We launch a major appeal to raise funds for critical restoration work
A new appeal for funds was launched on 1 March 2023. Chairman of the appeal, Sir Paul Britton, writes
Further details of the work we need to do, and how to donate, are on the restoration appeal pages at http://shipbourne.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=739&action=edit
Harvest Festival 2024
We celebrated this year’s harvest at the Family Service at 9.30am on Sunday 29 September. The church was decorated for the occasion: hops were draped over the pulpit, flower arrangements were on all the window sills and by the altar, and stooks of corn hung from the end of the choir stalls, reflecting the cereals grown in the fields around the parish. Many thanks to the members of the Flower Guild who decorated the church so imaginatively and also to all those who generously gave food to be donated to local food banks.
Harvest Supper 2024
The Barn of the Fairlawne Home Farm was the magnificent setting on Friday 27 September for the Benefice Harvest Supper, to celebrate the Harvest Festival. Long trestle tables were decorated with apples, and straw bales provided rustic seating. Guests arrived to the sounds of English folk tunes, played by the Abbey Capers. We all sung harvest hymns. The Rector acted as our Master of Ceremonies.
Our thanks to the Fairlawne Estate for generously allowing us the the use of the barn; to Dan and his team for clearing and setting up the barn with tables and straw bales for us to sit on; to all those who provided shepherd’s pies, apple crumbles and salads; to the local businesses and individuals who so generously donated the raffle prizes, and to Lindsay Miles for running the raffle on the night; to Shipbourne Farmers Market and Plaxtol Village Stores for selling the tickets – and to the latter for providing the wines and other bar essentials, all on a sale or return basis; to the many people who set up on the day, helped with the serving and clearing up afterwards and helped with the bar.
And a thank you, of course, to all of those who bought tickets and came along to make it such a special evening.
Special thanks also go to our organisers, Viv Packer and Andy Doughty, for such a wonderful evening.
Ride and Stride
Lionel Stielow went cycling around Kent to visit as many churches as he could on Saturday 14 September 2024, to raise money for St Giles Church Shipbourne and for the charity Friends of Kent Churches.
Thank you to everyone who generously sponsored Lionel and well done to super-Lionel for his amazing efforts !
The Friends of Kent Churches Sponsored Ride and Stride takes place on the second Saturday in September each year with 740 churches participating. The event raised over £140,000 in 2023 for Kent churches. Half the sponsorship money raised goes straight back to the church nominated by participants and half goes to the Friends and is distributed as grants to churches in Kent as contributions to their maintenance and restoration work.
St Giles Summer Fair 2024
The St Giles Summer Fair took place on Shipbourne Green, by kind permission of the Fairlawne Estate, on Bank Holiday Monday, 26 August 2024.
The Tonbridge and Sevenoaks Training Band played a variety of great music throughout the afternoon. The fun dog show was well attended. There were sideshows – brick lifting, face painting, a spell in the stocks and much more. There were burgers and sausages from the barbecue and tea and cakes in the Village Hall. There was a range of cakes, jams, vegetables and other produce on sale as well as the popular book stall and a range of woven baskets for sale. The raffle had a fantastic selection of prizes and was as popular was ever.
The weather was perfect on the day and much fun was had by everyone. The fete made a record surplus of some £6,000 which will go to church funds.
Warmest thanks to all the numerous people who helped with energy and enthusiasm in running the stalls, setting up or clearing away, or who contributed prizes or produce, and in particular to Lindsay Miles, Viv Packer and Peter Leach who organised the fete and made it such a successful day.
St Giles Shipbourne and the Cazalets
A fascinating exhibition was on display in the church until 12 July. It centred on six portraits of members of the Cazalet family. A display in the Vane Chapel and an accompanying leaflet told the story of the family members whose portraits were painted by John Singer Sargent, Philip de Laszlo and other fashionable painters of their time. The portraits are now spread around the world but large reproductions of each of them hung in the aisle. The exhibition was prepared by members of the Arts Society, Sevenoaks.
