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Shipbourne Rector  Restoration Appeal

St. Giles' Church Shipbourne

The parish church of St Giles' Church, Shipbourne is situated on the west side of Shipbourne Common. Its address is:

St Giles Church
Stumble Hill
Shipbourne
Tonbridge
Kent
TN11 9PF

The present church was built by Edward Cazalet of Fairlawne and opened for worship in 1881. Details of services are set out below, showing whether the service is in Shipbourne Church or in the neighbouring parish of Plaxtol.
 

Evening office
This takes place every weekday at 4.30pm. This is a short service and lasts about 20 minutes.

Choral evensong
This takes place at 6pm in either Shipbourne or Plaxtol on the fifth Sunday of any month.

Special services

Sunday 18 December:
a Nativity and Christingle service will be held in Shipbourne church at 9.30am
Saturday 24 December:
The carol service will be held at 5pm
The midnight service at 11.30pm will be held this year in Plaxtol church
Sunday 25 December
9.30am: Family service, followed by a said service of Holy Communion
Sunday 29 January 2012, 10.30am: there will be a service in Plaxtol church for Plaxtol and Shipbourne parishes which will include a talk on the Mission Aviation Fellowship

Restoration of St Giles - the next phase
We are working with our architect to develop detailed plans for the next phase of the restoration work. This will involve:

Extensive underpinning of the Lady Vane Chapel to stabilise the foundations and work to repair and make good the cracks in the walls;

Restoration of more of the most damaged stonework, mainly on the Tower.

We are already taking steps to raise the substantial funds needed to carry out this work. We have some funds available for restoration work but much more will be needed before work can begin.

We have applied to English Heritage for Lottery funding and hope to hear whether we have been successful early in 2012;

We will seek further grants and donations from grant making trusts and individuals; and

We will continue our successful fund raising campaigns. In November a concert by the Quorum Chamber Choir was well attended and raised funds for the restoration. A further concert will be given in the Spring by a professional choir from St Petersburg in aid of the Appeal.

You can read more about the restoration of the church below.
 

Playchurch
Playchurch at Shipbourne Church is aimed at pre-school and primary school children and their parents. It is an opportunity for everyone with young ones to meet and worship at St Giles in a relaxed atmosphere. Playchurch takes place at 9.30am, normally on the second Saturday of each month. It lasts about 3/4 hour with Bible stories and craft activities for the children and is an opportunity for parents to have an informal discussion on the week's theme. There will be refreshments for both children and their parents.

Playchurch will take place on:
10 December 2011, 14 January, 11 February and 10 March 2012.

If you've got young children, it would be great to see you there. For more details, call the Rector Andrew Procter on 01732 811081 or Sally Bryden on 01732 810935

The Boomerang Club
This is a club for all children aged 7 to 11 years. Meetings take place in the Village Hall and last about an hour. There are Bible stories, music, craft, games and more. Don't miss out. Join us and all your friends there. For more details, contact Mary Perry on 01732 810797 or by e-mail on mary@perry9138.freeserve.co.uk

Boomerang Club takes place on the second Sunday of each month in the Village Hall between 4 and 5pm. Future meetings will be on:
11 December 2011, 8 January, 12 February and 11 March 2012.

Studying the Christian faith this autumn
The parish is running four courses of study about the Christian faith this autumn and into next year. Full details were attached to the September 2011 edition of the Shipbourne Newsletter. If you would like to join any of these courses, please contact Andrew Procter at The Rectory, The Street, Plaxtol, Kent TN15 0QG or by e-mail to a.procter@live.co.uk

The courses are
a. Films - watch a film from the Bible Society and then meet to discuss it
b. Bible study - meetings to discuss passages from the Bible
c. Christian Listeners Course - learn Christian listening skills
d. the Alpha Course - meetings to discuss the basic challenges of the Christian faith

The Rector has written about the third film
The title for the final film of the three we said we would do is American Beauty with Kevin Spacey. It's a searching satire into mid-life crisis, youth culture and suburban life. Elizabeth and I saw when it first came out and think it one of the best films we have seen. More details on the Bible Society's Reel Issues website. The evening set for us to meet and discuss it is Saturday 7th January, 8:00pm at the Rectory.

Harvest Supper
The Shipbourne Harvest Supper takes place every autumn, normally on the Friday before the Harvest Festival.

Church APCM

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting took place in St Giles' Church on Tuesday 26 April. There was a report on the activities of the Church over the past year and the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2010 were presented for approval.

