A village in Leicestershire and in the heart of the National Forest, overlooking Thornton Reservoir.
Good morning Thornton
St Peter’s church will be open during the day all week as a cool spot in all this expected heat.
Everyone welcome.
Just come along and enjoy the quiet and the cool.
Work from church instead of home – there is internet in some spots.
Or bring a book, knitting …… just come along and cool down.
Bring a cushion for more comfort or even a comfy chair.
Cold drinks available.
No charge, just be cool.
The church team
Can you help? Do you have a few spare hours in the week or the month? Then please read on.
Our ancient and beautiful church has an important place in the life of the village.
Maybe you enjoy a walk that takes you through the church grounds seeing the snowdrops,
beautiful trees including the copper beech, spotting the squirrels or hearing the
woodpecker.
Maybe it’s visiting the church for some solitude or quiet prayer.
Enjoying one of the church services.
Or maybe it’s the amazing heritage and history of the building.
Or even just the reassurance that it gives.
There is no doubt that this church is valued by many villagers.
This is our problem: the team ‘looking after’ the church is small in number, aging and needs help.
And it does need a lot of ‘looking after’.
From cleaning, gardening, odd jobs to fund raising for repairs.
We would be so very grateful if you could help in one of the many ways.
And you do not need to be a church attendee, just someone who is interested and wants to help this church building and its grounds survive for future generations to enjoy.
This is where we need help:
Cleaning – could you give a couple of hours every 3 weeks or so to help us clean the
church?
Church yard maintenance – We try to meet monthly on a Saturday morning for 2 hours to look after the churchyard. Odd jobs that need doing from time to time.
Fund raising – The happy band of people that make up the Friends of St Peter’s has been
raising money for the church building since 1995. But now we really need folk with
energy and enthusiasm to help raise the funds to keep this grade 1 listed heritage
building from crumbling.
Money is always needed. If it’s not the roof, it’s the stonework or the plaster work or the bees or death watch beetle, or mildew or …
There are always things that need doing in and outside this building which we all care
about.
If you are interested in finding out more, please do contact: –
shirley.garlick19@btinterent.com or phone 07925170803.
We are reaching that very special time in the church’s year, leading to the wonder of Easter Day itself.
Our services are as follows:.
Holy Week
Maundy Thursday 2nd April
6.30pm          Â
Fish supper                Â
*AT ST MARY’S STANTON UNDER BARDON (for those who have pre-booked)
& 7.30pm       Communion              Â
*AT ST MARY’S STANTON UNDER BARDON
Good Friday 3rd April
10.30am        Â
Stations of the Cross  Â
St Peter’s Thornton
Easter Sunday
9-10am           Breakfast                   Â
Thornton Community Centre
10.15am        Â
Easter – Breakfast service with activities – see poster below. Thornton Community Centre
OR
10.30am        Â
Easter Holy Communion        *AT ST MARY’S STANTON UNDER BARDON
A full list of all the services in the Benefice can be found on the website:Â www.j22churches.org.uk/whats-on
There is also an Easter Trail around the churchyard from Tuesday 31st March to Monday 6th April
Telling the Easter story with activities (see poster below)
Church Building Open
As well as these, please note that the church building will be open over the weekend for prayer, reflection or just to have a look around. Times as follows:
Friday 11.30 – 5
Saturday 10 – 5
Sunday 9 – 5
If anyone needs a lift to Stanton on Thursday or Sunday, please let us know.
Can we take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Easter
With Best Wishes
From the Church Team
Resident of Thornton?
Have you noticed the sound of silence on a Sunday morning lately ?
The reason is a lack of bell ringers at St Peter’s church.
Tower Captain – Eric Roberts is appealing (pardon the pun) for new members to join the team in the New Year.
Anyone over the age of 15 years and under the age of 70 years are capable of being taught to ring the bells.
No strength required.
It is great exercise, and very sociable to be part of an important village team.
Bell ringing practice is at 7.30pm every Monday evening.
Interested? Then please contact Eric Roberts – email : – roberts.eric3@googlemail.com
The role of a Tower Captain typically includes the following responsibilities:
I am very pleased to announce that a beautiful 2026 Thornton Village Calendar, with photographs by Matthew Soulsby, is now available to buy.
Early Bird Special – on sale for £8.50 each, until November 1st when they will be on sale for £10.
Cash on delivery is available locally, or please direct message me for bank transfer details, if you prefer.
A large percentage of the net profit will go to St Peters Church.
If you would like one or more then please send me a direct message, including the number of calendars you would like to purchase, as well as your address for delivery.
I will deliver personally if the delivery is within Thornton, Bagworth and surrounding villages. If outside this area, a delivery charge will be added to the cost.
I have a limited number so please make sure not to miss out on a wonderful stocking filler.
Thank you for all your support.
Matthew Soulsby.
(Matthew can be contacted through his Facebook page – https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1558687135117971&set=a.119243165729049).
There will be a team of bell ringers undergoing a training session tomorrow evening, 19th September, at St Peters, Thornton, from 7.30 pm to 9pm.
We are sorry for any inconvenience.
Last weekend as part of Leicestershire Heritage weekend, St Peter’s church, Thornton was open to the public, boards displaying the history of the village and local historian, Pete Leadbetter were available and created a great deal of interest for the visitors.
96 visitors came to the church over the 2 days and over £200 donated for tea and cakes.
Organised by the Friends of St Peter’s.
Pop up cake stall, local history, church history, local historian. No entry charge. Refreshments available.
What a feast to find at St Peter’s, Thornton this weekend.
Everyone welcome!
The church will be open from 10 until 6 pm tomorrow, Saturday, and from 1 until 4.30pm on Sunday.
A local historian will be present both days from 2 until 4 pm, ready to answer your questions and provide local information.
Homemade cakes for sale on Saturday!
On a (forecast) wet weekend what could be better.
Its an opportunity to visit this lovely ancient building, to find out more about its history and the history of the village of Thornton, all the building work that is currently being carried out, and to buy home made cakes.
Please do let folk know about this event.
The church is open as part of Heritage Open Days which is England’s largest festival of history and culture!
Every September thousands of volunteers across England organise events to celebrate our fantastic history and culture. It’s your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are FREE to explore.
St Michaels’s Church Markfield is also open as part of this national event.
Hope you are able to visit.
Hello St Peter’s and Friends
The Thornton church service this Sunday (10th) is J22 Worship with Holy Communion, followed by refreshments. It will be led by Rev Andrew. It’s a modern service of Christian Worship, family friendly with contemporary music.
Everyone is very welcome.Â
Whether you have links with Thornton or are a lover of local history, we invite you to our Heritage weekend, being held at St Peter’s Church in Thornton (LE67 1AA) on:
Saturday 13th September: 10am – 6pm and Sunday 14th September: 1 – 4.30pm. •
Explore our lovely Grade 1 listed historical church for yourselves and discover its wealth •
Visit our ‘Historic Thornton’ Exhibition with fascinating insights into the history of the village •
Examine old maps of Thornton (1794-1919). •
Chat with a local amateur historian •
NEW THIS YEAR! Cake Stall – home-baked cakes (Saturday) •
Part of national ‘heritage open days’ www.heritageopendays.org.uk •
Refreshments on sale • Free entry •
Organised by the ‘Friends of St Peter’s’
Unfortunately access to the church is by steps and there is currently no wheelchair access – (but we are working on it).
Thornton 