St. Martins

Announcements by the Church Warden

CO-OPTION OF NEW COUNCILLORS

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NPPC is currently looking for 2 new members to co-opt as parish councillors.

PLEASE DO NOT BE SHY!

It does not matter if lots of people put their names forward because the term of this Council has only 2 years left to run and so there are plenty of chances to serve at a later date. Like other parishes, North Perrott struggles to convey the importance of community involvement but if we lose our own parish council, then local governance will be passed to Crewkerne Town Council, and our voice in local matters will be severely diluted.

If you think you want to know more, please read on and come to the meeting on Tuesday 7th May at 7.30pm at the Hoskyns Memorial Hall.

North Perrott Parish Council (NPPC) consists of 5 members, drawn from the people who either live or work in the parish. At the last meeting, two members offered their names for resignation and so there are currently two spaces available for co-option.

Being a parish councillor in North Perrott is not an onerous job but a new councillor would be expected to undertake a basic training course (paid for by NPPC) and attend bi-monthly meetings regularly. You must abide by the Council’s code of conduct and standing orders, both of which are published on the website. The amount of extra work would depend on current commitments and projects, but are normally split between councillors so that they amount to no more than a few hours each between meetings. There are currently a number of long running projects, including minor road improvements and new village gateways. Future projects include a 20mph zone around the village green and the hall. There will also be consultations about how the community money from the Solar Park will be applied for when it finally goes online in about 2 years time.

A Parish Council has three basic functions;

To communicate the needs of the Parish to the next tier of governement above, in this case the Somerset Unitary Council.

To respond to requests for consultation from Somerset Unitary Council on behalf of the Parish, the most frequent of these would be for planning applications.

To manage and develop community assets groups within the village, usually a community hall, sports of amenity areas and a cemetary.

For historic reasons, in North Perrott the village hall, cricket club and St.Martins churchyard are all managed by independent community groups, which leaves NPPC with less manditory work to do that most parish councils. This does not mean there are not important projects to be managed but it does mean that commitment as a councillor in North Perrott is not as onerous or time consuming as it might be in other parishes. We do however, communicate with the bodies that run these facilities, help with funding where we are allowed and assit them in grant applications, where funding is funnelled through normal goverment pipelines.

The last parish council elections were in 2023 (to co-encide with the start of the new Unitary Council) and elections are generally held every four years. An election only actually happens if there are more than 5 valid nominations, if there are less, then the applicants are deemed to be elected without oposition. Whenever there are less than 5 members, then the existing Councillors are empowered to co-opt new members up to a maximum of 5. A quorum for NPPC is 3, if we drop below 3 members then the process becomes rather complicated and we risk losing our status as a parish council. There are currently only 3 members!

To qualify to stand as a parish councillor, you must be:

*British or a citizen of the Commonwealth. You may also be eligible as a citizen of the European Union, however the criteria has changed now that the UK has left the European Union. Please check on the gov.uk website for advice about EU citizens’ voting and candidacy rights in local elections.
*At least 18 years old.
*Registered to vote in the area or have lived, worked, or owned property there for at least 12 months before an election.

*If you have a criminal record or are in bankruptcy, you may be banned from serving.

This is not a long term commitment and now is an ideal time to dip your toe into the experience of serving on a parish council. At the end of the 4 year term (2026), the Council has to be re-elected, and although some Councillors choose to continue to serve, it is healthy to have a regular change to keep the Council fresh and effective.

MOTHERING SUNDAY

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Sadly, owing to current circumstances, the Mothering Day Service at St.Martin’s, North Perrott will now not be able to go ahead as planned. In previous years, this service has been well attended by families of all ages as an oportunity to celebrate their mother. Younger children had been especially involved with posies of flowers handed out to deserving mums.

Instead, for children of all ages, who still want to venerate their mother in an appropriate way, there will be a service at St.Michael’s and all Angels, Haselbury this coming Sunday at 10.30am. All will be most warmly welcomed by Ian and Andrew at this truely family service.

Pat Elson RIP

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Pat Elson

It is sad to report the passing of another well known resident of North Perrott.

Pat passed away on 2nd January, just over a year following a severe stroke while walking in the fields beside the village.

Both Pat and her husband’s families have a long, multi-generational association with North Perrott, as witnessed on the Roll Of Honour in St.Martins.

Pat and Martin raised their family at Wood Dairy, before moving to Hinton St.George for a number of years. When an opportunity arose to purchase part of the Old Bakery, they returned to the village along with their daughter April and her husband Julian.

