We are really sorry but we have decided to cancel the Christingle Services throughout the Benefice this year because of Covid. We need to keep everyone safe.
However, Christingle packs, with oranges, glow sticks and instructions will be available for collection from the Lychgate, at St Peter’s Church, between 4 and 4.30 pm on Christmas Eve. We look forward to seeing you.
There will be an online YouTube Christingle service airing at 5 or 6pm on Christmas Eve. Watch out for more details.
We wish you all, whatever your circumstances, a Christmas full of love, peace and joy.
This weekend is the Christmas Tree Festival and also the Carol Service at St Peter’s Church. Local people and groups go to great effort to decorate the trees in church and the effect is usually spectacular and magical – well worth popping in for a look!
Arriving at the Reservoir Inn around 10am, touring the village on Colin’s steam engine visiting Highfields, Main Street, top and bottom, before arriving at the Community Centre for a day in his Grotto seeing little people.
Craft fayre opens at 10am. Lots to do and see including making Christmas decorations. See you there!
Father Christmas will be in attendance from about 10.30 in his grotto with a sack of small gifts. (cost to visit him is £1).
Excitingly, he will arrive by Steam Traction engine! He will board the engine at the Reservoir Inn around 10 am and make his way through the village via Highfields and Main Street all the way to the Stanton end of the village before coming back and arriving at the Community Centre at 10.30am.
What’s on offer? Lots of craft stalls, a children’s activity table making Christmas decorations, cake stall, raffle and tombola stalls, food and drinks from our cafe and of course Martin’s quiz.
There is a small entrance charge of 50p per adult. Hand sanitiser will be available. Masks welcome.
If you are able to come we really would appreciate your support please.
Please spread the word far and wide about this lovely, happy village event.
There will be restricted access through the churchyard via the Lychgate all day on Wednesday 3rd November from 7.45am  to allow the felling of a diseased beech tree.
To access the reservoir please use the footpath through the recreation ground, by the side of the school, or via Reservoir Road.
We are really sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
Colin Brown has finished building the dry-stone wall on the west boundary of the churchyard!
The wall was partly rebuilt by The Conservation Volunteers and a few local people under instruction from an expert in dry stone walls during 2017/8. We thought we had done a pretty good job!
This year a local person, who wishes to remain anonymous, has paid for the wall to be finished completely along the west boundary. Well, you can really spot our amateur attempts when you compare our achievements with Colin’s work. Wow, what an excellent job he has done.
A huge thankyou to him and especially to the donor who has funded this project. Thank you both so very much.Â
As many of you know, there is a beautiful avenue of magnificent beech trees along Thornton churchyard path. These elderly trees, around 115 years old, and their wonderful canopies are greatly admired and loved by us all, indeed, are a feature of our beautiful churchyard.
Copyright – Gillatphotography
Well, the very sad news is that the beautiful fruiting fungi that we have all so admired over the last few months, growing around the base of the Beech tree tagged T1 and nearest the lychgate, has caused the demise of this tree.
Copyright Gillatphotography
The fungi have been identified as Meripilus Giganteus, a giant polypore which attacks the tree’s root system. Three separate tree surgeons and an ecologist have let me know that the tree is in danger of toppling over as it now has very little root support. It is very close to housing and two footpaths.
The felling of this tree, T1, needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.
There are headstones and memorials in the vicinity which must be temporarily removed to allow the work to take place. I have applied to HBBC and to the diocese for permission to fell the tree and remove the headstones and memorials.
The estimated cost for these works is currently over £7000. We are hoping to be able to claim back the VAT, but it’s not definite that we can. There is around £3000 in the churchyard account so we don’t have enough money to pay for this. Most church building repairs we do try to fund ourselves, for example the recent urgent stonework repairs to stop the ingress of water, but this is something we just don’t have all the money for. Any help we can be given would be greatly appreciated. If you would like to donate, cheques should be made payable to Thornton, Bagworth and Stanton PCC.
I am truly sorry to convey this news. We will replant whenever a tree is felled, taking advice regarding appropriate species. We need to keep a sharp lookout for any fruiting fungi around the roots of the other Beech trees. If you spot any, please do let us know.
For now, the only suggestion I can make is that we enjoy these beech trees while we can and take a lot of photos.
Father Christmas will be arriving at the Craft Fayre on a steam engine. It is planned that the steam engine will start from the old Reservoir Inn car park at 10 am, stopping at the Brick Layers Arms about 10.15 and finally arriving at Thornton Community Centre.
Please note = all stalls are taken and there is a waiting list…
Thornton 