Parish of Barton Stacey and Bullington – Annual Report 2015
Parish of All Saints, Barton Stacey
St. Michael and All Angels, Bullington
Annual Report of the Parochial Church Council 2016
The Flower Festival at All Saints
Celebrating Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th Birthday
Rector:
Revd. Mark Bailey, 6 Green Close, South Wonston, Winchester SO21 3EE
Telephone: 01962 886883
Email:
Assistant Priest:
Revd. Karen Kousseff, 15 Long Barrow Close, South Wonston, Winchester SO21 3ED
Telephone: 01962 885114
Email:
More information on our activities can be found online:
Bullington Church website:
Facebook: Bullington Church
All Saints website: Facebook: Barton Stacey Church
Introduction
All Saints’ Church lies close to the centre of the village of Barton Stacey, about six miles south-east of Andover in Hampshire. A church has stood here since at least the 10th century. The present building was substantially completed by the addition of the tower in the 16th century; more recent additions have included toilet facilities and an efficient heating system.
St. Michael and All Angels, Bullington dates back to the 11th century, originally built by the Lord of the Manor for private use of his family and estate workers. The basic structures of the nave and tower belong to the 12th and 13th centuries. Much work has been done in recent times to the roof; the three bells,the oldest of which dates back to 1392, were restored to full circle change ringing in 2011.
In 2009 the two ecclesiastical parishes of Barton Stacey and Bullington were merged into one with St. Michael’s becoming a chapel-of-ease to All Saints.
A variety of services are held in both churches, weekly at All Saints and bi-weekly at St. Michael’s. (See noticeboards for details.)
Lower Dever Benefice: Statistics for January to December2015
All SaintsBarton Stacey / St Michael and All Angels Bullington / St Margaret Of Antioch
South Wonston
2016 – (2015) / 2016 – (2015) / 2016 – (2015)
Baptisms / 5(7) / 0(1) / 4(5)
(Including Baptisms of South Wonston residents held at Holy Trinity, Wonston.)
Weddings / 2(2) / 0(1) / 1(2)
(Including Blessings Weddings of South Wonston residents held at Holy Trinity, Wonston.)
Funerals / 2(9) / 0(1) / 2(12)
(Including Funerals taken at Crematoria. Clergy officiated at a further 5 funerals on behalf of neighbouring parishes. )
There are currently 97members on the All Saints and St Michael and All Angels’ Electoral Roll (a decrease of 3 members over 2015).
The parish has strong links with the thriving Church of England primary school in Barton Stacey.
PCC members and officers
The PCC supports the Rector in his pastoral work, and in promoting Christ’s Gospel throughout the parish. It is a charity exempted from registration with the Charity Commission.
Chairman: Revd. Mark Bailey
Assistant Priest: Revd. Karen Kousseff
Churchwardens:Mrs Susan Giles
Mr Jonny White
PCC Secretary:Mrs Wendy Harris
Treasurer: Mr Stuart Rippon
Fabric Officer: Mr Lee Hazard
Electoral Roll Officer:Mrs Wendy Harris
Gift Aid Secretary:Vacant
Elected Members: Mrs Tessa Lee,Mr Nicholas Prideaux,Mrs Rita Cole, Mr Terry Dewey.
From The Rector
“Jesus calls us to a holiness that is positive, generous and open hearted.”
Archbishop Justin Welby
Christian people unashamedly model their lives on the example set by Jesus Christ. In doing so, those who respond to that call, are the first to acknowledge that the narrow way is as much an uphill struggle as it is for anyone else. Religious faith does not insure against the travails of everyday life but rather challenges the pilgrim to hold before them a particular way of being, that thinks beyond the self. Jesus gives of himself not for himself but for others. It is this life of ‘positive, generous, open heartedness’ that is the mark of the Christian way and has manifested itself more than fully over this past year in our three Churches.
2016 saw the celebration of the 775th Anniversary of the Charter given by Henry III to Barton Stacey, allowing the Village to hold a market fair. The celebrations centred on the Church Fete and involved a huge amount of work and energy ably directed by the Chair of our Fete Committee Ian Ashbolt. It was a wonderful opportunity to involve all aspects of community life, not least in the decorating of a series of medieval knights by different village groups. The Fete was a remarkable success and will be remembered for many years to come. The Knights themselves were exhibited in Winchester Cathedral and have had a further extended tour being displayed in the Hampshire Records Office. Gratitude and appreciation must be expressed to the whole Fete Team. We look forward to celebrating the 225th Anniversary of the Great Fire this year!
This year also saw steps being taken to formally close Barton Stacey Churchyard and hand responsibility for its care to Test Valley Borough Council. The last new grave was introduced in 2012 with burials since being introduced into the Parish Burial Ground. The process for closing a churchyard is overseen by the Ministry of Justice and will take some time to complete. Given amicable conversations with both the Parish and Borough Councils however I am hopeful that this will be straight forward. In the longer-term it will mean a significant financial saving for the PCC, allowing for a more focused approach on the care of the fabric of the Church itself. Existing graves in the Churchyard, which are not full, will continue to be able to be used. Closing the Churchyard will not hinder new graves for cremated remains being introduced.