For many years, Pat worked for the North Perrott Estate, fitting in where her skills were most appropriate. She ran the weekly market stall in Crewkerne but also helped in the nursery gardens and later on the fruit farm. Whenever there was a driving job, Pat would volunteer, delivering plants around Somerset, Dorset and Bristol. When she retired, she continued her love of walking and knitting. Many hundreds of hats, pairs of gloves and brightly decorated toys have been produced from her needles and sold in the farm shop. Her knitted egg cosies, complete with a creme egg, were a perennial favourite. Close to 100 of these flew off her red hot needles every Easter.

Pat will be greatly missed by her husband Martin, her children April and Leyland, her two grandchildren and everyone who knows her.

Pat’s funeral will be on 23rd January, 2.40pm at Yeovil Crematorium.

Following the service, the family invites anyone who knew Pat to celebrate her life at the Hoskyns Memorial Hall, North Perrott.

Church Services this Christmas

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SUNDAY 24Tth DECEMBER – CHRISTMAS EVE

St.Michaels and All Angels, Haselbury –

      10.30am Holy Communion CW

      11.30pm Midnight Mass

MONDAY 25th DECEMBER – CHRISTMAS DAY

St.Martin’s, North Perrott

      9.00am Holy Communion CW

St.Michael’s and All Angels, Haselbury

      10.30am Hoy Communion CW

Photo by Burkay Canatar on Pexels.com

A Change of Benefice

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Few of us are in touch with the comings and goings of our Parish Church as our forebears were. Yet St. Martin’s is unquestionably the oldest and most important building in the village and for more than 500 years, the community was held together by religion and the need for the village to be self sustaining in terms of food and community wellbeing. Now, the majority only use this significant building on three occasions; birth, marriage and death.

Between these events, even in a modern secular world, the fabric of the building needs to be maintained and regularly serviced, and these tasks are generally undertaken by a few loyal souls, without whom the modern day function of the Church would not be possible.

In North Perrott, we are lucky to have a community which regularly turns out in force to help raise funds, be it through participation in the Village Fete or by attending one of the occaisonal fundraising concerts, bingos, meals and talks that are held throughout the year.

However, there are changes afoot that need announcing so that the community at large understands who is responsible for the administration of St. Martins going forward.

Currently, the Parish of North Perrott is part of the Wulfric Benefice (Crewkerne), which sits inside the Ilminster Deanery and under the Diocese of Bath & Wells. It is some time since St. Martins was independent and had its own vicar. Some 60 years ago it was twinned with Haselbury before amalgamating with Crewkerne in the Wulfric Benefice. There are currently 6 Parishes within the Wulfric Benefice, including Hewish, which is joined with St. Bartholemew’s.

When Jonathan Morris, who was responsible for the 4 village Parishes retired, the Diocese decided that they could not afford to replace him, and so CJ Davies, the current Rector has responibility for services and pastoral care over a large community, made up of Crewkerne and its surrounding villages. Predicably, this has proved too much for one person and so for some time, a plan has been brewing to reorganise the local benefices into more equal sizes.

The solution put forward by the Diocese and Ilminster Deanery, is for two of the village parishes to change from being grouped in the Wulfric Benefice to the neighbouring Merriott Benefice, where currently the Reverends Julia and Bob Hicks are incumbent. From 3rd December, they will have administrative authority over the parishes of Haselbury and North Perrott alongside their existing parishes of Merriott, Lopen and Hinton St.George. To assist them in running services in their two new parishes, Ian Stobart and Andrew Daines will be handling normal services and pastoral care.

The changeover will be marked by CJ Davies taking his last service at St. Martin’s at 9.30am on Sunday 26th November and the following Sunday, 3rd December, the first service of the new regime will be taken by Andrew Daines and Ian Stobart at 9am. Julia and Bob will be in the congregation to introduce themselves. It would be lovely to have large congregations at both of these services, to mark our appreciation as a community for the unseen work that everyone involved puts in, year after year.

This is an important moment in the history of the Parish of North Perrott and marks a new chapter in how the Church needs to modernise it’s administration if it is to survive in a world of ever increasing costs.

If you are at all interested in the history of St. Martin’s, the church as a building, religion or how the Church will survive for the next 1k years, please take a moment to comprehend what is happening over the next two weeks and use the opportunity to learn a bit more about what goes on behind the scenes, even if you are not particularly interested in religion itself.

