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Friends Of All Saints Church
Recognised Charity No.XT10870
The Friends of All Saints Church Litcham has been established to raise funds for the fabric of this beautiful building in the heart of our village.

The first project is to restore the clock, an important centrepiece to the village. The hourly chime, which stopped earlier in 2008 was restored to working order in September 2009. Next we need to replace the two dials.
We are currently getting quotes in to do the work and will report back when we have news on when the project will commence. Whether you are a regular visitor to the church, pass by it on a regular basis or just admire the building and like the sound of the clock, you can help us to protect and restore the building for many generations to come.

All Saints is Grade 1 listed and the present church was largely rebuilt around 1348-9 to 1369 and was probably enlarged during the period of economic recovery that followed. It was re-consecrated on the Feast of St. Botolph, 17th June 1412, and the 550th, anniversary of this event was observed in 1962. The present brick tower was given in 1669 by Matthew Halcott a wealthy tanner. He is depicted on the village sign. The clock is dated 1725 and is by Morris of Swaffham. There are 6 bells and whilst in working order, are in need of restoration.
The response to our launch last December has been fantastic, we already have over 50 members!
In the meantime external funding is being applied for alongside our own annual memberships fees which are essential.
Many generations over nearly 300 years have enjoyed seeing and hearing the clock, which was made by a Swaffham Blacksmith in 1725. It is a very well made, basic design. See Picture
It's very easy to take our surroundings for granted and to think that someone else will sort things out, however if you haven't joined up to the friends yet, please have a think about the importance of the building for our village, past, present and future, and how nice it would be to have a working clock at the heart of our community again.  You can make a difference!
pdf.gifPLEASE JOIN NOW click here to download application form
All members receive a regular newsletter.

 Kerry Walpole, 01328 700161 - friendsofallsaints@hotmail.co.uk
WAYS TO HELP US
1. Do you shop online?
If you are buying anything from a CD or DVD to Car or house insurance over the internet you can Support The Friends of All Saints Litcham FOR FREE!
Just click onto www.easyfundraising.org.uk/allsaintslitcham and then shop online at over 600 popular retailers,including, Amazon, Argos, Next, M&S, John Lewis, Debenhams, HMV, Vodaphone, Dell, PLAY.com, Comet and many many more and when you make your purchase they will make a donation to The Friends of All Saints Litcham.

2.GIVE US A BELL - Recycle your old Mobile Phone!
If you have old mobile phones sitting in drawers let us make use of them. We can exchange your old mobile for cash, which we can use to get the Litcham clock going again.
Pop your old mobile phone in an envelope and either post or put through our letterbox:
F.O.A.S.L. The Old Rectory, Mileham Road, Litcham PE32 2NZ.
We'll do the rest!
REMEMBER! If you are under 18, please ask a parent or guardian for permission. Friends of All Saints Litcham does not accept responsibility for products sent without permission of the owner. You are advised to remove data from you mobile. Chargers and memory chips are not needed.
Thankyou for your support.
Kerry Walpole, 01328 700161 - friendsofallsaints@hotmail.co.uk
The F R I E N D S   N E W S
Feb 2010 New Dials: I am hoping that by the time you are reading this the new dials will be up on the tower looking splendid! The delay in putting these up has been down to the winter weather.
The plaques for the sponsorship of the dials are being produced and I will update as to when they will be put up in the church.
FRIENDS AGM
The Friends AGM took place at the end of October, if anyone would like the minutes from the meeting please contact Kerry Walpole on 01328 700161 or friendsofallsaints@hotmail.co.uk
Happy First Birthday to "The Friends"
It’s been a year now since the ‘Friends of All Saints Church, Litcham’ was founded and it’s been a busy, fun and very successful first year.  The ‘Friends’ now have over 60 members. Listed below are the highlights of the year.
Winter Family Reunion: On 25th and 26th October 2008, 36 descendants of George Winter Rector of Litcham from 1855 until 1886, returned to the village for a re-union of the family some 122 years after his retirement.  Amongst the group was his last surviving grandchild, Betty Harkness, now aged 97 and the youngest was his great, great great-grandson, Hew Winter aged 4
2009 Calendars: Over 100 calendars were sold. 2010 calendars are on their way. As with last year every friends member will receive a complimentary calendar.
Wine Tasting: Approx 40 people attended the wine tasting and Canapés afternoon at The Old Rectory £650 was raised at this event, we hope to have another in 2010.
Clock Project: The clock mechanism was removed from the tower in early June, it has been thoroughly cleaned, and certain parts have been repaired or replaced.  It was returned to the tower in September and I am thrilled to say that it is fully functioning again and chiming on the hour. It has brought the sound of the village back to life!
Dial Project: The last phase of the ‘clock project’ is the dials. The last remaining dial was also removed from the tower in June.  At present we are approximately £1400.00 shy of our target to have the dials made. The two new dials will be similar to the last remaining dial that was removed in June.  I am hoping that we will be able to have these made and situated on the tower BY the end of this year or beginning of 2010.
AGM: There will be an AGM at the Old Rectory, Litcham at 3.30pm on the 24th October 2009, everyone most welcome. Please RSVP to 01328 700161 if you would like to attend.
Membership Renewal: If your membership is up for renewal we do hope you will renew.  Your £15 per annum membership fee is really helping to enhance and protect this beautiful Grade 1 listed building.  Look what we have achieved so far.  If you are not currently paying your membership by standing order please consider signing up, it saves us a lot of work!
Sponsor An Hour:  The last fund-raiser for 2009 is to sponsor an hour of the clock! To sponsor an hour on the new clock is £100, and is a one off unique opportunity. Maybe you have a business that you would like to sponsor an hour, or a loved one that you would like to have remembered.  When all of the twelve hours have been sponsored, a plaque will be commissioned and placed inside the church. There will be a copy of the face of the clock dial on the plaque and the name of the Sponsors Company or person to be remembered below each hour, it will remain in the church for generations to see.  At time of going to press two of the hours have already been taken.  Please let me know if you would like to put your business name forward or the name of a loved one.  You could always club together if there is one special person in your family that you would like to put forward for their name to go on the plaque.  Contact me, Kerry Walpole on 01328 700161, thanks again to everyone for their support.
‘Friends of All Saints Church, Litcham’ is a Registered Charity no: XT10870
WINE TASTING AFTERNOON
Saturday 16th May 2009

