Rattlesden Village Website
bringing the community together
bringing the community together
bringing the community together
The earliest part of the church dates to the 13th century with many additions and alterations over the years
For more details on the history of the church, please buy a copy of the Church Guide from the folder on the table at the back of the Church. They cost £3.00 each and are produced by The Parochial Church Council and not F.O.R.C. All funds are used to maintain the church. If you cannot find a copy, please contact us (see below) and we will do what we can to get one to you.
As is common with many old churches, funding for maintenance and repairs is increasingly challenging.
In 2013, The Friends of Rattlesden Church (FORC) was formed as a non religious organisation with the purpose to raise funds, through events, donations, sponsorship and grant aid, mainly for the maintenance of the fabric of the building and the churchyard.
Maintenance and repair works are commissioned by the Parochial Church Council (PCC) and funding raised by FORC is passed to the PCC as a grant donation towards the cost of these works.
Additionally, a list of people who are “willing and able” is maintained. These individuals assist with running events and provide hands on maintenance work, on both a voluntary and professional basis.
You may have noticed the ongoing work on the windows of the church. FORC is happy to have been able to make a grant of £2,000 towards the cost of the window repairs.
We have been keeping a low profile during lockdown is on. Now it is easing, FORC, is coming back to life.
Fundraising events that require a gathering will be restricted for a some time. So the FORC team are working with the Churchwardens to try and come up with new projects suitable for support and how funds might best be raised for it.
More news on that as it happens.
The 2020 Report and Accounts is complete and a downloadable version (.pdf) is available on the right of this page or call us and we will ensure you get a copy.
See how to “Contact Us” to get a copy on the information section on this display.
Since the founding of FORC in 2013, assistance has been possible for important maintenance and repairs to the fabric of the building. To date, grants made to the PCC total nearly £14,000.
2013 / 2014 - Labour to help re-hang the 6 bells and other tower work. Under the direction of the Tower Captain (Dave Ward), the saving on labour costs was in the order of £21,000 on a project that cost in the order of £70,000.
2015 - £5,400 for the refurbishment of the rainwater goods and downpipes.
2016 - £2,500 for repairs to the Church roof, internal high level cleaning of windows and walls including some re- plastering.
2017 - £600 towards the cost of repairs to the churchyard wall.
2019 - £3,340 to refurbish the clock face. This was completed with re-installation on March 18th 2019.
2020 - Contribution of £2000 towards the cost of repairs to the choir vestry window.
THE FORC TEAM.
Tony Brain.Chairman.
Stephen Collins.Vice Chairman.
Stephen Drury.Treasurer.
Dave Ward.Event Manager.
Vacancy.Secretary.
By Email: rattlesdenchurch@btinternet.com
By telephone:- 01449 737541
or leave your contact details at the Village Shop and we will get back to you.
ALL HELP, SUPPORT AND DONATIONS, OF ALL SIZES, GRATEFULLY RECEIVED.
WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM ANYONE INTERESTED IN JOINING THE F.O.R.C. TEAM.
PLEASE CONTACT US.
2020 Report and Accounts is in the Associated documents section on this page. For reasons of Covid security, we cannot put a copy on the FORC noticeboard in the church.
The Annual report is in .pdf format which most folks are able to open and read on their device, whether it is a smartphone, tablet or computer. Please don’t print it off unless you must. It will help save the environment if printing is kept to a minimum. If you have a problem opening the document, please let us know through the email address above.
If you must print it, please ensure that your printer is set up for an A4 page with any setting for .pdf documents set at “Scale to Fit” and / or “Print Entire Page”. If you still have a problem and must have a printed copy, I will get one to you if you Email me at the address in the “CONTACT US” section..