Continuing the theme of fetes, the Bullington Craft Fete this year was another success, ably lead by Emily Leader. The event saw more craft stalls than ever before, blessed by glorious sunshine. Over the past year a number of folk from Sutton Manor have found a spiritual home at St. Michael’s and it has been very good to welcome them.
In South Wonston, St. Margaret’s has continued apace with its outreach into the community as evidenced by a record turn-out at the Carol Service. The annual Memorial Service was another occasion which showed how important the life of the Church is to those who would not normally darken its door. This year also saw the PCC and congregation shouldering more responsibility for the upkeep and maintenance of the building in accordance with the terms of the lease agreement. I am grateful to the Fabric Committee for their ongoing support.
One further significant change this year saw the loosening of relationship between the Upper and Lower Dever Benefices. Over the past eight years the clergy of the Lower Dever have helped to cover services in the Upper Dever. Reorganisation, with the Upper Dever being incorporated into structures with Kingsworthy, now mean this is no longer necessary. It is now widely acknowledged that the vision of the Group Ministry initiated in 2007 proved impractical. We wish the Churches of the Upper Dever, and the people they serve, every blessing as they discover new patterns of working together.
Of particular note, a big thank you must be expressed to Wendy Harris who retires as PCC Secretary and Safeguarding Officer at Barton Stacey and to Stuart Rippon who steps down as Treasurer. Both have given untold hours to helping manage mountains of paperwork. And more than a big thank you to Mary Cleal, who steps down as Churchwarden at South Wonston. Happily, Mary will continue to keep an eye on the Rector in the PCC!
“Jesus calls us to a holiness that is positive, generous and open hearted.” As it was in 2016, so shall it be, by God’s grace, in 2017
God Bless
Mark
PCC business
The PCC held sevenordinary meetings during the year, and the Annual General Meeting will be held onSun 23rdApril 2017 at 12.00pm.
Much of the PCC’s businesscontinues to be related to the maintenance of the church and churchyard. New initiatives were put in place with regard to Stewardship, Church Copyright and Performance Licences and the introduction of the Pet Service.
The PCC owe thanks to many people for support during the year. Without this support our ability to support the mission of the church, and its fabric, would be under threat. Thank you, therefore, to all who help and contribute so much.
Christmas Puddings were, once again, produced in the Parish by the Heavenly Stirrers with record sales.These continue to be a great source of culinary enjoyment both locally and in the wider community. Our grateful thanks go to all those involved in their production and sale.
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Finance
2016 was the year when we finally completed the work on our listed churchyard wall costing a little over £4,000 in addition to the large costs last year. We have also spent an additional £480 of funds on graveyard clearance and the East gate was replaced at a ceremony officiated by the Lord Lieutenant at a cost of just under £800.
Our Quinquennial inspection cost us £715 and has identified a number of areas that will drive expenditure in the future the most urgent of which is the maintenance and improvement of the lightening protection.
Our encaustic tiles continue to be an area of concern in terms of future expenditure and we have instructed professionals to start investigating options.
Again our thanks to the fete and fair, their efforts have made this large expenditure possible. The medieval fete, Christmas fair, puddings and wreaths raised well over £10,000 for the maintenance of the church in the year.
Our share for 2016 increased by 10% over 2015 as part of the ongoing transitional arrangements and at the request of the diocese we contributed an addition £3,000 in 2016 to assist other parishes.
At Bullington we have completed work on the pipe guards which was our major item of additional expenditure in 2016. Following investigations into the provision of a toilet at Bullington we have unfortunately decided that the costs are far in excess of what would be considered reasonable.
Repairs on our listed buildings will continue to be a feature of our accounts going forward with projects to stabilise the listed encaustic tiles and deal with the pews at All Saints and works to ensure the safety of the paths at Bullington top of the list. Costs for these items are likely to exceed restricted provisions.
In general financial performance is encouraging, but the on-going burden of making good outstanding maintenance to both churches continues to need management.
Barton Stacey
Total income increased again in 2016 to just over £41,000. Fundraising brought in nearly £17,000 over the year adding almost a third to what was raised in 2015. Repairing the graveyard wall was a much lower drain on our resources in 2016 and as a result overall our resources have increased.
However although giving overall has increased there is a noticeable shift from unrestricted to restricted giving.
We have had yet another exceptional year of fundraising with reduced maintenance costs over 2015 which resulted in a substantial increase in funds. This is a good starting point for the large costs we expect from fabric maintenance over the next few years.
Thank you for every donation that allows us to maintain and nurture the churches in our Parish.
