|
1688 |
North East pinnacle struck by
lightning. |
|
1812 |
North East pinnacle again struck
by lightning. |
|
1843 |
South East pinnacle struck by
lightning. |
|
1865 |
South West pinnacle struck by
lightning. |
|
1876 |
The condition of the Church was
such that the drainage from roof
gutters poured through into the
Church. |
|
1877 |
First meeting held for the
necessary steps for restoring
the Church early in 1878 – the
year previously the fabric was
thoroughly investigated by Mr.
J.P. St. Aubyn. |
|
1877 |
Friday July 13th - Confirmation
was held by the Bishop of Truro.
6 candidates in all, 5 from Week
St. Mary and 1 from Jacobstow.
There had been no confirmations
in the parish for 70 years – an
old man, John Fry, remembered
it. |
|
1878 |
March 7th,
Meeting of parishioners to
support the movement for
restoring the Church.
Nov. 8th –
South West pinnacle struck by
lightning at 6.45 am. |
|
1879 |
July 6th, last services in the
Church prior to restoration.
There were 8 communicants and
the offerings totalled 4/-.
Services were subsequently held
in the Board School Room from
July 13th to July 4th 1880. |
|
1880 |
July 8th Church re-opened.
Expenses to that date were
£1,502.16s.9d. Morning prayer
and sermon by the Bishop of
Truro, Evening prayer and sermon
by Canon Cornish, the total
offerings collected on the day
were £24.7s.9d. |
|
1887 |
The Tower was restored with new
roof and new floors throughout
and the basement pointed. The
bells were re-hung in a new oak
bell cage and two were re-cast
by Messrs. Warner & Co. This
work was done at a cost of £170. |
|
1895 |
The high winds stripped off some
18 or 20 roof slates and damaged
the lightning conductor.
During the year a tea was given
to the children of the Board
School, by the Rector and twice
to the Sunday School.
The Church tower needs pointing,
the rain beats on the bricks and
then drains through the joints
making the walls inside very
wet. The work must be done soon
or the tower will suffer. |
|
1896 |
A subscription list has been
opened for repairing and
pointing the tower. On 21st
September the offertories on
Revel Sunday and at the Harvest
Thanksgiving the next day
amounted to £2.7s.3d. besides
which a Sale of Work realised
£6.0s.0d. and the sale of the
old organ made another £6.0s.0d.
October – The Parish Room in the
Rectory Yard was opened for
games, reading and amusement for
men and adults during the winter
months – and a very good number
attends, Popular lectures and
tea parties are occasionally
given by way of change,
instruction and sociability. |
|
1896 |
November – A new public road has
been made and opened from the
Tavistock road to the one
leading to Bude, coming out by
Haydah so that going down and up
those steeps by Haydah are
avoided. |
|
1897 |
May 25th, the Tower is now
finished and looks well able to
withstand the storms once more –
a fitting memorial of the
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
June 1st, to celebrate the
completion of the restoration
work a public tea was held in
the rectory rooms and about 80
people sat down to tea. At 7.30
pm there was a service of
thanksgiving in the Church. The
tower was opened entirely free
from debt and a statement of
accounts was printed and sent to
each of the subscribers to the
fund. |
|
1903 |
A new two manual organ by
Messrs. Bevington & Sons,
Charing Cross Road, London, was
built in the Church on the south
side-aisle, to replace the old
organ which stood on the north
side. The original estimate for
this organ was £223.10s. This
sum was raised by voluntary
contributions, concerts, etc and
the old organ was sold to
Bradford Church, Brandis Corner,
N.Devon for £30. |
|
1906 |
March 31st, The Bishop of St.
Germans confirmed 25 candidates
in Week St. Mary Church today.
A surpliced Choir consisting of
11 boys and 5 men was instituted
on Whit Sunday, June 3rd.
The extensive restoration &
improvement of the Rectory was
begun April 18th and were
completed in 1907. The old
kitchen was converted into the
Dining Room, the Hall was
enlarged, the old Dining Room
became the Study, the old Study
became the new Kitchen.
Bathroom, lavatories etc. were
provided. New windows were
supplied throughout and a new
back entrance and steps leading
from the road was made, the old
tumble-down cob buildings at the
back were removed and a new
stone wall built. The out
buildings were also restored and
improved. The total cost was
defrayed by money from private
sources.
