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Calendar for September 2001

Services in Kingscote

Services in Horsley

• The Taize worship meeting will be held at 7.30 pm on Thursday 6th September in the Lady Chapel.
• A Deanery Evensong will be held at 6.00 pm on Sunday 30th September at Lasborough.
• Clergy have been engaged for all of the normal Kingscote services in September. However this may not always be possible in future months. When it is clear that we cannot find a minister for a future service, this will be indicated in the Forerunner. The editor will try to ensure that the services in Horsley are correctly advertised, so that if there is not a service in Kingscote then parishioners can attend there in confidence. Please make a special effort to support these services as the clergy are severely stretched by local demands at this time.
• A special thank you to all who contributed to the total of £450 collected for the vicar, and to the ladies who put on such a lovely reception after the service on the 12th of August. There was an excellent attendance and a large contingent from Horsley also joined us.
• The next PCC Meeting will be held at 8.00 pm on Monday 17th September at Gardeners Cottage by kind invitation of Sue Bradley-Jones. The chief purpose is to plan all arrangements for the Harvest Supper on Saturday 13th October, but other urgent items will also be discussed. We are delighted that Vida Sutton and Richard Waller have agreed to join the PCC.
• A new Reading Schedule will be prepared in September to commence in October 2001. Those wishing to join the small group of regular readers should contact Elin Tattersall. Rearrangement of dates as the year progresses, to suit individual holidays and arisings, is done informally between the readers.
• Forerunner Internet Site www.geocities.com/forerunneruk/
• Diocesan Internet News Site www.glosdioc.org.uk

The Vicar's Letter

(This is the nucleus of a letter which John had been preparing before he knew his leaving date)

Dear All,

The holiday season is almost over. Where did you go this year ? How was the weather ?

A few years ago a friend of mine took his family for a week?s holiday on a canal. They hired a narrow boat. On the whole the weather was good, the landscape on the canal banks green and gentle. The pace of life was slow and undemanding, apart from the locks which punctuated the journey with commas rather than full stops along the way.

Some time after their return we met up over a meal and chatted about their holiday. My friend recalled, "It was great. We relaxed and watched life going on around us. My wife insisted on operating the locks. She fell into the canal once, but she soon got the hang of it. What really amazed me were the kids. I thought that they would be bored stiff. They normally live life at such a frantic pace, but they loved it. One day we noticed butterflies on the bank, and realized that they were travelling faster than we were. It gave us a new perspective !"

Life is indeed fast these days. There is little time for anything but the immediate demands of work and daily survival. The ?human? things are in danger of being squeezed out.

A popular poet, W.H. Davies once wrote:

The demands of the rhyme made him use the word stare, but he was not thinking of an aimless idleness where nothing registers, but of a long look which takes in the world around us. A look which wonders and delights in the intricate beauty of butterflies and all that nature offers from its treasure house. It can renew our perspective and help us understand that life is more than a mad rush from one commitment to another.

St. John in his gospel links it to our spiritual awareness. He says, "That which we have looked at", and he means gazed at, taken time over. Whether it is the canal bank, butterflies, or the revelation of God?s love in Jesus Christ, we need to take time to consider it, absorb its beauty and reflect on how it can change and enrich our lives.

If you have taken a holiday this year, and I hope you have, I hope that you have had a peaceful and relaxing time and have returned to your daily work refreshed and renewed.

God bless,

The Sunday Club re-convenes on 2nd September at 11.00 am in the Village Hall. All children resident in the parish welcome. Under 3?s should be accompanied by an adult.

We were all very sorry to hear that Colin Vickery is in hospital. We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back home in the near future. We also hope to see our senior member Phyl Sage back in circulation very soon - we wish her well, we cannot do without you Phyl.

Our next meeting will be in the Church at 2.30 pm on Wednesday 5th September.

Jane Bateman?s Barbecue Evening was a great success. The weather was perfect, the food delicious and the company great. Quite a few husbands and friends came along too and there was much laughter. Jane provided a lovely raffle prize consisting of a box of fruit and vegetables and guess who won it ? None other than our own Raffle Queen Iris Shorey. The amount raised by the raffle was £14 which has been donated to The Childrens? Society. So thank you Jane for a wonderful evening.

As we have not presently anything planned for October, Jane would like suggestions from members, and also proposals for the venue for our Christmas Dinner. It?s early days but time flies, so girls put on your thinking caps !

Our next event is a trip to the Playhouse, Cheltenham, on Tuesday 11th September to see the show ?Allo Allo?. This commences at 7.45 pm and members are making travel arrangements as convenient. Jane has one spare ticket which can be obtained by calling her.

This Autumn the PCC is launching a major appeal for funds to carry out essential external repairs to the church building, necessary to make it safe and weatherproof. The roof of the Tower, the Lady Chapel and the Vestry all need urgent attention. Further information will be presented in October, and the focus of the appeal will be the week 5th to 11th November when donations will be taken. Please keep your bank balance in good shape for this cause !

We have decided to make a simple direct appeal, rather than a series of fund raising events, as so many members of the community live such busy lives. We have already made a submission to English Heritage for support and, although we have not yet had any specific response, we are hopeful that we may receive 50% grant aid.

