This is a text-only version of an article first published on Friday, 17 January 2014. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
by Stuart LeemingBOW Brickhill is one of the four parishes making up the Benefice of the Brickhills and Stoke Hammond at the northern end of the Mursley Deanery. All Saints, once known as the "Beacon Church" due to its location on the ancient heathland of the greens and ridge above the village, is now surrounded by trees and partially hidden in the woods from the village it serves. A rector was first appointed in 1185 but the present church building is 15th century with repairs in the 17th and 18th centuries and Victorian additions.
Over the years its exposure to the prevailing south westerly winds caused severe erosion to tower masonry and despite Victorian rendering "repairs" the erosion continued and had been highlighted in our last few quinquennial architect's reports.
In 2011 the PCC decided
Sue Malleson it was time to act to prevent the tower becoming irreparable without great future costs.
We knew we needed the support of the community and through our parish magazine asked for interested volunteers to form a sub-committee of the PCC with the task of overseeing the necessary repairs to the tower.
Our prayers were answered when several people led by a recently retired local businessman, Alan Preen, took up the challenge and the All Saints Tower Restoration Appeal (Astra) committee was formed. Funds were raised, grants obtained, faculty applications approved, volunteers found and skilled contractors approved.
For several weekends volunteers (pictured right) worked, sustained by on-site catering, and helped clean out the tower belfry gathering up around a hundred sacks of dust, feathers, twigs and pigeon waste accumulated over many years, whilst during the week the stonemasons worked on the tower windows and buttresses. We now have a completely repointed church tower with repaired belfry windows and buttresses and a tower interior and belfry cleaned out and re-floored with gates and safety rails, a spiral staircase with repaired newel stones and a nave and chancel cleaned and repainted.
This project has had a positive effect in uniting our community and its legacy is the formation of ASTRA Community Projects which will undertake tasks for the benefit of the village.