Lavant News May 2020

LAVANT NEWS May 2020

FREE

COVID-19 Lavant Community Support Check out the 4 centre pages special pull-out section containing useful phone numbers and contact details for local businesses and organisations offering support to us all in this difficult time.

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Contents Rector’s Letter

5

Horticultural Society

9

Let’s Walk

11

Lavant History Project

13

Lavant CE Primary School

15

Lavant Equestrian

17

Lavant Community Support

Never mind, we are made of strong stuff, so this month at the time of editing, we are presuming that May will see us in similar circumstances, and our format is, therefore, a little different. Many groups are meeting “virtually” rather than face to face, but not everyone can do this.

19-22

Exercises to do at home

23

Sussex Wildlife Trust

25

The Mays of Raughmere - Part 2

27

Zoo Puzzle Sheet for kids

32

PCC Meeting Minutes

33

Church Services & Readings

print and unfortunately meant that much of our copy became rapidly redundant as group meetings and events got cancelled.

Please remember that no-one needs to be alone at this difficult time. If you need support, there are people and organisations out there who want to help - see our centre 4-page pull out section for further details.

34-35

Church Contacts

36

Local Contacts

37

Diary

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The editorial team welcome any articles from all groups in the community for inclusion, but we do stress there is a deadline of the 5th of each month.

Don’t forget you can also find out the The huge changes that have engulfed us latest news from the pews and more at: over the last month caught us completely https://www.lavantchurches.net/usefulunawares when the April edition went to information/lavant-news The Lavant News Team

Editorial Team:

lavantnews@lavantchurches.net Elaine Mallett 776997 / Amanda Smith Distribution: lavantnewssubscriptions@lavantchurches.net Liz Ryder 527696 Advertising/Events: advertising@lavantchurches.net (Free or Paid)

07748 016301

DEADLINE FOR COPY - 5th OF EACH MONTH 3

4

The Rector’s Letter Not predicting the future Dear Friends

common humanity in each of us and the need to treat one another with respect.

They ranted on street corners. They were angry at the injustices they saw around

However, long before these people there was

them. They had to have great courage to

a group of people whose words are recorded

speak out, but also to convey their dreams

in the Bible who were the activists of their

and visions of what their country should be

day. They are called the prophets. Seventeen

like. Their words and ideas were often

books in the Bible record their revolutionary

revolutionary, unsettling and challenging.

messages.

Yet they were driven to continue even in the face

of either indifference

I think that when people hear the word

or outright

prophet in everyday language then the image

hostility.

is of someone predicting the future.

Can you picture such a person? There have

Well the prophets did talk about the future,

been many people willing to speak out about

but mainly to warn people what would

injustice and putting forward a vision for a

happen if they kept turning away from God.

better way of being. William Wilberforce and

Talking about the future was not their main

his tireless work to end the slave trade.

job. They spoke in the name of God to try to

Elizabeth Fry, who worked constantly for

help the people regain the vision of what

prison reform to improve the conditions in

their land could be like.

Victorian prisons.

All of this comes to mind with the current

At the outset Wilberforce and Fry were

extraordinary situation we all find ourselves

heavily opposed. Their message for the day

in. The last two Rector’s Letters I have

was revolutionary. They must have been very

written have each contained details of

thick skinned to continue, but also they must

church life that in the end could not occur in

have had great conviction for what it was the

the normal way. It started with Mothering

were trying to achieve.

Sunday, 22nd March, as the first Sunday we

For both of these people, their Christian faith

could not gather in church. Easter also could

with the basis that we are all created in

see no gathering on what is the most

God’s image, was central in recognising the 5

(Continued on page 7)

6

and through the rivers, they shall not

(Continued from page 5)

overwhelm you;

important day in the Christian calendar.

when you walk through fire you shall not be So, with this in mind, I am not going to even burned, attempt to predict what the situation will be and the flame shall not consume you. like by the time you read this! It is bound to For I am the Lord your God, be out of date such is the fluid situation we the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour. are in.

This speaks of each of us being valued by Instead I will leave you with some words of God and the presence of God in times of prophecy of Isaiah who spoke to people in challenge. It is about hope and at this time exile:

we all need hope and to share hope with one

thus says the Lord,

another.

he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:

God bless,

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

David

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

Lavant Duck Race Postponed...

We are terribly sad that the 25th Anniversary of the Lavant Duck Race has had to be postponed.

One was delighted to be invited to open such an auspicious event.

We wait, with anticipation, for a new date to be announced.

One wishes to convey messages of hope to all my subjects.

Please do take care and stay safe.

7

Units 1 & 2, Lavant, Chichester, PO18 0BW

01243 532630

www.a1autocarechichester.co.uk

8

Lavant Horticultural Society Reasons to be cheerful...

