It is two weeks since we celebrated the 200th anniversary of the rebuilding of St Martin’s church, an unforgettable weekend comprising:
an exhibition in the church of flowers and other displays
a special service at which we welcomed the Bishop of Basingstoke and his wife
This was followed by a picnic and then the climax of the St Martin’s Guild fete in the adjacent field, thanks to the generosity of Mr and Mrs Toby Ward.
It was wonderful to meet so many visitors over the course of the weekend and commemorate such an important milestone.
Thank you to all those who organised the events:
our fabulous flower team who produced the stunning displays
including one to commemorate the wonderful work of our kneeler group, to which Liz Castle and Phil Beaver contributed so much over the years
our organist Hugh Cobbe
and the choir, augmented by our friends from Woolton Hill and Highclere
the East Woodhay Silver Band (being admired by churchwarden Andrew Colville)
our bell ringers who demonstrated their skill and also enabled potential recruits to have a go at ringing; if you are interested in joining the team please take a look at this document
Kathryn Redway who has produced an excellent and very readable history booklet (price £10) which is on sale in the church or can be ordered via our contact page
Most importantly, a big thank you to the many hundreds who visited us over the weekend, helped us celebrate and made the whole event worthwhile!