Shipbourne Open Gardens
We hosted an informal “Open Gardens” on Saturday 22 June 2024 from 1 to 5pm. Residents had been invited to open their gardens for others to view, and on the day nearly 100 visitors came to enjoy the varied style of the six gardens which were open. There were teas and cakes to enjoy in the Village Hall. We raised an incredible total of almost £800 from the sales of tickets, the teas, donations, and sales of plants, jewellery and cards. All the funds raised will go to the St Giles Church Restoration Appeal.
Huge thanks to all the six gardens which opened their gates for visitors, to Kathy and the teas and cakes team in the Village Hall, to all those who donated a cake or the items available for sale and of course to everyone who came to enjoy the gardens on a sunny afternoon.
Churchyard working party
11 volunteers formed a working party in the churchyard on a rare fine day, on Saturday 4 May 2024. We made good progress and cleared vegetation from the base of the church walls, removed debris from the rainwater gullies, cleared ivy and unwanted shrubs from graves, swept the steps down to the crypt which the crows had covered with sticks, and trimmed the yew hedge beside the lych gate. Some of the team brought their mowers and strimmers and did the first cut of the season to the grass around the church.
The aim is to keep our churchyard looking welcoming to the many visitors who come here.
The morning’s work finished with hot drinks in the church, as well as home made cake.
Many thanks to all who joined the work party and worked so hard.
Benefice Silver Jubilee
We celebrated the Silver Jubilee of our Benefice over the weekend of 13 and 14 July 2024.
On Saturday we had a “safari lunch” – the first course in Plaxtol Memorial Hall; 12 hardy souls then walked across Fairlawne Park, to Shipbourne Village Hall for the second course.
This recital was sponsored by the Friends of Kent Churches in memory of John Briggs whose legacy supports events of this kind staged by Kent churches.
On Sunday we were joined by the Bishop of Rochester for a service of Baptism, Confirmation and Communion at Plaxtol Church, when eight people were confirmed. This was the first confirmation service in the Benefice for nine years.
In the evening, Benefice Festival Evensong was held at Shipbourne Church, when our former Rector, The Reverend Doctor Susan Ramsaran, preached the sermon.
Twenty five years ago the parishes of Shipbourne and Plaxtol were joined to create a new joint Benefice. Each parish has its own Parochial Church Council but the Rector serves both the parishes in the Benefice.
Shipbourne Church decorated for Christmas 2023
The church was decorated with the deep greens of winter foliage. Members of the Flower Guild created the decorations. During the 12 days of Christmas, visitors to the Church were able to enjoy the seasonal decorations. The candles on the window sills were lit for the Christmas services and these created a magical atmosphere.
An evening with Michel Roux Jr
On the evening of Tuesday 16 May 2023, we welcomed Michel Roux Jr and his Gavroche team back to his childhood home for a fund raising dinner, cabaret and auction, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Shipbourne Farmers’ Market.
The event took place in the garden of the Chaser Inn and the delicious menu was created using local produce from the Farmers’ Market stallholders, accompanied by wines from a selection of local vineyards. Hal and Lara Cazalet performed a captivating cabaret show and the auction and raffle alone raised over £6,000 thanks to the generosity of the 168 guests who were lucky enough to secure tickets to the event.
All profits from the evening will be split between the St Giles’ Church Restoration Appeal and two agricultural charities, the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution and the Farming Community Network.
It was a very special and memorable night for Shipbourne!
Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III
On the day of the Coronation, our bell ringers met to Ring for the King as the royal procession was on its way to Westminster Abbey. Our powerful peal of six bells rang out for half an hour, celebrating this historic occasion.
At midday on Sunday 7 May, some 200 people watched as Mr James Swartz planted three English Oaks on the Green, on behalf of the Fairlawne Estate, to mark the Coronation of King Charles. The tree planting ceremony was followed by a reception in the Village Hall, when various memorabilia of previous coronations were on display. Our warm thanks are due to the Fairlawne Estate for arranging the tree planting and hosting the reception.
On Sunday afternoon, families gathered on the Green to enjoy their picnics and games, to mark the Coronation weekend.