How fortunate we gardeners are! With the

month. Here are a few reminders of some of

sun shining, the birds singing and trees,

the jobs which we can be getting on with.

garden plants ,and bulbs blooming ,there are

At the time of writing, it seems that most

still

and

horticultural based companies with websites

optimistic In these very difficult times. I have

reasons

are still fulfilling orders for summer bulbs,

read and heard a number of times that

seeds, plants and garden sundries, albeit

spending time outside and in our gardens is

with delivery times less reliable than usual.

more important than ever for our physical

There may still be time to take advantage of

and mental health during this time of social

mail order to order and plant some summer

distancing and isolation.

flowering bulbs to add another burst of

It has of course, become necessary for us to

colour later on.

cancel this month’s meeting, the trip to

Be aware of the possibility of late frosts until

Leonardslee Gardens and the Plant Sale, all

the end of the month and protect tender

of which were due to take place this month.

bedding plants and young seedlings with

Our regular monthly meeting scheduled for

horticultural fleece.

June

Keep a watchful eye open for Lilly beetle

10th

to

remain

is

also

cheerful

cancelled.

Do keep up to date with information posted

larvae and the beetles later in the month.

on our website www.lavanthortsoc.org.uk for

The larvae are reddish brown with black

updates of our programme and other useful

heads and the beetles are a bright orange/

and interesting information.

scarlet.

Our gardens and allotments will probably

Look also, for rows of orange eggs on the

never be as well tended as they will be

underside of the leaves. The larvae and

during the coming weeks as we spend more

beetles do an amazing amount of damage to

time at home .There is the opportunity

the leaves ,flower buds and flowers of Lilies.

perhaps, to complete some of those garden

The best way to deal with them is to

projects which we always mean to do but

manually remove them and dispatch them

somehow don’t get around to. We have to

as you see fit!

look forward to the time when we will be able

Continue hoeing off weeds regularly before

to share our gardens and their flowers and

they become established. Get on top of

vegetables with family and friends again.

(Continued on page 11)

There is plenty to keep us occupied this 9

10

Let’s Walk getting our daily exercise...

Whilst we are all supposed to be taking

available, aimed at a variety of differing

our daily exercise starting from home,

age groups:

you might be struggling to work out

Walk 1 - East Lavant, 2.5km, easy

where you can walk. It doesn’t have to be at the side of the road, even if they are

Walk 2 - West Lavant, 2km, easy

quieter than usual at the moment!

Walk 3 - The Trundle, 7km, challenging

We are very lucky to have Centurion Way,

Walk 4 - Lavant Valley, 8.5km, easy

Chalk Pit Lane and the Trundle on our

Walk 5 - Oldwick, 6km, moderate

doorstep, and that they are wide enough to

accommodate

the

2m

social

Walk 6 - Toddler’s, 1.5km, easy

distancing rule in most circumstances.

Maps for all these walks are still

But do remember to step aside for each other - whether you’re walking, running or cycling. Give each other plenty of room.

and

we

will

available

free

during

make the

them

Covid-19

situation, until stocks run out.

If you are running out of different routes

Contact Sarah Newman on 775059 to

to walk and would like to be reminded

arrange how to obtain them.

about the routes used during the very

Stay safe!

first Let’s Walk weekend a couple of years ago, there were a

available,

range of options next year.

(Continued from page 9)

Enjoy your gardens and outdoor spaces and

weeds now and there will be less weeding to

stay well.

do later in the season.

We shall look forward to seeing you all as

Direct sow Sweet peas and other hardy

soon as we are able to get to get together

annuals outside if you haven’t already done

again.

so.

Happy gardening!

Lift and divide crowded clumps of spring

Linda Hughes

flowering bulbs and after replanting, give

LHS committee

them a liquid feed for improved flowering 11

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The Lavant History Project

Welcome to our usual article written and, we hope read, in unusual times.

As one of our members pointed out,

information, for example where the people who lived in Lavant were born, what jobs people did, how many people lived in each household; their ages; relationships.

Putting this together with other work being done means Lavant will be able to create a detailed historical map: each house will have its own family history.

we are actually LIVING IN HISTORY. Although it might seem silly it would be worth keeping a diary, photos – particularly of Lavant – spoken word recording, a scrapbook, anything of the times we are living in. In the future, Lavant Primary School pupils and Lavant residents will be interested in finding out how we lived during this 21st Century pandemic.

Just in case you are short of things to do, here are two activities that would help capture and preserve Lavant’s past.

Taking Part.

If you would like to help with this valuable research e-mail lavanthistoryproject@gmail.com

V.E. Day. A Commemoration.

