Sponsored by
Appeal for volunteers
AN APPEAL is being made for green-fingered readers who enjoy making flower arrangements to help decorate an ancient local church for a county-wide flower festival.
Volunteers are needed to decorate Old St Stephen's Church in Robin Hood's Bay for The Churches Conservation Trust Heaven Scent Flower Festival.
Old St Stephen's is one of seven churches in North Yorkshire and one of around 20 throughout the north of England, cared for by The Churches Conservation Trust which will be throwing open their historic doors to welcome spring.
Floristry workshops will be held at Fylingdales' Church of England primary school, where the six to eight-year-old pupils will produce small arrangements.
But to make larger, more dramatic set pieces, the help of adults is needed.
The organisers would welcome contributions of one-litre margarine tubs, fresh garden flowers, pieces of shrubs with long stems and variegated foliage.
Old St Stephen's is an historic gem, unaltered from 1821when it was built, with box pews and a three-decker pulpit.
It was a seamen's church, standing above the sea and it also contains a collection of maiden's garlands, poignant relics of young women who died unmarried.
Last year, the first North of England Heaven Scent Flower Festival took place in 22 historic listed churches no longer needed for regular worship and now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.
A trust spokesman said: "More than a hundred volunteers from floristry groups and other organisations worked tirelessly to create beautiful displays of flowers in stunning architectural settings.
"The event delighted hundreds of visitors throughout the weekend and raised a magnificent 2,000 toward the conservation and management of historic churches at risk and helped to raise the profile of this important part of our cultural heritage.
"This year, our aim is to raise 5,000 through donations from visitors to the churches taking part.
"The trust now cares for more than seventy historic churches throughout the north and with this growing collection of some of the most important buildings in England money is getting tighter.
"Heaven Scent is the first fund-raiser of the year and after the long winter we have all endured what better way to celebrate spring."
The workshops at Fylingdales School are Friday from 1pm to 2.30pm and the festival is on Saturday and Sunday.
Anyone who would like to help contact Jean Banwell, TCCT Community Officer, at jbanwell@tcct.org.uk or on 07872 502116.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Whitby
Saturday 19 May 2012
Today
Heavy rain
Temperature: 6 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 9 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