Most people are probably well aware that the Diocese and the Church of England are barely able to fund the salaries and pensions of the clergy, so that it is very much up to all of us to look after our beautiful old parish church. Monies collected for the PCC Fabric Fund cannot be used for any other purpose and this is assured by the annual independent audit of the PCC accounts.

Over the centuries past generations have lovingly maintained and improved this building, and now it is our turn. Hopefully we will not be found wanting.

The Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust ?sponsored ride or walk? will take place on Saturday 8th September. A poster explaining the event can be seen in the church porch. Anyone wishing to take part can obtain sponsor forms from me, or if you wish to sponsor someone else I can put you in touch with a participant.

The final accounts for the teas served in the Village Hall on Sunday 22nd

July in aid of the church Fabric Fund show a profit of £390.57, of which £75 has been donated to the Village Hall Committee in gratitude for the magnificent support which they gave on the day.

Sue Bradley-Jones

Further to the item in the August issue, please note that all are invited to attend the public Annual General Meeting at 8.30 pm on Wednesday 5th September in the Village Hall, and to express their views on the future use of the hall.

This annual event will take place on Sunday 30th September. The 21 miles circular route explores some of the most spectacular scenery surrounding Stroud, including the valleys of Nailsworth, Golden, Toadsmoor, Slad and Painswick. The walk is divided into several easy stages served by a free shuttle bus between 11.00 am and 5.30 pm. Sponsorship forms can be obtained from Rosie Jarvis. There is a registration fee of £3 per person or £8 per family.

Mobile Library

The mobile library will be by The Walled Garden from 9.40 am to 9.55 am on Thursdays September 6th and 20th.

The boxes will be emptied as follows:

Contributions for the next issue please by 20th September to Harry Tubbs, 3 The Walled Garden, Tel. 860 194, Email .

(We have some space to spare this month so the editor has added the material below which has been supplied by Rod and Jenny Tibbert for your interest. It is the first part of what will be a historical series on the large house and estate which previously existed to the right of the road leading to Wotton-under-Edge)

The Ridge and The Ridings

Ridge, Edge or Egge is mentioned in the Saxon Charter as Richide. Lands at Symondshall and Egge were granted to Thomas a younger son of Lord Berkeley, who granted the whole to Kingswood Abbey when he died unmarried in about 1248.

At the Dissolution of the Monasteries the property was granted to Poyntz, who sold to Sir Thomas Rivet a rich Londoner who soon sold to another Londoner Sir Thomas Lowe. I have not yet found who the Lowe family sold it to, but in 1800 the property was purchased by Edward Sheppard whose family had originated from Frome Selwood in Somerset. He owned the mill in Uley and traded under the name of Sheppard and Hicks, Clothiers, amongst the largest in the area.

In the early 1820?s Edward Sheppard employed George Repton, a noted landscape gardener and son of the designer of the Brighton Pavilion, to build a mansion at The Ridge. This was completed by 1825 at a cost of £23,000.

When supplies of wool became difficult and expensive owing to the Government tax imposed on imported wool in 1819, Edward acquired some of George III?s Merino sheep from the flock at Windsor. He started his own flock at The Ridge, but they did not thrive in the damp climate, having originated from the dry hills of Spain. He then tried crossing them with Rylands, but the wool was too coarse and the experiment was abandoned.

Just at the time when the mansion was being built the troubles in the woollen industry commenced, and the industry in this part of the country started to decline. By 1837 such was the state of the industry that Edward was forced to sell his house and the factory at Uley. The factory on which he had recently spent £50,000 was sold for £2,300.

The Ridge House was purchased by George Bengough who was the son of the Rev. George Bengough of Hawkesbury. The young George was the heir to his uncle Henry Bengough, who was a solicitor and a partner in a Bristol bank, and who had invested very successfully in a printing company. It was with this fortune that the young George was able to buy The Rigde.

In 1841 George built the Chapel, having first demolished one of the cottages on the site. There are to this day two of the cottages remaining which have been modernised and extended. They were occupied by Broad Weavers in the 18th century and had been sold to Edward Sheppard at the Star Inn at Wotton in June 1799.

Also at about this time one of the cottages was extended and converted to a School House. The Chapel had never been consecrated and was only licensed for worship, a resident Chaplain being provided as stipendiary curate of North Nibley and The Ridge Chapel. The house now known as The Ridings at the top of the hill leading down to Wotton was built for him.

The Bengough family lived in great style in their mansion, providing employment for many, and gained the respect of the local inhabitants. There were many occasions when after a party the locals would be invited to visit the kitchens and take away any left-overs from the feast. They also provided all of the necessary clothing, cradle etc. for any newly born infant in the area. The 'Pack' as it was called was lent out for the first months of the infant?s life.

In the early part of this century the house was used as an hotel, but this was unsuccessful and the Bengough family vacated the house and moved to the house they had built for the curate. They could find no immediate purchaser for the property and in the early 1920?s it was sold to Charles Cory.

In 1937 the house was demolished. Much of the stone was pushed into the very capacious cellars and some was used to build an extension to Hunters Hall. During the 1939 to 45 war the Searchlight section of the Monmouthshire Regiment occupied the site, the stables and the courtyard which had not been demolished being used for stores.

The Chapel gradually deteriorated, until in 1950 it was sold and demolished.

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