On 7 May 1945 Germany signed a

The Lavant Census Project

formal act of military surrender.

Fighting continued in Asia until August.

Churchill declared Tuesday 8 May 1945 a public holiday - Victory in Europe.

The Royal Family

A census is taken every ten years in Britain. LHP have copies of the Lavant censuses from 1841 to 1911 and the aim of this project is to transcribe them. This will give us loads of valuable and interesting

(Continued on page 14) 13

appeared on the balcony at Buckingham Palace and there were celebrations throughout the land.

However, there seems to have been NO celebrations of V.E. day in Lavant.

Taking Part Working with Chichester Distract Council, LHP have been awarded a grant to gather and record V.E Day and other WW2 memories and memorabilia. Lavant memories are particularly welcomed but any memories or memorabilia are also worth recording. Now is the time to root through those old boxes and

letters. IF you have anything you would like to contribute to the WW2 and V.E. Archive, please contact us at: lavanthistoryproject@gmail.com

Lavant History Project and C-19 LHP held an historic AGM via Zoom.

We are producing a monthly Newsletter. If you would like a copy just email us lavanthistoryproject@gmail.com

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Lavant CE Primary School A new challenge...

The recent Covid-19 crisis has brought

smaller than usual staff team.

unprecedented challenges for the whole of the UK, and Lavant CE Primary

School is no exception. Schooling at Lavant looks quite different to normal at the moment: the corridors are not bustling with excitement, classrooms aren’t

buzzing

with

discussion

and

learning, and the staffroom table is empty of coffee and cake.

Meanwhile the rest of the Lavant team

Instead, a small group of children come

work

to school every day so that their

carefully

parents can carry on doing their hugely

posting challenges and activities on the

important jobs in the battle against the

school website, and pupils learning

coronavirus.

The

school

day

from

home,

planning

with

for

teachers

children

and

feels

diligently how to manage their own

slightly different, with children from

learning (with help from parents and

each year group working together in

carers of course) in this new way. From

the hall, doing their fitness on YouTube

the staff team at Lavant CE Primary School, we’d just like to say how proud we are of all of the children and families of our school who continue to aim for their best despite the difficult circumstances. We can’t wait to see you all back at school soon.

with Joe Wicks (the nation’s PE coach)

in the morning, working on curriculum content and improving their maths and English skills, before spending time on some different activities, like planting flowers, creating games for each other to play or working on crafts with the 15

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Lavant Equestrian above and beyond...

Is it really only a matter of days since everyone had to change their lives into something so abnormal it would have been deemed science fiction in the past?

But perversely, what is truly abnormal about this situation is how quickly it is becoming normal. We are all capable of adapting faster than we would have previously thought possible.

walked into this lock-down.

Actually there are two things that will definitely come out of this and the other is people are a lot more caring and supportive than I ever realised. We have over five hundred regular clients (members) here and I can count on one hand those who reacted unpleasantly to our enforced closure.

Conversely there was a staggering reaction when I asked our members if they could keep up a 25% contribution of their monthly riding fees to cover the cost of keeping the horses. The number of people who agreed went well beyond my expectations and left me truly humbled, plus the kindness of the supportive comments that came with these up front funds could move even a bad tempered doyenne like myself to tears (well nearly). Then on top of this we had just short of thirty members pay their annual subscriptions also up front, thousands of pounds invested in us even though we can’t currently provide what they were paying for. If someone had told (Continued on page 18)

Here at Lavant my number one priority from Day One of Lock-Down was to ensure all horses remained well cared for and for however long this took. Three of my team volunteered to move in on site and this is where these intrepid young people have been ever since the 24th March – all three of them crammed into the living area of our horsebox because we still don’t have any permanent accommodation on site. I really wasn’t sure they would last in such a surreal and not particularly comfortable environment, but they have risen well beyond the challenge and continue to do so, growing in maturity and stature every day. If there is one thing I can be sure of when this is all over is these three young people will be quite different to the ones who willingly 17

our wonderful friends, the horses yet. Well they have surprised me too. Convinced they would quickly become feral if not being regularly exercised, they proved me completely wrong on that score and have settled most amicably and contentedly into their well-matched and undisturbed herds. Whilst getting back on them eventually will probably provide a different story, we are just so relieved they are not being silly or deciding to play with each other, which is when the accidents tend to occur. The easing of this horribly cold north-easterly wind is another step in the correct direction and hopefully we will actually enter this late arriving Spring soon bringing warmer weather and, dare I say it, more rain?! Then the grass will finally come through and this will keep the horses’ heads down; switching our concerns to controlling the size of their bellies.

(Continued from page 17)

me any of these things could happen, even just three weeks ago, I would have laughed.

And then what about our horse owners?