The old dial was found at the
Rectory, it was used as a step
to the old Schoolroom. It was
repaired and erected over the
Church door. |
|
1910 |
A clock was placed in the Church
Tower early this year. The clock
was obtained by Mr. N.F.A.
Cobbald for a small sum and he
and S. H. Haslam made the face,
hands and connecting parts and
erected it in the tower. It has
been going steadily and keeping
good time for several months.
King Edward VII died May 6th and
was buried May 20th. A united
memorial service was held at the
Church according to the
authorized form at 1pm, the time
appointed for the interment, the
Church was crowded with
representation from every house
in the parish. |
|
1921 |
Early in 1921 Rev. C.J. Whitmell
became unwell and resigned on
1st April. Rev. M.V. Hardy came
into residence for Sunday
September 11th and was inducted
on November 5th.
The Rectory Room, built by Rev.
Haslem and bought from him by
Rev. Whitmell has now been
purchased from him by the
Church, for £150. |
|
1923 |
Rectory Room, new stove bought.
Boiler house built.
New stoves were put in the
Church at Revel, when the total
amount of cost was raised (£25).
The new stoves were made like
the old ones, the wisdom of this
is doubtful as they are very
small, but supplemented with two
Perfection heaters, they give a
fair result.
The Church Army visited the
Parish in October. |
|
1924 |
New lamps were put in the Church
at a cost of £40. Some of the
old lamps were put in the
Rectory Room. |
|
1925 |
The Rectory Room was painted on
the outside by voluntary helpers
led by Mr. Rowland. |
|
1926 |
As the chairs in the Church are
all very old, worm-eaten and
gradually collapsing it was
necessary to re-seat the Church.
£48 was raised on Easter Day to
start the re-seating fund.
There has been a very successful
Flower & Vegetable Show and
Garden Fete during this year.
The Church Army van visited the
parish in November and there
were some very good services. |
|
1931 |
The Rectory Room was enlarged by
the addition of a room for
refreshments and a gentlemen’s
cloakroom. |
|
1932 |
June: Death watch beetle – the
first years treatment with
Presolini carried out on all
necessary Church timbers. |
|
1934 |
Death watch beetle treatment –
completed with its third annual
application by workmen of the
village.
During the year new sets of
Churchyard gates and posts have
been supplied and fitted. |
|
1935 |
Thursday 21st February: The S.E.
pinnacle and centre of the
Church Tower were struck by
lightning, after a hailstorm
lasting around 2 hours, causing
large pieces of masonry to fall
through the Church roof and
resulting in a great deal of
damage to the building. This
article is reported elsewhere:
click here
The following telegram was sent
to the Ecclesiastical Insurance
Office, 11 Norfolk Street,
London WC2, from Bude at 4 pm.,
the local telephone service
being dislocated by the
storm: “Church struck by
lightning; seriously damaged;
immediate inspection suggested;
writing.” A reply telegram
arrived from Bude 6pm, stating
that their assessor, Messrs.
Ware & Co., Beaford Circus,
Exeter, would visit the Church
at once. Mr. Ware arrived the
following day at 12 noon and
took charge of the Church on
behalf of the Insurance Office.
Services took place in the
Rectory Rooms until January 12th
1936. |
|
1936 |
Re-opening services were held on
Thursday 16th January, the
Bishop of the Diocese preaching
and holding a Confirmation. |
|
1937 |
A new piano was bought for the
Rectory Room and the exterior of
the building was painted. |
|
1939 |
At 11 am on Sunday September
3rd, War was declared against
Germany at its aggression on
Poland.
September 17th Sunday Services
of Feast of Dedication held as
usual, on Revel Monday the
Foxhounds Meet 8.30 am, Tea 4
pm, Evensong 6 pm, Social 7.30 –
10 pm, the sports etc. having
been omitted. Future evensong 3
pm, Air-raid Signal: two bells,
All-clear: Tenor bell. |
|
1945 |
On Tuesday May 8th Victory was
won and proclaimed in Europe
against Germany. The Service of
Thanksgiving was Festal Evensong
at 7.30 pm attended by a crowded
congregation, greatly moved at
so great an occasion.
