th Sunday.

Our Remembrance Service will take place as planned at 18.30 on Friday, 6th November under the leadership of John Marshall.

…the 5th of November, Gunpowder, treason and plot. It will be 410 years since Parliament passed the Observance of 5th November Act, commonly known as the “Thanksgiving Act”. Sponsored by Edward Montagu MP, who claimed that the “divine intervention” that had kept the  king safe deserved official recognition. The act kept 5 November free as a day of thanksgiving and, in theory, made attendance at Church mandatory on that day as well as on Sundays. 

In fact, this month is all about remembering… starting with our first communion service on All Saints day,  or Hallowmas as Shakespeare called it, when we traditionally remember the departed faithful. On the continent, this feast is marked by great celebration with brass bands marching through churchyards and huge pots of chrysanthemums placed all around.  At St Peter and St Paul’s there is natural decoration provided by the autumnal colours of the trees, and the splashes of red from the poppies that people are starting to wear in their buttonholes in anticipation of Remembrance Day itself. Less organised, but no less beautiful. Our Remembrance service will be held on Friday, 6th November at 6.30, and I am sure I don’t have to remind you that all are welcome!

You may need to wrap up a little though: winter is coming in and the church is getting chilly. Heating is one of the things we hope will be sorted out under the Heritage Lottery programme, our application for which is progressing well.  In the meantime, not being able to hibernate like the bats (at least we will have a diminution in the bat droppings over the coming months), the Maintenance Co-operative, which is also Lottery sponsored, will be coming to Algarkirk on Fri, 27 Nov, to give some really useful tips on what we can do to protect not only our beautiful churches and precious objects, but also our own homes and the wildlife in our gardens against the cold and damp of winter.  It will be an all day course, starting at 10 in the Village Hall. A yummy free hot lunch will be provided. To register, contact Stella on 07776 156274.

We are also moving our Crafty Cake and Coffee mornings into the Village Hall (Weds, 25th Nov,  10-12). The sharing of ideas and skills, the refreshments and the chance for a chat will some lovely people will continue as before, but with heaters!

Don’t forget either  that if you are interested in taking part in one of our heritage training courses, you will need to book a place by emailing the heritageskillscentre@lincolnshire.gov.uk with the course name and they’ll steer you to the right information. Or you can call them on 01522 552434.  We have (Tues, 3rd Nov) Stone carving; (Mon, 9th Nov – am) Tour Guide Training with Dr Matthew Godfrey who is an expert on church architecture; and (Sat, 14th Nov) Wood carving in the Village Hall. You don’t have to have any experience for these workshops; they are all free of charge and everyone so far has found them to be a fascinating and rewarding experience.  Remember, there is a warm welcome for everyone!

Due to to popularity of our recent heritage skills courses we are pleased to announce two additional courses which will be delivered at Algarkirk Church by the Lincoln Castle Heritage Skills Centre: 

• Introduction to Stone Masonry (Carving), Tuesday 3rd November
• Introduction to Wood Carving, Saturday 14th November

For further information including booking details please follow the link below.

https://www.lincolncastle.com/content/funded-courses

PASSION and community support has contributed to the church of St Peter and St Paul’s in Algarkirk receiving a £175,000 development grant from The Heritage Lottery Fund and the team behind the bid is inviting you to see what the project is all about.

A launch event for Algarkirk’s restoration project is planned for Saturday May 16 at the church. You are invited to come along and see what plans the Algarkirk Major Project Group has in store, meet members of the community and take part in traditional craft demonstrations.

The beautiful mediaeval church contains nationally significant Victorian stained glass and decorations; it is a remarkable and important building which is in need of repair and restoration. The Algarkirk Major Project Group aims to re-establish the church as a significant and relevant asset to the community.

With the help from Heckington based charity Heritage Lincolnshire, who have been appointed to help manage the project, the volunteer team will coordinate repair the church building, establish a heritage centre, run a programme of activities, create a café and space for a local history archive and remain an active centre of worship.

Liz Bates, Chief Executive of Heritage Lincolnshire, is looking forward to meeting local people on the day: “This is such a fantastic project to be involved in and the launch event will be a great opportunity for people to come along and hear more about our plans. The grant we have received will stop the church from facing closure and help preserve it for future generations.

“There will also be lots of activities for all the family to get involved in. It is so important that this church is restored and established into the community hub that it deserves to be.”