Unable to ride but not prepared to be left out of the equation, they organised between themselves a home-cooked programme of healthy and nutritious meals for the girls every day – their diet otherwise would have done them in well before the punishing work schedule and separation from their families and lives as they knew it did. Again these thoughtful, edible donations come with bolstering, kind messages of support and my goodness did these lift morale for the girls, which was starting to dip on Day Three, and yet here we are now on Day Ten and all three of them are up and running having well found their stride.

I am still pinching myself that our members are that supportive they voluntarily put up thousands of pounds in advance for something they can’t even do at the moment, but then a lot of what people have done lately has seriously amazed me, and I know I keep harping on about it but this is not something I am ever going to forget. My perception of human nature has been completely turned around, which is a bit of a shock at my age and we all like to think we are right, don’t we?

Even though our world has shrunk considerably, we are all well aware how lucky we are compared to most to have this eighty acres of our beautiful rural heaven which is Lavant Equestrian, formerly Lavant House Stables to ourselves. Charlotte Lassetter has her team of two, me with my team of three, plus my husband Tony and son Charlie.

We have all become closer and a lot more sensitive to the needs of each other because of what is happening, so there is a surprising amount of good coming out of something that is so frighteningly bad.

It appears to be making better people of most of us.

Keep well everyone and let’s all get through this, together.

Kind Regards, Amelia (Mills) Ayling Lavant House Stables

And I haven’t even really had to mention 18

Lavant Community Support Pull out these centre pages & keep them handy for ease of future reference In these unprecedented times we are all doing our best to keep going under trying circumstances. Some of us have been recommended to self-isolate completely, other of us will be doing this voluntarily. The rest of us are managing through careful social distancing when we are out on our essential trips or during our local daily exercise routines. We all need to know about the organisations and local businesses who are out there working really hard to provide us with the services and support we need. These 4 pages provide you with a list of useful contact points to try and other helpful information on coping during lockdown. ****************************** In last month’s magazine we included a leaflet introducing the Lavant Community Support scheme. Lavant Churches and Lavant Parish Council have got together to set up a network of volunteers, of which there are now 60 around the village, to help those who need support with shopping, collecting medication, or just a friendly voice on the phone for a chat from time to time. This scheme is now helping various households around the parish. If you need support please do not be afraid to get in touch with them through either of the dedicated contact points:

Telephone: 07823 474986 Email: support@lavantchurches.net

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Organisation / Business

What are they?

What can they offer?

www.NextDoor.com

An online forum for

Local residents can

local communities.

offer or ask for

Join the Lavant area.

support.

www.facebook.com

An online forum. Join Members can post the Supporting The

and read useful

Lavant Community

information.

private group. www.ChichesteratHome.co.uk

A website offering

Groceries, meat, fish,

details of local

dairy, fruit & veg,

businesses providing

alcohol, chocolates

home deliveries West Dean Stores

Visit in person or click &

Groceries, fruit & veg,

01243 818222

collect. Deliveries for

milk, household items,

www.westdeanstores.co.uk

residents of West Dean

newspapers, etc.

Adsdean Farm Shop

Visit in person only for

01243 575212

click & collect. Very

www.adsdeanfarm.co.uk

local deliveries - please

area.

Meat and fish

ask. Order online

available Major supermarkets: Waitrose,

All offer special hours of All normal services

Sainsbury’s, Tesco’s, Aldi & Lidl

opening for key workers

Check individual websites.

and the over 70s. Click

including pharmacy

& Collect, home deliveries.

Fox Goes Free, Charlton

Local pub still open for

01243 811461

limited food menu - eat

Hot food

in or take away, £11 Summersdale Pharmacy

Special opening hours

Prescriptions , general

01243 380185

9.30-12.00 and 2-5pm

pharmacy supplies

theteam@ summersdalepharmacy.co.uk

system.

www.summersdalepharmacy.co.uk

and safe queueing 20

So, that’s the shopping and essential supplies sorted. If we’re following government advice and staying at home whenever possible, most of us have much more unexpected time to fill.

Have you finished all your jobs round the house? Is your garden spic and span? Do you need new things to do? Feeling unfit? Are you home-schooling your children and need some new sources of inspiration? See below for ideas.

Organisation / Business

What are they?

What can they offer?