Thursday July 5th: Labour
Government declared, Mr. Attlee
(Prime Minister), whose brother
Mr. T.S. Attlee is one of the
chief laymen of the diocese.
Wednesday August 5th Victory was
proclaimed in the Far East
against Japan and the Great War
ended. The Service of
Thanksgiving was Festal Evensong
and similar to that held in May. |
|
1946 |
In considering a stained glass
window at the high altar, the
Rector called attention to the
fact that all three East end
windows are out of centre to the
North, while the lower arch is
out of centre to the South.
Apparently no-one had ever
noticed this before. |
|
1947 |
In the autumn a Sunday School
and a Choir were formed.
A Parish Magazine, to be called
“The Beacon” was begun at
Advent.
An electric boiler was installed
at the Rectory Room at a cost of
£11. |
|
1949 |
Electric lighting and organ
blowing was installed in the
Church in March at a total cost
of £200. A grant of £70 was made
by the Rural Churches Fund and
the rest of the money was raised
in the parish over a number of
years.
A very successful Garden Fete
was held in the Rectory grounds
on June 16th, the first one to
be held for some years. The sum
of £45.8s.1d. was raised towards
the Church Thanksgiving Fund.
The Churchyard paths were
re-laid with tar by voluntary
labour at a cost of £30.
The exterior of the Rectory Room
was repainted by Mr. S. Barber
during July and August and some
necessary repairs were done at
the same time, at a total cost
of £47.10s.0d. The money was
withdrawn from the Rectory Room
repair fund.
A new stove was also installed
at the end of the year,
£9.5s.6d. |
|
1950 |
A new Churchyard gate was made
by Mr. T. Pauling and the rest
were repaired and painted. The
coal shed was also repaired. |
|
1952 |
Some necessary repairs done to
the foundations and floor of the
Rectory Room, under the Ladies
Cloakroom, at a cost of £22. The
work was done by Mr. Barber of
Week St. Mary and was consequent
on extensive rotting of the main
floor beams through faulty
pillars and lack of free passage
of air beneath the building.
During the past five years the
following improvements have been
made to the Rectory and paid for
by the Cornish Church
Thanksgiving Fund: Boiler in the
kitchen, washing up basin in the
pantry and electric light in
those rooms before unsupplied
and electric pump for the water
supply from the well to the
house. The Glebe Farm buildings
in the lower yard were sold. The
old schoolroom was excepted from
this sale as it might be of use
in the future and was not
subject to dilapidations.
On June 26th a Garden Fete was
held in the Rectory grounds,
raising £34. The cost of
recasting and re-hanging of the
bells was finally paid off on
June 12th.
On February 15th, the day of
King George VI’s Funeral, a
Requiem was paid at 8.00 am and
a combined Memorial Service was
held at the Parish Church in the
evening – a full Church. |
|
1953 |
The Coronation of Queen
Elizabeth II was marked by a
broadcast of the Service in
Westminster Abbey, in the Parish
Church. The broadcast was most
successful and the congregation,
although small, took all
opportunities of joining in with
the Service. The rest of the day
was spent enjoying sports,
public teas and a bonfire. |
|
1954 |
On the departure of the Reverend
Townsend, the Christmas Crib,
which had been in use in the
Church for the past eight years,
was left by him to the Church
for future use. This crib was
made in 1945 by German P.O.W’s,
to their own design on R.A.F.
Station Upper Heyford. |
|
1955 |
The carol mime “Nativity” was
presented in costume, in the
Church, on Thursday December
22nd, at 7.30 pm, by the Sunday
School children.
It also took place in Whitstone
Church on the following Thursday
and again in Week St. Mary
Church on Sunday January 1st
1956.
Just for the record:
That's me (David)
extreme left looking quite
solemn, of course, with one of
my sisters alongside. No doubt
some of you will either be in
the photograph or recognise some
of the participants. |
 |
|
1956 |
The electrical heating system
installed in the Church by
Messrs. Woolacott of Stratton,
was switched on for the first
time on Sunday December 23rd. |
|
1971 |
January 1st: The Rectory Room
was sold by the P.C.C., Week St.
Mary to the Rector for the sum
of £60. (This was signed by the
Rector, W.T. Simpson and by the
Treasurer, M. Cobbledick). |
