Category: tower

A Hunky Punk Comes Home!

As part of the ongoing restoration works of the tower at St Mary’s Hawkesbury by specialist firm Carrek, this ancient hunky punk is seen here being returned to its original position.

Many years ago it had fallen to the ground, and fortunately some wise person stashed it away in the tower for safekeeping. It is good to see it restored to its rightful position at the top of the tower.

What’s a hunky punk?

It’s a grotesque Gothic carving similar to a gargoyle, but it’s purely for decorative purposes -unlike the gargoyle, which includes a water spout to direct rainwater away from the fabric of the building.

November 2020

Lisa Overton, Secretary of the Friends of St Mary’s, provides this month’s news round-up:

2020 AGM

The 2020 AGM of the Friends of St Mary’s will take place on Sunday 22nd November at 4.30 pm in St Mary’s, followed by Evensong at 5 pm. Current restrictions allow us to gather in the church as long as we can be socially distanced, which we believe will be manageable, but if any members are unable or feel uncomfortable about attending in person please let us know and we will try to arrange a virtual connection to the meeting. It would be very helpful if you could let me know if you plan to attend.

Please wear face masks, sanitise on entry to the church, provide your contact details and take a seat where indicated by our ushers.

Friends’ Christmas Service

At the time of going to press, we are still unclear about holding a service for the Friends at Christmas time, and we are very grateful for your understanding about this.

Progress on the Tower Works

As the work on the church tower progresses, the funds raised by the Friends over the last 8 years are being put to a wonderful purpose. We hope to have some photographs taken from the scaffolding very soon, which will show the way in which the stone string-courses and drip mouldings have been cleaned prior to the replacement of decayed stone and new mortar pointing.

This Month’s Services

1st Nov – 9.30am – Holy Communion
2nd Nov – 6pm – Remembering Our Lost Loved Ones
11th Nov – 7pm – Festival of Remembrance
15 Nov – 9.30am – Morning Prayer
18 Nov – 9.30am – Morning Prayer
22 Nov – 5pm – Evenson
25 Nov – 9.30am – Morning Prayer
29 Nov – 5pm – Advent Sunday Service

September 2020

Tower Repairs

The face of St Mary’s has been covered up for the first time in many years as the structural repairs to the tower are started. The scaffolding will be in place until early in the near year.

Progress Report on New Bells

The new peal of eight bells has been cast and will be taken out of the casts in the next few days. Photos to follow! The bells will then be brought over to England to be tuned before they are hung over the winter.

This Month’s Services

The church is now open again for services, and this month’s rota is as follows:

2nd – 9.30am – Morning Prayer

6th – 9.30am – Holy Communion

9th – 9.30am – Morning Prayer

13th – 6pm – Evensong

16th – 9.30am – Morning Prayer

20th – 9.30am – Morning Praise

23rd – 9.30am – Morning Communion

27th – 6pm – Evensong