Joe Wicks

Online fitness coach

Online fitness classes for different age groups, kids to

www.thebodycoach.com

seniors

www.youtube.com (search for The Body Coach TV) www.twinkl.co.uk

Home learning support

Teacher created materials and resources for primary school age kids

Things to do at home

Time Out

80 different things to do at

www.timeout.com/things-to-

home

do/best-things-to-do-at-homestuck-inside-bored Pinterest

Discover recipes, home ide-

www.pinterest.co.uk

as, style inspiration and

Online quizzes

Every topic you can think of

other ideas to try

www.sporcle.com Learn a new language

Free online resources

www.bbc.co.uk/languages Learn British Sign Language

www.bslcourses.co.uk www.nationaltheatre.org.uk

Watch a free streamed

www.whatsonstage.com/

drama, opera, or musical

london-theatre/news/stageshows-musicals-opera-freestream-online 21

production

If you’re struggling with being at home,

district. coronavirus

or you are facing difficulties as a result of the Coronavirus situation, check out

www.chichester.gov.uk/

these sources of help.

Citizens Advice call arunchichestercab.org.uk

UK Government for official information and guidance. www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Samaritans 24-hour freephone on 116123 or email jo@samaritans.org

SDNPA for information about support for businesses, connecting suppliers with local communities www.southdowns.gov.uk

Refuge 24-hour freephone national domestic abuse helpline for women and children.

Call 0808 2000 247 www.refuge.org.uk

WSCC for latest advice and details of their Community Hub page www.westsussex.gov.uk

0344 477 1171

NHS details of multiple sources of help for yourself or a loved one www.nhs.uk/ conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/ mental-health-helplines

CDC for latest advice and guidance for residents and business in the Chichester

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Getting Stiff Working at your Computer at Home? try this Microbreak Exercise Plan

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The Sussex Wildlife Trust Peregrine Falcon by Michael Blencowe Circling high in the blue skies above Sussex

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (or DDT to

is one of the world’s deadliest predators.

its friends).

Peregrines are hunting above us. Scanning

Farmers worldwide had started spraying a

the avian traffic in the Sussex airspace,

variety

their incredible vision locks on to an unsuspecting bird passing below and the sophisticated

aerial

wonderful

new

chemical

improve yields. These invisible poisons hit

Peregrine instantly negotiates one of the most

of

insecticides all over the countryside to the bird at the top of the food chain the

manoeuvres

hardest. In 1958 there were 650 pairs of

possible. They stop flying. With wings and

Peregrines in Britain. Six years later there

feet tucked in tightly, peregrines drop from

were 68. Concerns over their decline

the sky at an unbelievable speed – hurtling

sparked an investigation that led back to

earthwards at up to 200 mph - the fastest

the source of the Peregrine poisoning and

creature on our planet. Everything, even the

the world’s eyes were opened to the reality

eyelids and nostrils on this bird are built for

of the damage that these chemicals could

speed. Like a bomb made out of muscle

cause to our environment and to us.

and feathers, it’ll decimate any victim in its

Rachel Carson wrote ‘Silent Spring’, the

path.

environmental movement was born and

We’re fortunate to still have these amazing

green was upgraded from a sort of yellowy-

birds here in Sussex. During WW2 their

blue colour to an entire way of life.

taste for pigeons (including those carrying

Today, perched on our cliffs and cathedrals,

wartime messages) saw Peregrines treated

high above the organic food-filled shelves in

as if they were on the payroll of Mr Hitler

kitchens across Sussex, the killer that kick-

himself. The Secretary of State for Air

started the environmental uprising stands

declared war on these falcons and issued the

‘Destruction

of

Peregrine

defiantly overlooking us all like a beaked

Falcons

Che Guevara.

Order’. The birds were slaughtered, their

revolution,

nests destroyed. After we gave Adolf the and numbers began to recover. But they British

tofu

www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk

were to face an even more deadly threat the

and

burgers.

old heave-ho, Peregrines were left alone

than

A feathered testament to

strength

Government;

25

veggie

26

Helen.oldvic@gmail.com www.theoldgranary.org

The Mays of Raughmere - Part 2 (of 2)

by Andrew Berriman Thomas May (1603/55) John’s eldest son was Thomas May (1603/55). He went to Cambridge and became a lawyer.

He inherited Raughmere on his father’s death in 1630, then became JP for Chichester from 1636/42, and its M.P. from 1640/42, in the two years before the outbreak of the Civil War. In that war he was a Royalist, and became a local Captain of Horse. He took no part in the actual Royalist taking and fortifying of Chichester in the summer of 1642, but nevertheless suffered much hardship in 1643 for being regarded as a ‘King’s man’. Raughmere was sacked

by General Waller’s troops. As Thomas wrote in his will (in 1649, possibly soon after the execution of King Charles I), ‘in these late troubles my house was plundered, and my goods wasted, consumed, carried away, lost and embezzled from me’. In 1646, at the end of the war, he had to pay £900 to get his house back from the Parliamentarians. The May family fortunes took a hammering, and never fully recovered.

