The church has been at the centre of village life for generations and the strength of feeling was demonstrated after it burnt down in 1907, only for villagers to raise money for repairs and reopen it two years later.
To celebrate its 150th birthday, a weekend of activities have been arranged, starting with a Victorian Fayre on Saturday, September 16, on the church green and in the church grounds.
It will include craft and food stalls, Punch and Judy, Shuggy Boats, Spennymoor Town Band, tug of war, games, refreshments and much more.
The fayre will be opened at 12.50pm with activities from 1pm to 4pm. In the event of poor weather some activities will be moved to Evenwood Parish Hall and the Randolph Community Centre which has kindly offered the space.
On the day, a celebratory set of four postcards will be available to buy showing aerial views of St Paul’s Church and surrounding area. Alongside the fayre, a local history exhibition covering Evenwood and Ramshaw has been organised by Evenwood, Ramshaw and District History Society. It will be held inside St Paul’s Church from 2pm to 4pm on Sunday, September 17, and 10am to 4pm on Monday, September 18.
There will also be a service of celebration in the church on Sunday, September 17, at 6pm. The following weekend an organ recital will take place in St Paul’s Church featuring Steven Maxson, of Grimsby Minster, on Saturday, September 23, from 6.30pm to 7.30pm.
Entry to all events is free and free parking will be available at the Randolph Community Centre.
One of the organisers, Brian Carter, said: “It’s being run as a community event. If we can break even, we will be more than happy.
“The idea came when it was suggested that we do something to mark the anniversary – a woman from the village has been talking about having a Victorian fair for a while now so we decided to combine the two.
“There’s a lot of talk about it in the village, which seems to have taken it to its heart because like a lot of places now Evenwood doesn’t have a carnival. There’s already talk by one group of having another community event to mark the anniversary of the end of the First World War next year.”
He added: “These celebrations would not have been possible without the support of the Diocese of Durham, local county councillors Heather Smith and Stephen Hugill, Evenwood Parish Council and donations from the local community.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.