Churchyard working party
A working party meets, normally twice a year, in the churchyard of St Giles to clear saplings from the graves, cut out brambles and generally tidy the churchyard. Details from Jeff King (01732 364529).

Cleaning the church
The church is cleaned by volunteers: please contact Mary Perry on 01732 810797 or by e-mail on mary@perry9138.freeserve.co.uk, if you would like to help.

Bibles on each pew at St Giles
The PCC has acquired some bibles which have been placed on each pew at St Giles, using money which has been donated for this purpose. After careful consideration the NRSV translation with the Apocrypha has been selected. The bibles are for general use, for visitors to the church as well as to enable the congregation to follow the readings during services.

Each bible cost £12.25. If you would like to sponsor a Bible, please telephone Elizabeth Moore (01732 810423 - answerphone messages are welcome - and send or deliver the money to Cherry Tree Cottage, Stone Street Road, Ivy Hatch, Sevenoaks, TN15 0PQ. Cheques should be made out to Shipbourne PCC.

Dedicate a hymn book: we still have a number of undedicated hymn books in Shipbourne Church. We originally suggested that people might like to buy a hymn book and dedicate it - perhaps in memory of someone, or to commemorate a special occasion such as a birth, marriage or baptism.

If you would like to dedicate a hymn book you need to pay £10.00, either to one of the Churchwardens or to Miss Margaret Thompson. She will provide you with a bookplate which you can fill in and she will stick it into a hymn book for you.

Shipbourne Rector
Andrew Procter is the Rector of Shipbourne with Plaxtol. He was installed as Rector at a service of induction on 20th September 2007.

Andrew has been a parish clergyman all his working life. He originates from Yorkshire and served a curacy and a first living in the Pennines before another living in inner Bradford. For the last fourteen years he has been Vicar of Hextable and Swanley Village. His wife Elizabeth is a Medical Consultant in Child and Adolescent Mental Health in Gillingham. They have four children in their twenties - two married daughters and two single sons - and a disobedient dog.

Andrew can be contacted at:
The Rectory, The Street, Plaxtol, Kent TN15 0QG
Telephone 01732 811081 e-mail a.procter@live.co.uk

Governance
The Rector is the Chairman of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) which is responsible for the running of the Church. The Annual Report and Accounts of the Church are presented to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting which is held normally in April each year. The members of the PCC are elected at this meeting from the congregation.

Churchwardens
Mr John Boyd (810750) email: johnboydqq@yahoo.co.uk
Mrs Monica Long (355325) email: monmike@cornfield.fslife.co.uk

PCC Secretary: Mrs Mary Perry (810797)
Children’s Representative: Mrs Jill Adams (810185)

Building works at St Giles
The building work on the tower and the roof and on the interior of the Lady Vane Chapel has been completed. The restoration of the organ was completed in 2010 but the organ was damaged during a break-in early in 2011. Our organ builders have installed new tracker rods to replace those which had been broken and the organ is once again in working order. Further building work will take place as the restoration programme moves forward. You can read more about the building works at St Giles in the section on the St Giles appeal further down this page.

Healing Prayer Group
The group meets on the third Friday of each month to pray for the sick. Anyone is welcome to attend. Requests for prayer can be put on the prayer board in church. For more details, including time and venue, please contact Jeannie King on 01732 364529.

The Bells
The tower contains six bells which were re-hung in 1993. Bell ringing practice is on Thursday nights at 20.00. Call the Tower Secretary, Mary Clark on 01732 811265, if you would like to ring the bells.

The Choir
The Choir sings at the 9.30 service every Sunday. Practices are held at the home of John Young, the choirmaster and organist once a week on Thursday or Friday. Contact John Young on 01732 810289 if you would like to sing with the choir.

Flowers
Felicity Ward organises the rota for the flower arrangements in the church each week. Please contact her on 01732 810525 if you would like to help with the flowers or to discuss flowers for weddings or funerals.

Farmers’ Market
A Farmers’ Market is held at the church every Thursday between 9.00 and 11.00. You can buy local produce including breads, meat, vegetables, mushrooms, smoked fish, pickles, cheeses and fruit. The church organises the Market as a service to the local community.
For more information ring Bob Taylor 01732 833976.

St Giles and Shipbourne Newsletter
The Newsletter contains information about the church and the local community. It is produced by the church and delivered free to every house in the parish. Further copies are available in the church. Following the sudden death of Frank Chapman, who had edited the Newsletter for many years, Mrs Sally Bryden has taken over editing the Newsletter, starting with the February edition. Any items of news or adverts should be sent to her at shipbourne@virginmedia.com. Her telephone number is 01732 810935.