The second son of John May was Adrian (1604/70). He went to Oxford University, and in his 20s was appointed as King Charles’ Groom of the Privy Chamber, at a salary of 200 marks p.a. On the eve of the Civil War he was a Royal messenger for the King to the Fleet, and during the actual war he was on ‘Wartime Messenger Service’, which must have been a very dangerous occupation. Although he was allowed a pass in 1643 ‘to go to go to Oxford, with his Man and Two Horses’, presumably to report to the King at his HQ, on 7 th August 1644 Adrian was arrested and ‘forthwith committed Prisoner to the Tower for adhering to the Party in Arms against Parliament’. He managed to survive the war and ‘compounded’ (paid a fine) for a sum of £252 to get back his estate at Little Dunmow, Essex. At the Restoration, he was appointed Supervisor of the French gardeners who were employed at Whitehall, St James and Hampton Court, at a salary of £200 pa. In 1669 he became Conservator of the waters belonging to Hampton Court, which sounds both important and interesting. He also reprised his role of Groom to the Privy Chamber, this time to King Charles II. Final mention of Adrian comes in a report dated 26 April 1670: ‘Adrian May went to bed last night, and was found died in the morning’ An interesting life. Someone whom it would have been good to meet.

John’s third son was John (1607/77); his dates are on one of the copper coffin plates. He gets a mention as he was the father of Sir Thomas May, who was MP for Chichester (from 1688 to 1695), and also its Recorder. Thomas was at the famous dinner at the Unicorn Inn in 1689 when the assembled dined on ‘a fatte bucke, which was presented by the Duke of Richmond at Goodwood’.

The next of John’s children to figure here is Jane May. She was the seventh child, born in 1609, and dying in 1639, not yet even thirty. She married Joseph Henshawe, who later became Dean of Chichester, and Bishop of Peterborough. It was he who erected the large memorial to Jane, still in St. Mary’s, by the altar.

As for Hugh (1621/84), the seventh son, he was, in my view, quite simply Lavant’s most famous son. He was a friend of Samuel Pepys and Sir Peter Lely, a leading architect, the 27

28

Comptroller of the Works at Windsor Castle from 1673. He was one of the three surveyors appointed by the King to supervise the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire in 1666. He had probably spent his childhood at Raughmere, and ended his days in the family vault at St. Nicholas. He deserves to be far better known, and properly honoured. Probably he was too modest about his many talents, too self-effacing.

John May (1634/72) On the death of Thomas May in 1655, Raughmere was inherited by his eldest son, John. He married twice, but had no children. His second wife was Mary, daughter of Sir John Morley, who on marriage became Dame Mary May (1640/81). John died childless in 1672, thus ending the male line of the Mays of Raughmere. Dame Mary was widowed at the early age of 32; another suitor did consider a proposal, but decided that she was ‘a vain and profligate woman’. In 1676 she commissioned her lifesize marble effigy, five years before her actual death. She may have sought the advice of her uncle Hugh, as to choice of the sculptor. This Dame Mary is not to be confused with Lady Mary May, 2 nd wife of Sir Richard May, Recorder of Chichester, who died on March 5th 1679/80. But, to be fair, this probably causes a fair bit of confusion for all of us, especially the split year date (a result of the use back then of the Gregorian calendar, whose year didn’t finish until the end of March; only after 1752 was the Julian calendar adopted, the one we use today, with the year starting in January).

As Dame Mary died childless the estate passed to her niece Anne. She was daughter of Christopher (1628/91), the 8th and youngest son of John May. Anne married William Brodnax of Godmersham, Kent. Their son Thomas (1701/81) took the name of May in 1726 by Act of Parliament, and then also the name of Knight by Act of Parliament in 1738. It was his son, the childless Thomas May Knight (1735/1794), who sold the Manor of Mid Lavant and Rawmere to the 3rd Duke of Richmond in 1775. By then, the house was in state of some decay, and may also quite recently have been badly damaged by fire.

So the Duke soon pulled it down, and rebuilt it in Georgian style, on virtually the same site. Above the front door can still be seen the Richmond coat of arms, and the date 1784 on the Coade Stone plaque. © andrew.berriman@gmail.com

29

Morning & Afternoon sessions now available Monday to Friday To arrange a visit, please call 01243 811 423 www.westdeanpreschool.co.uk 30

31

At St. Nicholas Church Monday Mornings, 8.30am-11.30am

Service currently suspended

Paying-in, Pensions, Parcels, Recorded Deliveries You can do it all‌. Use it or lose it!

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THAT’S HANDY HARRY

01243 778252 / 07773 871488

Painting & Decorating

Registered by

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Gas Safe & Institute of Plumbers

Gardening, Fencing & Hedge Trimming

59 Springfield Close, Lavant

Tel: Dave 01243 779955 Free Estimates

LFP IRONING SERVICE

Independent Hairdressing

Let us lighten the load for you.

