Friends of All Saints

WHO ARE ‘THE FRIENDS’?

The Friends of All Saints Church Litcham was established to raise funds for the fabric of this beautiful building in the heart of our village. 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 a Grade I Listed Building and the present church was largely rebuilt around 1348 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.

Click here to download an application form

WAYS TO HELP US
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.

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. Simply 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.

Buy Litcham Bell Heather and support the Bell Fund
Litcham’s church bells have stood the test of time, ringing out in celebration on numerous occasions over the past 340 odd years. (It would be interesting to know how many people now living in the village had the bells rung at their own wedding). Perhaps not surprisingly, the six bells and their fittings are now in need of a thorough refurbishment and retuning and the estimated cost of this work is around £30,000. A lot of fundraising will be required, and we are fortunate that to help us get off the ground Norfolk Herbs of Dillington agreed to grow some Bell Heathers for sale using cuttings taken from Litcham Common.
Bell Heather (Erica cinerea) is one of three heathers native to Britain, and is arguably the most beautiful with its lovely red-purple drooping bells. Bell heather is a lot rarer than it used to be, so we are very fortunate that it can still be found on the common, where it has probably grown since before Litcham even existed as a village. In the past the plant had a variety of uses, ranging from making thatch and rope to dyeing wool.
Many thanks must go to Rosie and Brian Clifton-Sprigg of Norfolk Herbs for propagating the cuttings. Their skill has given us the chance to own a part of Litcham’s natural history, while at the same time supporting the Bell Appeal, which will preserve an entirely different aspect of our heritage.
Bell heather is a lovely garden plant that is very popular with bees; it does best in an acidic soil and can be grown in pots. Only a limited number of plants are available so sales will be on a first come first served basis at a price of £3 each or two for £5.
Please speak to Tim Angell if you want to make a purchase.
Tim Angell Tel: 01328 700 045 or email: angell.family@talktalk.net

PLEASE JOIN NOW – click here to download application form
All members receive a regular newsletter.

THE STORY SO FAR…

LOOKING BACK ON 2012
Friends of Litcham All Saint’s Chairman’s report February 2013
The priority for the coming year will be to raise money towards major restoration work to the fabric of All Saints Church, which last year celebrated its 600th Anniversary. The cost of the restoration work, currently being planned with English Heritage, is estimated to be around £150,000, and involves urgent work to the Chancel Roof, drainage and guttering, vestry, masonry and timber repairs and the tower. Grants are expected from English Heritage and other charities, but the Church is expected to make a significant contribution. The Friends have already raised £5000, and we would like make a further donation towards this essential work. The Friends also donated a new St Georges flag last year for the church flag pole for the 600th year celebrations.
Membership: We have seen an influx of membership renewals and new members after a letter that was sent out late last year. Membership is currently running at approximately 46, which produces £690 per annum plus donations.
2013 Calendars: No calendars were produced, as they were not profitable last year. A 2014 calendar will be reviewed for possible production later this year.
Clock: After some new parts the clock has been running very well for the last 12 months, a service of the clock will be considered for later this year.
Wine Tasting: This event is proving popular raising approximately £800 again last year; another event will be run later this year.
Resignation News: Hannah Barratt has tendered her resignation as a trustee as she is moving away from the village. I would like to thank Hannah for her contribution over the years to the charity. The charity would like to appoint another trustee and would welcome applications to be considered.
And finally I would like to thank ALL the Friends for their continued support and look forward to seeing as many of them as possible in 2013.
Kerry Walpole, tel: 01328 700161.

2010/11 ~ A year of fundraising
During the year ending 30 September 2011 total income was £2801 with expenditure of £1200 leaving a surplus of £1600. Total reserves stand at £5036.
Currently we have 44 members. The fund raising income came from the Wine Tasting event – £793 net – and proceeds from the Litcham Village fete over 2 years of £143.
The main expenditure was spent on completing the Church Clock restoration work £432 and £300 for the installation of safety hoops on the Tower ladder.
We plan to contribute £5000 in 2011/12 towards the Church building major restoration works currently being planned.
A full set of accounts is available from the Treasurer- Tony Wilson- Tel:01328 701444 or email awilson@greenbee.net.
The AGM for the Friends will be held on sat. 28 January 2012 at 4.30pm at The Old Rectory in Litcham. If you would like to attend please contact Kerry Walpole via this email address or telephone 01328 700161

2009/10 ~ Our First Project – Restoration of the Clock

Dials2 Our first project was restoration of the Church clock, an important centrepiece to the village.
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.
The hourly chime, which stopped earlier in 2008 was restored to working order by ‘The Friends’ in September 2009.
The hands and two dials were restored and installed in February 2010 (see left).
Currently we are working on restoring the chimes. There are 6 bells and whilst in working order, they are in need of restoration. We are currently getting quotes in to do the work and will report back when we have news on when the project will commence.
Dials1 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!
The response to our launch last December has been fantastic, we already have over 50 members! External funding is being applied for alongside our own annual memberships fees which are essential.