The Rector’s Sabbatical
The Rector was on sabbatical leave from 19 June to Monday 25 September 2023. Before he started his sabbatical, he wrote about his plans:
“Six days shalt thou labour…
The Ten Commandments (Exodus ch. 20) name the sabbath day as a day of rest – the seventh ‘day’ on which God rested from his work of creation. Accordingly, we have seven days in a week. The Jewish community keep Saturday as their sabbath; for Christians it has become Sunday to align with the day of Resurrection. Using the same root word, a ‘Sabbatical’ is a period of rest that is granted in some professions, sometime as often as every seven years.
Beginning in a couple of weeks’ time, I have been granted a sabbatical by the bishop, after 31 years in full-time ministry, and I will be strictly ‘off-duty’ for 3 months. During this time, I shall be walking St Cuthbert’s Way from Melrose in the Scottish borders to Lindisfarne off the Northumberland coast. I also have a short trip to Tallinn, Estonia and a retreat/holiday with a community that specializes in the care of clergy near Exeter, in Devon. The main focus, however, will be rest, and a chance to refresh my connection with God in prayer without the distractions of parish administration and ministry.”
Peter Hayler, Rector.
Annual Parochial Church Meeting
Our Annual Parochial Church Meeting took place on Tuesday 23 April 2024. There were presentations on the life of the church over the period since the APCM in April 2023 and the Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2023 were presented for approval. Further details are on the Administration page.
Heritage Open Day at St Giles Shipbourne
Mark’s ordination
Mark Packer was ordained to the priesthood at Rochester Cathedral on 3 September 2022. It was a joyful occasion and several members of the congregation attended the service of ordination.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in Shipbourne
Our celebrations began with a special Farmers’ Market on Thursday 2 June 2022. The bells were rung to start the service, the Tonbridge Community Choir sang songs in the sunshine and Debra’s special Jubilee cake was cut and shared out.
Celebrations took place later on Shipbourne Cricket Ground. There were traditional games like the tug of war to entertain the picnic goers, refreshments were available and the day finished with Hamish the piper playing at the lighting of the spectacular Platinum Jubilee beacon.
Celebrations continued on Friday with the Queen’s posy competition in the church. There were 51 posies on display and the church was a blaze of colour. The bells rang at 11.30am to coincide with the Service of Thanksgiving taking place at St Paul’s Cathedral.
On Sunday 5 June there was a Benefice “Open Air Service” on Shipbourne Green, when a red oak tree was planted on the Green to commemorate the Jubilee. This was followed by refreshments and canapés, kindly hosted by the Fairlawne Estate.
Covid – 19: our infection control measures
Following the end of the last period of lockdown, we have kept our infection control restrictions under regular review and have gradually reduced the safety measures we had adopted. There is now no requirement to wear a face mask during services, but you may do so if you wish.
As a safety measure we have offered communion at the chancel steps, with the bread being dipped in the wine, rather than using a shared chalice. We are now considering offering the alternative of taking the wine from a shared chalice but those taking communion will be able to take the bread dipped in wine, if they prefer. Communion will be taken once more at the communion rail but for the present the choir will not sing while the congregation is receiving communion.
The clinically vulnerable may wish to come into church during the week when they can be safe on their own, or to our smaller ‘said’ services at 8am on Sundays at St Giles or Plaxtol Church or to morning prayer at Plaxtol Church at 8.30am on weekdays.
Our church is open for individual private prayer daily, except on Mondays, between 9am and 3.30pm
We continue to be the Church: a people of prayer and action.
All Church buildings were closed in March 2020 when the lockdown began. After 5 May, churches remained locked but clergy and their households were allowed to use their church for daily prayer, and the streaming and filming of worship for social media. Services resumed from Sunday 12 July but were suspended again from 5 November to 6 December 2020 and again from 17 January to 13 March 2021. Since then we have gradually relaxed the safety control measures we had in place.
Shipbourne Church on Facebook
You can now follow St Giles Church Shipbourne on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/stgilesshipbourne
We continue to support the Medway Food Bank. They are now able once more to accept gifts of suitable food. You can find details of the types of food which they accept and their monthly list of food items which are in short supply at https://medway.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/
You can also support them by gifting money, with Gift Aid if you wish, through their giving platform at
www.goldengiving.com/wall/medway-foodbank
Alternatively you can make a donation to them by bank transfer:
account name: Medway Foodbank
sort code: 40-52-40
account number: 00029546
Reference: Shipbourne Church
Giving to St Giles – the blue envelopes
You can use the blue envelope scheme to give to Shipbourne church. Here’s how it works.
