90 REASONS TO LOVE ST HILDA’S
FRIENDS - CAKE - MEMORIES - COMMUNITY IN A 90th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
Intro CREATING COMMUNITIES
How warm welcomes, anecdotes, and tea and cake make for great times
A parish is more than the worship it provides, indeed it is more than the building in which worship takes place: increasingly it is an idea that invites people to lean on it, draw energy and get positive vibes from it, depend on it as solid ground in fragmented times Our time spent with the parishioners and patrons of St Hilda’s is a case in point. As a York based charity we have for 13 years spent time visiting community centres and learning academies working with vulnerable people We have run creative activities with young people with disabilities, elderly residents who have experienced solitude, and, recently, refugees from Syria and Ukraine We are aware of how not only creativity but the context in which creativity takes place can make the difference between engagement with activities and apathy Luckily for us, as soon as we arrived at St Hilda’s Tuesday Coffee Morning in the summer 2024, the welcome was not only warm but proactive
We have collected stories and memories of the Church, the parish, and the area People shared their hopes and predictions for the area. We fed back our findings to local young artists - advocates from Hempland Primary, Archbishop Holgate’s School, Blueberry Academy - and generated creative responses It was great fun We got to know a lot of wonderful people, with generous anecdotes and memories, in a parish that continues to thrive. These pages will chronicle the stories and memories as well as contemporary creative responses to them Thank you, St Hilda’s, for the increasingly relevant work you do in a world that is trying to remember the benefits of community
St Hilda’s, St Hilda’s, York: 90 York: 90 reasons to reasons to come over and come over and make friends, make friends, eat cake, drink eat cake, drink coffee, and coffee, and catch up catch up
“I have lived here for years. We lived opposite the Co-op it was a very different place to what it is now Not better not worse, just different People used to go around on bicycles. Now the traffic just doesn't end Maybe there is too much! In my day only the elite had cars (laughs) The people around here are absolutely marvellous. I've had some mobility issues, and the people have been very kind ” Wendy
“Oh, we have a lot of fun coming here! There are a lot of people who have a great sense of humour and who are willing to share memories In April we had ‘Brick by Brick’, a play that involved 300 children who acted and danced, the play was about Tang Hall It was greatly successful We involved people of the area, all enthusiastic people, and we have also been working on an audio drama, ‘Tang Hall Misbehaves’ Sheelagh
Hilda’s
Hull Road Ward, York
Hull Road Councillor Michael Pavlovic joins patrons for a catch up
“A fascinatingarea.”
“I have always lived within a one-mile radius of this place. I was born off Layerthorpe,andImoved55yearsagoto theparish.MylatewiferantheGirlGuides for 35 years My daughter is currently involved with the church, so the family involvement continues. It’s a fascinating area.Ihavealwaysknownitasamixture ofcouncildwellingsthatdatebacktothe late 1920s, and also many private houses behind the church As you can see here there are streets named after former Archbishops of York and CanterburyArchbishop Lang, for example. There’s an avenue named after a famous painter, Etty,whowasburiedinMarygate” DavidPoole
“Iwasbroughtuparoundhere.Allthekids playedtogether.Therewerefieldsthatwe went out on all day long in the summer You could go fishing in the beck We caught plenty of sticklebacks. There was alotoftalkofagoldeneelthathadbeen spottedinthebeck.”Linda
“ThisisalovelychurchIlikecomingherefor a cup of coffee. I live a few yards up the road. There was nowhere near the amount of traffic when I was younger I was in the armyforawhileandIsettleddownhere42 years ago. I knew it was a nice place to settle straight away even though I'm not fromYork.”Dave
“I want to make a point here. The neighboursarefantasticbutit'snotjustthe neighbours. For example, I went to get my green bin, and I was moving with difficulty, and this lady said to me, “leave it to me I willdoit”andIhadneverseenherbeforein mylife!Thatjustgoestoshowwhatalovely placethisis.”Wendy
COMPANY
“Tang Hall Hotel had the Starkey family who had finished there around 1925 and the land was sold to the council; one of the streets around here is named after them - Starkey Crescent It was good to watch Sheelagh get into the role of Lady Starkey and it was very interesting to uncover some very interesting facts about the Starkey family whilst we conducted research.” David Poole
“I have memories of cattle walking up the roads. Even in our garden towards Cottage Farm which was in Osbaldwick The job of the bullock wallopers was very interesting. They would walk from Holgate, and then through town guiding the bullocks down Millfield Lane, probably stopping in plenty of pubs along the way!”