The event will be held at St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Algarkirk, nr. Boston from 2pm to 4pm. All welcome

Would you like to help us to record people’s memories of Algarkirk? If so we would love to hear from you! 

Email us at algarkirk@heritagelincolnshire.org or call 01529 461499.

A free oral history workshop is taking place on Friday 16th October at Boston Guildhall from 10.30 – 3.30pm, lunch will be provided. This workshop is funded by the Explore and Discover Boston project. The training will be delivered by Colin Hyde from the East Midlands Oral History Society and will help to give you practical skills with getting the best out of recording memories.

You can’t live in Algarkirk without being aware of the agricultural seasons, and the bringing in of the harvest is perhaps the most obvious of all.

We shall be celebrating it at St Peter and St Paul’s with a service on the 4th October at 11.00pm followed by a lunch at the Village Hall – from 12.00 noon. Everyone is very welcome to join us for either or both. Tickets for the lunch and auction are £5  and are available from Pinchin’s Farm Shop or call 460638. If anyone has items to donate for the auction, again, please call 460638. We would be very grateful. We still need to raise a lot of money to replace the lead that was stolen from the roof, and every little helps.

We are also harvesting some of the benefits of the hard work that has gone into the Church restoration project. Last month we had a very successful Heritage Open Day with medieval musicians and craftsmen adding to the fun. It was great to see the children dressed up in their historic costumes too. Our thanks to all those who helped out and made it a really good day.

There have been lots of other training days too, in specialised types of activities. Everything from tracing local history through the churchyard to making glass or gilding. These have all proved very popular and will help St Peter and St Paul’s to become an outpost of Lincolnshire’s Heritage programme.

The Crafty Coffee Club is established now too as a regular community event with a meeting on every 4th Wednesday of the month. Do come along and  share in the fun, There is no charge and lots of opportunities to try new things or to share your experience with others.

We are also getting the first fruits from the architects and specialists who are looking at the work that needs to be undertaken at the church to ensure the building is safe and strong for the village now and in generations to come (not just repairing the roof, but also how we can heat the building enough to be able to use it throughout the year!)  We will be arranging a meeting before the end of the year so that everyone will have the chance to come and see the plans and give their feedback. It is really important that the whole community has a chance to have their say in the future of their church!

We shall be arranging other activities for the Christmas period, so do keep an eye out on the www.algarkirkchurch.org.uk website and on the notice boards. In particular, we have a woad talk and demonstration on the 8th October, in the village hall at 7.00pm. Woad was historically a very valuable crop in Algarkirk and the area.  It was even mentioned in the doomsday book. And, the connection lasted because Algarkirk had the very last working mill in the country!  Do come along and find out more about this aspect of our village history.

Happy Harvest! 

What’s happening over the coming months?

•    11 August FREE Oral History workshop (Guildhall, Boston)
•    15 – 31 August: The Great Village Selfie
•    20th August: Churchyard Survey 10.00-16.00
•    13th September: Heritage Open Day
•    23rd September: Crafty Coffee Club 10 – 12 noon. (Every 4th Wednesday)
•    September – October: Heritage skills training sessions
•    October 4th – Harvest Lunch
Services are still being held as usual (week one, 11.00 communion; week four, 09.00  communion / morning prayer.) 

All are very welcome!

There is a lot happening over the coming months, and we hope that you will all find something to join in with.  

The first of our projects, the Great Village Selfie, certainly has something for everyone.  While we are looking back at the history of the church and the village, we also want to make sure that we can record something of Algarkirk as it is now for future generations too, so we are asking everyone to take a photo of themselves and their homes (include the pets and the grandchildren too) and to send it to algarkirk@heritagelincolnshire.org. Don’t forget to say who is in the picture!  We realise that not everyone has a mobile phone or a camera, so if you call Cheryllyn on 460174, we’ll get someone to call round between 15th and 31st of August and take the photo for you. If you are going on holiday, don’t miss out. Send your picture in early.

All the photos will go up on our website: it might be the first time people will have been able to put a name to the faces they have seen around the village. Later we are hoping to use some of the pictures as part of an art workshop.

If you have an interest in history, there are a number of activities taking place over the summer. Help us to create a site plan of the churchyard and to gather gravestone information. 

A churchyard plan is invaluable as it allows individual memorials and family groupings to be located and descendants to easily find family gravesites. It also provides a record of all features in the burial landscape. No experience is necessary, training will be provided on the day. You will learn surveying and recording skills including an introduction to scale drawing. Absolute beginners welcome!