We delivered our committed parish share of £4,533 in 2016 plus an additional £3,000 requested by the diocese. The basic share was a 10% increase on 2015 however 2017 is the last transition year when the 10% increase applies. Subsequently our share moves onto the new formula and we have been given a target of £33,000 (for Barton Stacey and Bullington). Clearly current assets and surpluses would only sustain this level of share for a very limited time.
Bullington
Bullington’s income in 2016 dropped significantly to around £7,500 over 2015 ( from £9.800) however costs were lower than the preceding year so overall funds improved with a surplus of £2,600 an increase of around £600 over the previous year. However significant costs to improve and make safe the external pathways could impact on this in 2017.
There is a marked movement in Bullington from unrestricted to restrictive giving.
Parish share increased from £1,120(in 2015) to £1,232 (in 2016) in line with the 10% transitional arrangement. In 2017 this will continue with a 10% increase in share however Bullington like Barton Stacey will see are large increase in the requested share in 2018 to a combined £33,000. Increases in Share for 2018 will have a significant impact on Bullington which is seeing a reduction in unrestricted income and an increase in restricted (fabric and churchyard)
The pew heater guards have been installed ensuring the heaters are safe however initial investigations on the costs of installing a toilet have been so expensive that this is no longer being considered. The funds set aside for the toilet have been re-allocated to building and churchyard maintenance.
Fabric
Fabric Report: All Saints’ Barton Stacey & Saint Michael and All Angels Bullington
I write the fabric report on behalf of the fabric committee – the Rector, Churchwarden, Tony Fall, Terry Dewey and myself. We meet regularly throughout the year and work to maintain our wonderful churches in a cost-effective manner.
In putting together this year’s Fabric Report, I reflect on the incredible contribution of so many from the Parish who give time and energy in maintaining the fabric of both Barton Stacey and Bullington Churches. Their contribution goes largely unattributed and given freely but is so important to keeping both sites beautiful and functioning. I will mention many by name within the report but for those that I don’t, on behalf of us all, our sincere thanks and God bless.
All Saints’ Church, Barton Stacey
The Quinquennial Review (QR) was conducted 7 September 2016. Most of the urgent activity has been completed and reassuringly, did not represent critical concern. The only area we need to consider is the long-term plan for the tiles. This year’s activity has delivered:
1. The skirting board in the WC were completely sodden and were kindly removed by Mark Wadey. Moisture in old churches is not uncommon and will be monitored. [9.2 QR]
2. The sanctuary medieval encaustic tiles are of concern, in terms of material degradation. These need preserving if nothing else, for their historic importance. We are awaiting a report from the Architect who will support us going forward. [7.6 QR]
3. There was a reported leak to several of the radiators inside the Church. Calvin Tompkins kindly looked at the system and made adjustments to those joints that needed repair. This seems to have resolved the issue and we will continue to monitor. John Horobin kindly services both boilers annually on a pro-bono basis. This gives us reassurance of the system and warmth during the winter months. Our deepest and warmest(!) thanks to both John and Calvin. The Church has benefited from new heater controls designed to support both regular and ad-hoc users of the building while reducing oil consumption.
4.New white festal altar cloths were purchased, beautifully made and embroidered by Susan Lindley, and have made a marked difference to our worship. A huge thanks for this.
5.The regular cleaning, polishing and dusting is kindly provided by the HeavenlyDusters. Their tireless effort not only ensures that our places of worship remain beautiful but aid in the fabric upkeep. A huge thank you to all those that get involved.
6.Tony Fall made the damaged pews safe, and also worked to improve the woodwork around the altar. The condition of the pews remains a concern.
7.In time for Her Majesty the Queen’s 90th birthday, we unveiled a new carved oak gate on the east entrance. A huge improvement to the site. This included the laying of sleepers on the east path and new gravel throughout, in attempt to improve drainage, protect the verges from eroding and providing a clean look to the walkway. Plans are now mature to provide oak gates for the south entrance and unveiling will be published in due course.
8.The biannual churchyard clear up continues to grow supporters with around 50 people at each clear up. This allows for all the gutters, drains, walls, graves, trees, weeds and paths to be given the TLC they require. A big thank you to all that attend and there is plenty of room for others. The date of the next clear up to follow. . [1.2, 1.13, 1.19, 1.20, 2.5, 2.8, 3.1, 3.3, 3.5, 10.10 QR]
9. The grass cutting was again exceptional and Kevin Cuell does a remarkable job, supported by his son. We maintain a gardening contract that balances the money available with the size of the task. Outside the contract, there are many who regularly visit the churchyard, and in their own way; trim, pluck, tidy or maintain the grounds. Our thanks to those that contribute to this.
10.In co-operation with the Parish Council we now have a bin for green waste. Thank you to Jo Gadney and Sue Gaines for their support with this. Thank you also to those who regularly put out both bins.
11. The Churchyard wall is in a better state of repair than it has been for a number of years. As a minimum, the Churchyard clear up will capture the regular removal of ivy and other vegetation. [3.1, 3.3, 3.5 of the QR]