Pick up a box of blue envelopes at the back of the church. Put your cash donation in one of the envelopes and drop it in the plate at services. If you sign up for Gift Aid on your donations, it will save you having to write down your name and address details each time you make a donation.
Blue books of envelopes for the year June 2022 to May 2023 are now at the back of the church, just inside the main door.
If you are already signed on for the scheme, take the envelopes with your serial number from the box.
If you are not a member of the scheme but would like to support the work of the church in a tax efficient way, please take a set of envelopes marked ‘NEW GIVERS’ write your details on the list above the box of envelopes against the serial number of the set you have taken and if you wish, tick the Gift Aid box.
Good Friday 2021: the Rector doing our traditional walk carrying the cross between the two churches of the benefice
Coronavirus – Shipbourne Farmers’ Market
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Shipbourne 1919 – 2019: commemoration of the centenary of the signing of the treaty of Versailles over the weekend o f 29/30 June 2019
The window sills in St Giles Church were specially decorated by local organisations and gave an insight into the life of Shipbourne village in 1919.
A Commemorative Family Service took place on a sunny Sunday morning. White flowers of remembrance were left on the War Memorial to pay respects to the local young men who lost their lives in the Great War.
The service was followed by traditional games and picnics on the village Green, with adults and children taking part in egg and spoon races, a sack race, a 3 legged race and a tug of war.
Special thanks go to all the numerous people involved in organising the events over the weekend and making it a memorable and enjoyable occasion.
From War into Peace: Remembering 1919. A concert held in St Giles Church on Sunday 12 May 2019
Hal and Lara Cazalet, Georgia Ginsberg, Timothy End, Tom Humphreys and Emily Ward presented a concert of words and music on 12 May, to remember the ending of the First World War. The music included songs written by Butterworth and Denis Browne, who both died in the war, and songs written at the time by John Ireland, Ivor Gurney and Frank Bridge. Hal Cazalet led the audience in singing a medley of the songs which became popular marching songs in the First World War and then introduced some of the music Jerome Kern wrote for Broadway musicals at the time, to words written by P G Wodehouse. The readings included poetry, memoirs and letters from Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, Rupert Brooke, Vera Brittain and others. Hal Cazalet read a moving account by his great uncle, Victor Cazalet, of his experiences of life on the front line.
Proceeds from the concert go to St Giles Church Shipbourne Restoration Appeal and to the Royal British Legion.
Sir Edward Cazalet
On Sunday 10 February 2019 there was a Service of Thanksgiving at St Giles during which the choir sang a special anthem as a tribute to Sir Edward Cazalet. This was followed by a lunch to bid him farewell as our Patron of many years standing. Our new Patron, Francis Read, and the Rector thanked him in their speeches after lunch for all that he and his family had done for our village over so many years. Sir Edward in his reply recalled his family’s long association with, and affection for, Fairlawne, St Giles’ Church and the village.
Farmers’ Market
2020:- Winner of Kent Life Award for the ‘Best Food and Drink Initiative during Lockdown’
2020:- featured in the Government’s ‘Great Inspirations’ during Lockdown
2020:- Farm Retail Association ‘Best Farmers Market’
Shipbourne Farmers’ Market was the winner of the Best Farmers’ Market category at the 2018 Kent Food and Drinks Awards. The Farmers’ Market has also reached the finals in the Best Farmers’ Market category in the Farm Retail Association Awards 2019.
The Roux’s return
Albert Roux and Michel Roux Jr returned to Shipbourne on Tuesday 5 June 2018 for the Roux Two dinner, five years after their last dinner here in Shipbourne, this time to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Shipbourne Farmers’ Market. This black tie event started with a champagne reception in the Church Room of the Chaser Inn, followed by dinner in a marquee in the garden.
Profits made from the Roux Two Dinner were split between the following good causes:
- St Giles Church, Shipbourne: the restoration of the wall paintings in the church
- The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institute (R.A.B.I.), supporting farmers in England and Wales who are struggling financially
- Shipbourne Farmers’ Market Click and Collect project
- Nourish Community Foodbank