Professional Hairdresser

We offer the complete ironing service at

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competitive rates.

Please call Tracy

Tel: 01243 531138 Mob: 07773 009241

01243 537623 or 07534 870272

EAST ASHLING NURSERIES

Alterations / Repairs

Geraniums, Fuchsias, Hanging Baskets,

Dressmaking / Special Occasion

Shrubs, Herbaceous & Clematis

& Christening Wear

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Call Vicky: 01243 779932

B & G Motors

Sonja Lane

Vehicle Repairs & Servicing

Quality Hairdressing

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In your Own Home

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25years Experience

01243 528135

Please contact me on 01243 267327

David Doyle Gardening Services

THIS SPACE COULD BE JUST WHAT YOU NEED!

Local reliable RHS trained gardener

Contact advertising@lavantchurches.net for more information

Tel: 07821 187827 or 01243 784060 Email: wicklow999@hotmail.com

32

Notes from the PCC Meeting held on 17 March 2020 The meeting was opened with prayers and chaired by the Rector, David Jarratt. Thanks were expressed to those attending, given the nationwide situation (pandemic). All members socially distanced themselves. The Minutes of the PCC meeting held on 25 February were formally approved and signed.

1.

Matters arising. The Heritage bid for St Nic’s together with other non-urgent matters

2.

Churchwarden’s report.

were put on hold.

St Marys – replacement of lead, stolen from the roof in December, with zinc. It is hoped that the faculty to allow work to be undertaken will be issued shortly.

The Quinquennial report has been received – nothing urgent to report.

3.

Health & Safety. A Fire Risk assessment has been undertaken at both churches and a draft report drawn up. No urgent matters requiring attention. PAT testing of equipment has been undertaken.

4.

Safeguarding. The Church in Lavant has been awarded a certificate to acknowledge that

it’s understanding of the importance of the Safeguarding of children, young people and adults is embodied in church life together with an awareness of the knowledge necessary to deal with an incident/issue should one occur. We are now fully compliant with the Simple Quality Protects (SQP) and it is the duty of the PCC to monitor procedures and undertake an annual review.

5.

Treasurer’s report. The accounts for the year end December 2019 had been circulated to all members. It was unanimously agreed to approve the annual accounts – to be adopted at the Annual Meeting.

6.

Annual Parochial Church meeting (APCM) A copy of the report had been circulated to all members. It was noted, and encouraging to see, just how many people are involved in the life of the Church and its wider activities. It was unanimously agreed to approve the report. The date for the APCM had been set for 19 April but is unlikely to take place on that date.

7.

Parish Continuity Plan pro-forma from the Diocese of Chichester. The Rector advised the meeting of a communication from the Bishop informing that public worship has been suspended. The Rector will publish a devotional item, reflecting on the reading of the week on the website and e-news. Links to other resources will be added. The proforma contains questions on Worship, Pastoral and Hygiene matters and requires names of contacts if the Rector becomes unavailable. The many aspects of this pro-

(Continued on page 34)

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(Continued from page 33) forma were discussed at some length – points noted and based on this discussion the Rector will complete the form for submission; a copy of which will be circulated to all PCC members.

8.

Any other business St Nic’s. The annual spring clean will not take place and heating will be switched off.

St Mary’s. Use of the Lavant Room, bookings to be checked – heating to be adjusted accordingly.

The meeting closed at 8.15pm. with the Grace.

NB.

Following on from the meeting guidance has been received regarding

arrangements for holding the APCM. We have been advised that we have until 31 October to hold the meeting; therefore a new date will be arranged when the current situation allows.

Because we are unable to physically enter our church buildings, we are now using Zoom as our platform to deliver Church Services to you at home.

Please note that you

Online services

will be able to sing along to the hymns but you will not be able to hear others singing and they won’t be able to hear you! Also we are limited to a maximum of 100 people logging-on but we will make a copy of the service available on the church website.

Zoom will allow us to: Conduct formal services Participate in virtual home/study groups Conduct Quiet Services with some recorded music Zoom is available for Windows/Mac/Android & iOS. Download the app you need in good time ahead of the service. Invitation links will be made available.

34

Due to government restrictions on groups of people gathering, at the time of going to press there will be no church services.