“I think the auctioneers employed the bullock wallopers, but it was quite a strange sight to see that I think a lot of children today would not really understand or even believe it!”
Adrian, Peter, David
FRIENDS & FUN
“I would not want to move. I have a lot of happy memories here. One of the things we used to do as kids was, we used to go sledging at the University. We would simply pick up some cardboard and make a trip to the university, walking there, we wouldn’t see more than two cars Even when it wasn't snowing we would still slide on the cardboard down the grassy banks It was hilarious! Sometimes we would see foxes and rabbits on Low Moor Just talking about it makes a lot of happy memories come back. It's great to sit here and have coffee, and catch up, and David is a really good priest ” Sue
“Well I have lots of friends here it's all about the people. I have been coming here for 54 years since I moved Our pals all grew up together and so we have a lot in common It is a proper community. It's nice to come here and really feel that you're part of a local community, for example they make the tea just how I like it! Hot and weak!” Trautchen
“We’ve just finished working on ‘Tang Hall Misbehaves’, a concert and audio drama involving people who have always lived on the edge of Tang Hall David Poole gave us loads of information and we all went our own way and wrote our own scripts I'm Lady Starkey and throughout the play I address my diary, sharing my thoughts and my views on things It was great to let off some steam and let the character develop ” Sheelagh
WELCOMING PEOPLE, REWILDING PLACES
“One of the more attractive aspects was that the warmth and the welcome counterbalanced the chaos of the UK generally Going into the community was lovely and was part of the healing process We hope we can build an outward looking community, we like to think a church is more than just a building ”
Sylvia
“I grew up in Tang Hall Lane We would play Hide & Seek, we would go down cycle tracks and spend long summer days just exploring and playing games we have a lot of happy memories of playing in the beck where we caught plenty of sticklebacks and we would see a lot of frogspawn On another note, I have just raised money for a defibrillator for the Scout Hut at Tang Hall Primary and also here, it is very rewarding to be a part of such a lovely community
Dianne
“I love living here, though there has always been a bit of a question mark for me: why was ‘Tang Hall Park’ renamed ‘Hull Road Park’? Anyway, it's a lovely park and we all appreciated it very much. We have all spent happy Fridays with conservation volunteers who are more than happy to take us around and guide us as to what to spot, and then to know what it is once we've spotted them. For example, ‘this here is a certain type of ladybird’ or ‘this here is a different beetle to the one that you saw earlier’, all of these have led to very happy memories for us ”
Olive
“We also did birdwatching There is one day per year in which the RSPB encourages people to spend time watching birds and to enjoy the relaxation that comes with that It really is amazing the different types of songs you can hear, and when you have these knowledgeable people who can use the correct terminology and can spot the right species it makes it a fulfilling time in the best possible way. ”
Margaret
WEFEEDBACKSTHILDA’S ANECDOTESTOYOUNG PEOPLEOFTHEWARD inspirationandart
We sat with young people from Hempland Primary, Archbishop Holgate’s School, Blueberry Academy and asked for inspiring art and slogans: they did us proud!
“Churchesare importantbecausewe’ll missthemiftheygo.”
“It’s nice to know there are quiet places in the area. I don’t handle noise very well. I like peace and quiet ” Sophia, Archbishop Holgate’s, Year 9
“Staypositive!”
“Places like St Hilda’s obviously make people happy. There are a lot of sad people in the world, so this is important. 90 years is amazing too! It’s a big birthday” Flo, Blueberry Academy
A celebratory trip to Whitby, 09/24
FEEDBACK
LOOKING BACK ON A SUCCESSFUL PROJECT
DAVID CASSWELL
“It was great to work with Greg as he put together a magazine to celebrate the 90th anniversary of St Hilda's Church. Not only did he relate naturally and fruitfully with the church folk, but also in his work in local schools. The result was a beautifully produced memento for people to appreciate. The whole thing was a positive experience!”
SUE WILLIAMSON
‘‘It was nice to see Ails and Greg here. The chats were informal and lively, and the artwork was lovely. We’d be interested in more of the same and digital projections of light and art in the future.’
Sue Williamson - CEO and Founder of Tang Hall SMART C I C
ARCHBISHOP HOLGATE’S
“The work Greg did with the young people of the area was great. They all seemed to really focus on what he was saying.”
Jennie Keech, parents of our Hope for Hull Road participants