friendsrtingqtet.jpg

Approx 40 people attended the Friends Wine tasting and Canapés afternoon at The Old Rectory.
The music performed by the Bewick String Quartet was excellent, as were the delicious Canapés hand made by my wife Helene.
6 wines, 3 red, 3 white, from various regions in France, were quaffed during the afternoon...the walk along the path leaving the Old Rectory did not appear to be as straight as on the way in, surely a sign of a great afternoon!
With thanks to everyone on the day for their generous support we have managed to raise £650 from this event. Maybe another next year?
We are now in a postion to advance with stage one of the Clock project, which is to remove the mechanism for an overhaul.
I will keep you posted. Thanks for your continued support. Kind regards, Kerry
FRIENDS Feature in EDP

>Click here to see
.... and Below in an article from the Eastern Daily Press on Saturday 9th May 2009
Please click on it to see a larger and more readable version or simple drag it to your desktop and open it in a graphic file viewer.

friendsEDP.jpg

REUNION AT THE RECTORY
25th October 2008

 Rectory1.jpg

On 25th and 26th October, 36 descendants of George Winter, a former Rector of Litcham, returned to the village for a re-union of the family some 122 years after his retirement.  Amongst the group was his last surviving grandchild, Betty Harkness, now aged 97 and the youngest was his great, great great grandson, Hew Winter aged 4.
George Winter was Rector of Litcham from 1855 until 1886, a tenure of some 31 years.  He and his wife Harriet retired to Lydney House in Swaffham, but such was their love of the village that both were buried in Litcham churchyard together with three of their twelve children. The rood screen in All Saints Church was restored in George’s memory in 1903 by his family, which is commemorated by an iron plaque beside the screen. 
 
Rectory2.jpg
Rev Winter outside Litcham Rectory, circa 1870.

On Saturday afternoon the group visited Litcham museum, The Old Rectory and finally All Saints Church to see the place he so loved, the lime trees at the front of the churchyard which he planted for each of his Children and to place flowers on the family graves.
The visit coincided with the formation of a new charity, The Friends of All Saints Church, Litcham (see below).
On Sunday the group attended Matins conducted by the Reverend Jonathan Boston and lessons were read by members of George Winter’s family.  During his sermon the Reverend spoke of the importance of tradition as a strength and backdrop to our values, but reminded everyone of the importance of remaining relevant and focussed on the present, the future and the needs of those around us.
Thankyou for your support.
Kerry Walpole, 01328 700161 - friendsofallsaints@hotmail.co.uk
Friends of All Saints Church, Litcham - recognised charity no: XT10870