Church Finance
St Giles' is responsible for all its own expenses, including making a contribution to the costs of the diocese, and relies on donations from parishioners and other friends from outside the parish, who support the church’s work. Donations are made by bank standing order, an envelope scheme or by donations in church and benefit from Gift Aid where the necessary declaration has been made. You can find information on the envelope scheme and Gift Aid forms for completion at the back of the church. Further information on supporting the ministry of the church can be obtained from the Treasurer, Martyn Williams, at martyn.dwilliams@btinternet.com or telephone 01732 833751.

St Giles Trust supports the St Giles Church restoration appeal

One of the funds which has been supporting the continuing restoration of St Giles is a local charity, St Giles Trust. The Trust was set up in 1985 by the Venerable Edward Maples Earle who was Rector of St Giles at the time, and two Shipbourne residents, Bernard Russell and Aubrey Beach. Their aim was to create a fund which would contribute to the cost of the maintenance and decoration of the church’s fabric and the upkeep of its churchyard. The Trust has continued to pursue these aims and it remains a local charity, run by five trustees who are all members of the congregation of St Giles.

Over the years the Trust has contributed over £11,000 to various projects, including £6,000 in the last two years. The Trust contributed to improvements to the lighting and to the installation of the new oil fired central heating system. In 2008 the Trust contributed towards the cost of the first stage of the restoration appeal, which involved replacing the nave roof and doing urgent repairs to the roof, stonework and joinery of St Giles’ distinctive tower.

The Trust has recently contributed to the overhaul of the St Giles organ. This is a fine instrument. It was built in the 1880s by Lewis and Co, a leading organ builder of the day, and is still in its original condition. However the organ had been showing its age and needed a thorough overhaul. The work was carried out by Bishops the organ builders and was completed at the end of 2010.

Since it was founded, many people have contributed to the Trust, through personal donations or by making a specific legacy in favour of the Trust in their wills; some people have kindly donated to the Trust funds collected in memory of a loved one. All these contributions have been greatly appreciated.

If you would like further information on St Giles Trust, or would like to contribute to the charity, please contact Nick Ward, who is the Chairman of the Trustees, telephone 810525.

 

Page last updated: 7/12/2011

Shipbourne War Memorial

St. Giles' churchyard old memorial inscriptions

St. Giles' stained glass

Farmers' Market

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Now available online

St Giles Shipbourne Restoration and Development Appeal

The church launched an appeal in 2007 for funds for urgent repairs, and for improvements to its facilities.

WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED SO FAR?

St Giles Church has been standing for 125 years but the structure is showing its age. When the church was inspected by the architect in 2005, she found that the nave roof was worn out, the roof of the Tower was leaking, causing rot in the timbers supporting the roof, and some of the stonework was badly damaged after being exposed to the weather for more than a century. The pictures show the poor state of the roof and tower before work began. The advice was that we couldn't patch it up any longer: we needed a new roof on the tower and nave and extensive repairs to the timbers, stonework and leadwork.

The tower and the roof

Fund raising started straight away. The Church applied to English Heritage for a grant out of Lottery funds and we were delighted when they offered a substantial grant towards the cost of the repair work. The exploratory work carried out in 2007 revealed that the Tower roof was in a much worse state than had been thought.

The repair work began in July 2008. The old tiles were stripped off, new felt and battens were put in place and new tiles were laid on the roofs of the tower, the nave and the north-east porch. The leadwork was repaired or replaced where necessary to make St Giles watertight and ready for the next 125 years. In the tower the structural timbers have been repaired where they had been damaged by damp and a new dormer doorway has been built in oak to replace the old one. The gutters were sand blasted and repainted. A stonemason has restored or replaced individual stones on the outside of the tower and on the wall of the West gable end, since many of these had been eroded by the weather. He also carved a new gargoyle, so St Giles will once again have a gargoyle on each corner of the tower. Finally the cockerel on the weather vane has been restored and re-gilded.

Lady Vane Chapel

The Lady Vane Chapel in the South transept has been transformed. A new glazed oak screen, in memory of Edward and Jocelyn Earle, has been installed behind the choir stalls at the entrance to the chapel. The fine Rysbrack sculpture, carved as a memorial to Lord Barnard and his family who used to live at Fairlawne, has been cleaned and spotlights have been installed so that the memorial can be seen properly. The other memorial plaques have been cleaned. The whole area has been cleared and carpeted. The chapel provides a space for private prayer, for signing the registry at weddings or for meetings.