It would be a great shame if one day you knocked on the door of St. Martin’s only to discover it had been closed for good…….

Regular service times can be found in the village callendar and St. Martins has its own website.

ARMISTICEDAY SERVICES in NORTH PERROTT

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At 10am on Sunday 12th November, there will be a SERVICE of REMBRANCE at St.Martins, North Perrott, led by the Rector, CJ Davis.

Following the service, everyone is welcome to on the Village Green at 10.55am.

At 11.00.am the Village will celebrate the the ACT of REMEMBRANCE and laying of a wreath in memory of those from North Perrott, and others, who have given their lives in the name of peace.

Following the Act of Remembrance, Graham and Liz Neville welcome everyone for a cup of tea (or something stronger) in the Manor Arms.

A SAD GOODBYE – Notice of tree works and temproary lane closure.

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For those of a certain age and knowledge of Church Lane in North Perrott might remember that the line of Beech trees along the northern side of the lane leading to St.Martin’s church was considerably larger in number than it is now. I have witnessed at least three fall, or been removed in my lifetime.

Sadly, the largest and probably oldest has now been condemmed. Over the last 20 years, the trees have been surveyed by Brynley Andrews Associates and in 2021, he wrote a report on this tree with recommendations for maintenance over the next 5 years.

At the beginning of the year, at the request of the PCC, an inquirey was made to the Council Tree Warden, who at the time was in favour of continuing to monitor the tree, with no major works permitted.

At the beginning of June, it was noticed that the leaves on the tree were paler and smaller than usual, and so advice was given to mulch the tree to reduce stress caused by the abnormally hot and dry month. July’s rain brought no improvement and so Brynley was asked to make an interim visit. This happened in late August with a very quick assessment that requested an emergency consent to fell the tree, as he felt it had become unsafe and a potential hazard as it was so close to the lane. Brynley recalled that another tree, some years back, had fallen between the time of his recommedation to fell and the normal 6 week waiting time for consent to be given!

As a result, Fern Tree Services have been instructed to remove the tree as soon as possible and work is scheduled to begin at 8.45am on Monday 25th September. To facilitate safe working practices, the private drive that extends beyond Church Lane will be closed to public access between the hours of 8.45am and 4.45pm. The work is expected to take 5 days.

Please take note not to use the lane during these hours next week. If work finishes sooner than planned, it will be announced here.

Thank you for your understanding and it will be a great shame to have to say goodbye to this old tree. It’s loss will certainly change the appearance of the churchyard.

CORONATION WEEKEND

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SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

SATURDAY – 6th MAY

10:15 – PRECESSION King leaves Buckingham Palace

11:00 – CORONATION at Westminster Abbey

15:00 – MANOR ARMS – BBQ and Live music with ONE FOOT IN THE GROOVE. Family entertainment, games, raffle and Royal Toast.

SUNDAY – 7th MAY

9:30 – CHURCH SERVICE at St.Michaels & All Angels, Haselbury. (No service at St.Michael’s)

12:00 – 16:00 – VILLAGE STREET PARTY. Bring your own picnic and drinks. Family games and Team Skittles in Church Lane..

CORONATION MUGS – Commemorative mugs will be presented to children who live in the village and are under the age of 16 on 7th May 2023.

If your child or children qualify, please make your presence known at the Street Party. (If you are away on the day, please ask in the farm shop on your return.)

Any photos or drawings that the children want to make of the day will be posted on the village website in the following week.

CHURCH SERVICES Sun 7th MAY

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North Perrott Church

Regrettably, there will be no service to commemorate the Coronation of King Charles III at St. Martins Church on Sun 7th May.

Instead, the congregation is asked to support the service at St.Michaels and All Angels at Haselbury, starting at 9.30am.

Rev. Andrew Daynes will lead the service.

ANNUAL VILLAGE MEETING

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The Annual Village Meeting will take place at 7pm on Tuesday 2nd May at the Hoskyns Memorial Hall.

Afterwards there will be the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council at 7.30pm and immediately afterwards, a normal Bi-Monthly meeting to cover regular council business.

The Annual Village Meeting does not have an agenda and is a opportunity for anyone to discuss topics perhaps not normally covered at Council meetings. It is also an opportunity for other village groups to report on their activities to a wider audience.

The Annual Meeting of the Parish Council starts with the Chairman’s report and then election and signing in of officers for the next 12 months. This is normally quite brief.

Then follows the normal Bi-monthly meeting for which the agenda was published on the Village website last week.