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St John the Baptist Church Steps
Work on the restoration of the steps of St John the Baptist Church in Avon Dassett is underway and all being well the work will be completed in good time for the Jubilee Weekend as planned.
The steps opening ceremony will take place on Sunday June 3, 2012. All are welcome.
We will congregate in the Avon from 2.30pm onwards with a sandwich lunch provided by the Avon. This is free of charge to sponsors, and others are able to have lunch at their own expense. The bells of St. John's Church will be rung between 3:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. and the formal opening will take place at 3:30 p.m. A member of the church's conservation trust will be master of ceremonies and the ribbon will be cut by the oldest resident in the village. There will then be an opportunity to visit the church where there will be an exhibition of photographs and children's work with a musical accompaniment. If you would like to attend the opening and the lunch, please contact Diana Biddlestone or Steve Sartori. Finally there will be an official photo to mark the occasion.
We would also like to decorate the steps up to the church with small pots of flowers. If you are able to loan a small pot of flowers for the opening which will then be returned to you that would be very helpful.
Diana Biddlestone, chair of the 'Save our Steps' project, commented: 'The restoration of the steps has been a wonderful team effort by so many residents and friends of the village. We have been very fortunate to achieve this in these straitened times and it is a good opportunity to celebrate our community and thank those who have supported the project with time, effort and funding.'
A huge thank you to all those people who have agreed to sponsor a step. We have raised another £1000 towards the fund and now have a total of £7.500 towards the estimated cost of £10,500.
The project is beginning to gather pace. The survey and design will take place by the end of March. The aim is to commence the work in April so that the work will be completed in good time for the Jubilee weekend celebrations.
If you have not yet sponsored a step or made a donation please consider whether you are able to do so. We need your help!
Sponsors will be acknowledged by a plaque on the step - a good way to leave a lasting memorial in the village.
Cheques should be made out to Avon Dassett Parish Council. Please write “Steps fund" on the back of the cheque and send it to Avon Dassett Reading Room, Avon Dassett CV47 2AL or hand it to one of the Parish Councillors.
Contact Diana Biddlestone on 01295 690715 or Diana.biddlestone@btinternet.com if you would like further information.
The steps of St John the Baptist Church suffered badly during the severe weather last winter and are now unsafe to use. This is particularly disappointing in view of the large sums of money invested by the Churches Conservation Trust who recently spent hundreds of thousands of pounds restoring the spire.
The previous Parish Council began to explore the possibility of repairing the damage to the steps so that the building could remain in use and their efforts are being continued by the new councillors.
In November 2011 we were delighted to be awarded a grant of £1500 by Warwickshire County Council from the Community Development Fund towards the cost of refurbishment. We are very grateful to Councillor Chris Williams who supported our application. We are also grateful to the Open Gardens Society who have agreed to donate the proceeds of this year's event in Avon Dassett to the project. The Fete committee have also agreed to make a donation. Christmas cards will be on sale soon and the profits contributed to the project.
If you would like to help:-
Councillors Diana Biddlestone and Daniel Robertson have agreed to set up a working party to deal with this project.
This webpage will carry regular updates and reports on the progress of the project.
At a recent meeting Diana Biddlestone met with Daniel Robertson, Lily hope-Frost, Tim Berwick of South Oxfordshire Borough Council and three representatives from the Churches Conservation Trust. At this meeting the CCT had offered £3k towards the project, bringing the total pledged to approximately £6k. Those present formed a steering group chaired by Diana Biddlestone. It has been agreed that Tim Berwick will survey the site to confirm what is required without charge.
The CCT were impressed by the range of organisations and groups committed to fund the repair of the steps and felt this could be a model for other projects they are involved with.The Council reiterated its thanks and praise for Diana's efforts in securing significant funding and in such a short space of time.
The Christmas Cards being sold in aid of the steps appeal have been on sale. Jill Burgess has been selling them in the pub and the cards remain available for purchase at a very reasonable price.