The Church floor
St Giles has a fine marble terrazzo floor, with complex designs mainly at the east end of the church around the altar. Terrazzo flooring is made up of small pieces of marble. This form of flooring was first developed in Venice in the fifteenth century as a way of using up small offcuts of marble. The technique has been greatly refined over the years. It provides a tough and attractive flooring. However over the years some cracks had appeared and the surface had become dull with accumulated dirt. In June the conservators who worked on the Lady Vane Chapel carried out discreet repairs to fill the cracks and where necessary replace missing pieces of marble in the aisle and chancel. The colours of the marble have re-emerged after cleaning. We hope to carry out further restoration work in the porch and inside the main door when funds allow.

The organ

Our next project was to overhaul the organ. St Giles has a fine organ which was built by Lewis and Co, a leading firm of organ builders in the nineteenth century. It has a beautiful tone, the mechanism is virtually unchanged since it was built and it has a fine case. The diocesan organ adviser wrote about our organ:

“In thirty years as an organist…I have never come across such a wonderful instrument. Any church possessing an organ built by T. C. Lewis has a real gem for an instrument. The organs by Lewis are characteristic by their wide range of colour, superb build quality, and if money allows (in Shipbourne’s case) a superb case as well. While the organ needs a full-scale restoration, it still has a fantastic sound – all in all a really satisfying organ. You are so lucky to preside over such an instrument.”

Like the church, the organ is more than 100 years old. Bishops the organ builders stripped down the organ and carried out a thorough restoration in their workshops during 2010. The work has been completed and the organ is now in full working order.

WHAT ARE WE RAISING MONEY FOR NOW?

We are working with our architect to develop plans for the next phase of the restoration work. She has advised that there is further restoration work which is now urgent.

Underpinning work
Shortly after the work on the Lady Vane Chapel was completed, some cracks appeared in the walls. Most of these followed the line of old cracks which had been filled and were thought to be stable. The cracks were carefully monitored: they opened in dry summer periods and then partially closed in the winter. Trial pits were dug in early 2011 and our structural engineer advised that extensive underpinning would be required under the walls of the Lady Vane Chapel, to stabilise the foundations and prevent further movement during dry periods. The cracks must be properly repaired and made good.

Exterior stonework
Large areas of stonework on the tower and the west front were restored in 2008, but there remain extensive areas of exterior stonework on all sides of the church, which are in poor condition. The damaged stones need to be replaced or repaired by a stonemason. Some re-pointing is needed. We are now planning to repair some more of the worst affected stonework on the upper levels of the building.

How much will this cost?
Based on the preliminary estimates we have received, we estimate that the next phase of the restoration work will cost in excess of £200,000. We have some funds available but much more is needed to complete this programme of work.

What else remains to be done?
Even after completing the next phase of the restoration there will still be much to be done. This includes

the vestry: this needs some refurbishment, including a new carpet

exterior stonework: further repairs on the lower walls and the walls surrounding the churchyard

the Chancel: the fine decoration on the East wall of the chancel has been badly damaged over the years by damp. It has been stabilised but restoration will require painstaking work by expert conservators.

the floor: there are areas of the attractive marble flooring which are cracked or damaged and these need expert restoration.

metalwork: on doors, gates and windows needs re-painting.

the churchyard: some of the graves need attention.

Improved facilities

Plans are being developed to improve the church’s facilities, including better storage, simple kitchen facilities and a WC. We are thinking about the church’s needs in coming years and considering how best to improve the facilities in a way which is sympathetic to the character of our wonderful church. These ideas are at an early stage and nothing will be decided until the plans have been properly examined and discussed.

Fund raising continues

We have applied for funds to various grant making trusts and some have already made generous contributions. We are grateful to all those individuals who have generously supported the Appeal.

We are continuing with our programme of fund raising events, including most recently a concert by the Quorum choir; further events are being planned.

We are delighted that we have raised sufficient funds to undertake the first stages of the restoration work but we still need further funds to enable us to carry out the rest of the restoration programme. You can contribute by sending a cheque, payable to St Giles Church Shipbourne, to the Treasurer, Martyn Williams, The Round House, Riding Lane, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 9QL, specifying that you would like your contribution to be used for the restoration appeal.

Do support the parish's fund raising efforts. At the Farmers' Market you can buy:

• The Shipbourne Cookery Book - on sale for £10

• The Shipbourne shopping bag - the green solution to cutting down on plastic bags

• Shipbourne tea towels

• Shipbourne mugs

• The new Shipbourne Christmas card. Small cards cost £3.50 for 10 and large cards cost £4.50 for 10. There is a 10% reduction for purchases of 50 or more. They are on sale at the Farmers' Market.

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