For more information, or to book a place, call Natalie on 01529 461499.

We would like to capture some of the precious memories our villagers have too. Training on how to collect and record oral histories will be given in a free workshop on 11 August at the Guildhall in Boston. Contact Sam.Phillips@boston.gov.uk for more details.

For other Heritage training events, do go to our website for dates and details (www.algarkirkchurch.org.uk) or call Natalie (01529 461499) for more details. You can also follow us now on Facebook (Algarkirk Church) and Twitter! (@algarkirkchurch)

All the family can get involved in our Heritage Open day.  An afternoon of medieval music and crafts on Sunday 13th September at Algarkirk Church. Fun and interest for everyone from 12 noon until 16.00. 

Talking of crafts… the first of our Crafty Coffee Clubs kicked off at the end of July.  It was great fun! There was a chance to learn printing on paper and fabric and we all enjoyed the fantastic baking some of the ladies brought along (thanks Mary, Rose and Di!) as well as a chance for a good natter. It is amazing how much talent was on show. We will start our regular fourth Wednesday meetings  from September 23rd. There is no charge, and it doesn’t matter whether you are brilliant at something or a complete novice, we would love to see you there. Do join us. If anyone needs a lift to get in, please call Di on 460638. We will be making felted soap in September, so a chance to get a head start on the Christmas prezzies!

Finally, please keep the date Sunday, 4th October, for our village Harvest Festival. The service will be held in the church at 11.00, followed by a lunch in the Village Hall at 12.30.  Tickets £5. Reserve your place by calling Di (460638) or Cheryllyn (460174). 

The Community Launch Event was a huge success, attracting over 100 people to the church and celebrating achievements to date. The project was launched by The Archdeacon of Boston, The Ven Dr Justine Allain Chapman, and those attending were treated to craft demonstrations and tours of the church.

Audrey Young of the Algarkirk Major Project Group opened proceedings:

 ” We thought this day would never come. From a rather depressing meeting in the village hall back in 2009 to inform the village that the church was to close, it feels like a long and arduous journey to get to this joyful point – celebrating the launch of the project to restore, re-establish and  revive this amazing building. I want to pose and answer two questions.

Who are we?

local people, from the village and parish who make up the AMPG. It feels like a bit of a marathon relay team The four current members are  Diana, Jayne, Cheryllynn and Audrey  we currently hold the baton but we want to remember and acknowledge  former and earlier members who were in at the start  Steven, Elaine, Hennie, Christine and Anne, Jackie and Brian Dickinson, Peter and Jane, Kim Fisher, Bill Moore and Pam.

We also must thank the Diocese team Ben and Matthew for their expertise in guiding us through the grant process. All have helped build the foundations of this project. 

We also want to thank and hope for their continued support the Village Hall committee,  Algarkirk Radio, Sandy for her time and frequent baking of gorgeous cakes which she donates to the church, Martin for caretaking duties, John for our website and our families, supportive residents and neighbours who come to fund raising events, open days … and engage in consultation.  

What are we hoping to do?

From the outset we have had a clear mission statement

St Peter and St Paul’s Church has been described as as “the mini-cathedral of the Fens”, magnificent and dominating. 

Our project mission is to secure funds to carry out essential restoration and repairs to return the church to a significant and relevant role in Algarkirk in the 21st Century. Open and accessible to all:

• to enjoy the splendour and heritage of the building
• for worship 
• as an ideal venue and facility for a wide range of community activities and events
• to create education and craft-skills programmes

When we asked Algarkirk residents, through the survey, there was overwhelming support for this. The survey is on our website and still receives positive responses.  Interestingly House  of Lords quoted Algarkirk as the ideal model for similar churches and communities in the 21st Century.

Obviously HLF who have awarded the grant believes this to be the way forward. Its purpose to develop our plans turn our mission statement into reality, It has meant we can appoint a Project Officer, Liz Bates of  Lincolnshire Heritage Trust and Walker and Cunnington Architects as lead consultant

The challenge is we have to raise £40,000 to match the grant, part of this is evaluating the time and involvement of local volunteers (in the first 3 months of the grant award – 50 days  44 volunteers)

Finally 

Our mission statement identified the need for the project to be  sustainable. For us this means:

• to benefit the locality 
• for local  people to participate in the activities, 
• a rich seam of heritage and historical significance for local schools and colleges to research 
• wherever possible local businesses to tender for work 
• contributes to the local economy

In short the project is owned by Algarkirk and has created a community resource for future generations.