Should government restrictions change, then the following services will be held. For updates to services see lavantchurches.net and see opposite for details of how to

Sunday 3rd May

4th Sunday of Easter

8am Said Eucharist, St Mary’s;

10am Let’s Celebrate, St Nicholas’

Acts 2:42-end

1 Peter 2:19-end

John 10:1-10

Sunday 10th May

5th Sunday of Easter

8am Said Eucharist, St Nicholas’;

10am Sung Eucharist, St Mary’s

Acts 7:55-end

1 Peter 2:2-10

John 14:1-14

Sunday 17th May

6th Sunday of Easter

8am Said Eucharist, St Mary’s

10am Sung Eucharist, St Nicholas’

Acts 17:22-31

1 Peter 3:13-end

John 14:15-21

6pm Evensong, St Mary’s Zechariah 8:1-13

Sunday 24th May

Revelation 21:22—22:5

7th Sunday of Easter

8am Said Eucharist, St Nicholas’; 10am Sung Eucharist, St Mary’s Acts 1:6-14

Sunday 31st May

1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11

John 17:1-11

Pentecost

8am Said Eucharist, St Nicholas’; 10am Sung Eucharist, St Mary’s Acts 2:1-21

1 Corinthians 12:3-13

John 20:19-23

Every Wednesday, Said Eucharist, 10am St Mary’s

35

church services and readings for May

access our online services.

Parish of St Mary with St Nicholas, Lavant www.lavantchurches.net Rector: The Rev’d. Dr. David Jarratt BSc BA PhD The Rectory, Pook Lane, East Lavant PO18 0AH rector@lavantchurches.net

01243 527313

church contacts

Churchwardens: churchwardens@lavantchurches.net Cynthia Blades, 3 East View Close, Lavant PO18 0DN

01243 527705

Ben Smith, 61 Springfield Close, Lavant PO18 0AZ

07887 777085

P.C.C. Chairman:

The Rector

P.C.C. Secretary: PCCSecretary@lavantchurches.net Sheila Sims, 4 St Mary’s Close, Lavant PO18 0DL P.C.C. Treasurer:

James Pickford

Harpers, Lower Road, Lavant PO18 0AQ Electoral Roll Officer:

527696

Bill Proudfoot

49 Worcester Road, Chichester PO19 5DZ Organist & Choirmaster:

789447

Richard Ryder

28 Ferndale Road, Chichester PO19 6QJ Gift Aid Recorder:

527894

776181

Luke Haydn

lukeh.instrumentalist@gmail.com

07985 789765

Parish Safeguarding Officer: Elizabeth Woodford

527489

Junior Church:

Frances Talbot

07526 779696

Toddler Group:

Barbara Treverton

779160

Church Flowers (incl. weddings):

Elizabeth Woodford 527489

Grave Concern (St Mary’s Churchyard Gardening Team):

Richard Boyce

527273

Church Booking Secretary: Sue Jackson bookings-secretary@lavantchurches.net

36

527725

Local Groups and Other Useful Numbers Lavant Road Surgery: www.lavantsurgery.co.uk

527264

Summersdale Pharmacy:

380185

Lavant C.E. Primary School Headteacher: Mr Adrian King

527382

Friends of Lavant School Co-Chair: Claire Griffiths

07789 170706

Lavant Craft Group:

Coral Jackson

574242

Lavant Cricket Club

contact via web-site (see below)

Lavant Football Club:

David Kent

780178

Lavant Friendly Club:

Betty Elleker

839065

Lavant Guitar Club:

Den Hardy

Lavant History Project:

Caroline Reynolds

07890 580349 771641

Lavant Horticultural Society Chairman: Mike Kingsford

527414

Jennie Lindfield

07395 106376

Lavant Parish Council Chairman:

James Pickford

Lavant Parish Council Clerk:

Dawn Salter

07547 107124

Lavant Players:

Jenny Quest

527803

789447

Lavant Valley Allotment Association Chairman: John Slipper

528990

Lavant Volunteer Task Force:

527705

Adrian Blades

Lavant Women’s Institute President: Elaine Mallett

776997

Royal British Legion Chairman:

Geoff Cresswell

527966

Short Mat Bowls Club:

Muriel Winter

528224

St Wilfrid’s Hospice Support Group Chairman: Nina Johns

538750

Tea & Chat:

527705

Cynthia Blades

Web-sites for Local Organisations www.lavantchurches.net www.lavantcricketclub.org.uk www.lavantfc.co.uk www.lavanthortsoc.org.uk

www.lavantmemorialhall.org.uk www.lavantparishcouncil.co.uk www.lavantplayers.net www.lavant.w-sussex.sch.uk (Lavant Primary School)

37

local contacts

Lavant Memorial Hall Bookings:

Sadly, due to the Coronavirus situation, all the usual village and other local events have been either postponed or cancelled. Keep an eye on your usual sources of information for further details as things move forward.

Future Dates for your Diary (hopefully!)

1

August

LHS Annual Show, Lavant Memorial Hall

24

October

Chichester Lions’ Club, Model Railway Exhibition

diary

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