The bells' peal at All Saints Church, Lindfield

By Jacqui Allen

It has been six years since a set of new bells were installed at All Saints Lindfield, as part of the re-ordering of the church building and, since then, they have rung out for Sunday services, weddings and funerals and for significant events in the UK such as the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III.

During this period, there have been a total of 19 quarter peals rung but, as of yet, a full peal has not been attempted. The last time a peal was rung at All Saints was in 2002.
A full peal is a marathon event. It is a continuous ringing of the bells for approximately three hours. It is both physically and mentally demanding on the ringers. The physical demands will be obvious to all but the mental demands less so. Ringing a peal requires concentrating for a full three hours without letting your thoughts wander from the order in which your bell is struck. During a peal the sequence in which individual bells are struck will change approximately 5,000 times and each ringer will have to keep track of what they should be doing now, what they should be doing next and when they change.

The peal is scheduled to start at 10am on 31st May – Lindfield Village Day – and finish at 1pm. Assuming a calm day or a wind from the north, it should be heard on the Common as the stalls are being set up and the early birds explore what is on offer from the stall holders this year.

Look out for the Royal British Legion stall at Village Day, as this peal is also being rung in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day which is 8th May.

All Saints Church 'walk the pipe' for Kagando's hydro-electric power plant

Members of All Saints Church have been making good use of their allowed exercise in January as a number of them supported a fundraising scheme for a partner charity project.

Kagando is a small village in Uganda which is home to a hospital serving the needs of the rural population around of some 350,000 people. The 250 unit has an unstable electric supply and so the charitable trust Friends of Kagando has begun fundraising the £1m needed to build a Hydro-Electric power plant to make use of a nearby mountain stream.

Lindfield resident and charity trustee Helen Tuddenham said: They experience almost daily interruptions to the electricity power supply. As trustees, we often discuss how we can best financially support the hospital in a sustainable way, allowing them to be more financially independent, and a hydroelectric power scheme would both save costs and generate income from selling surplus power to the local grid.”

Fellow church member Sarah Beeston commented: Having visited a hospital in another African country several years ago I have seen first hand the desperate need for resources. The more I heard about this Kagando project, the more I could envisage the need for the hospital to be self-sustaining and able to offer the best possible care to their community.”

Participants pledged to walk 2.5k each day in January – the equivalent of the length of pipe need to divert the water from the stream to the new power house. All Saints has set up a JustGiving page which can be found here: http://bit.ly/2KfjnGr

All Saints Church refurbishment

Last month All Saints Church reached an important milestone in its long history when, after nearly nine months of building work, the church reopened for Sunday worship. A special week of events and activities celebrated the completion of the project which has meant that Sunday services have been held at Lindfield Primary Academy since April last year.

The project, called ASPIRE, was launched in March 2013 and was comprised of three phases. The first was the retiling of the church spire and other essential work on the windows and stonework. The second was the remodelling of internal space to create a new accessible toilet, a clergy vestry and a multi-use room. And the third, which involved closing the church, has resulted in a new limestone tiled floor with underfloor heating, replacement of pews with chairs, a new central dais for leading worship, new audio visual facilities, improved lighting and full redecoration.

Chairman of the ASPIRE Steering Group Roy Ransley explained: “A key objective of ASPIRE was to ensure that the church building was able to provide a warmer, more welcoming and more flexible environment for its users and worshippers. It was, of course, important that the special historical past of the building was honoured, and, as part of the extensive consultation, a number of statutory bodies such as Historic England, the Victorian Society and the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings were involved in the necessary formal approval process to proceed with the work.”

Although All Saints is now open, some minor work is needed in the West Tower to complete the project and this will be done in conjunction with the installation of new bells which will take place in the next few months.

Canon James Clarke, vicar of Lindfield, commented: “Completion of ASPIRE is due to the support of many people in the church and the local community who have given so generously with their valued time and money to enable the project to proceed and for this we give heartfelt thanks. We now have a parish church that can be used practically on days other than Sunday, as many people saw in the ‘Come & See’ week early last month. If you didn’t manage to make it to one of the events, you are very welcome to call in on any weekday to see what has been done, and to come to one of the Sunday services.”

Photo by Sereniti Photography

Refurbished All Saints Church opening in Lindfield

View fullsize

All Saints Church will reopen its doors and celebrate with a special week of events from Sunday 3rd February 2019.

The church building has been closed since April last year, as part of a large refurbishment project which includes relaying the stone floor and making it one level throughout and installing underfloor heating beneath it.

Services will return to the church building from Sunday 27th January, after the congregation has been temporarily using Lindfield Primary Academy school hall during the building works.

‘Come and See’ is a week of events (right) that are being held in the church to celebrate its reopening and to give villagers a chance to see the new space at the top of the High Street. Included as part of the week are a Blackthorns Primary Academy Choir concert, a history talk by Richard Bryant and ‘Comedy & Canapes’ with Paul Kerensa.

Vicar James Clarke commented: “After so many years of planning and preparation for this project I am thrilled to be able to finally reveal the revitalised building, and we look forward to it being used by the whole village community.”

What’s happening at All Saints Church, Lindfield?

Lindfield church closed until January 2019

By Olly Brown

Shortly after Easter 2018, contractors will move in to All Saints to begin the final phase of building works to redevelop the parish church building to provide a warm, welcoming and more flexible space to meet the needs of current and future generations.

While the church is closed the congregation will be temporarily relocating their Sunday services to Lindfield Primary Academy, close to the Common. Services will take place morning and evening in the Sports Hall and everyone is very welcome. Children’s groups and youth ministry will also be on-site, and ample parking is available in the Academy grounds. The 8am Holy Communion services on the first, third and fifth Sundays will be held in the Tiger Lounge (next to All Saints). Full details are available on the church website.

The project (known as ASPIRE) has already seen the spire, roof and windows repaired, the vestries redeveloped to include an accessible toilet and the replacement of pews with modern seating. The more accessible interior has enabled the church to host a number of community events, including gospel singing workshops and The Christmas Experience for schools. 

The next phase requires the temporary closure of the church building. Work will include the replacement of the floor with new stone tiling and underfloor heating, improvements to the south porch and west entrance, upgrading the audio visual and lighting facilities and redecoration. Alongside the building works, it is planned to renew the bells and refurbish the church clock.

It is anticipated that the church will be closed until January 2019.

During the week, the Tiger building will continue to host its regular weekly activities and the church office will be open as usual throughout the building works. 

Once the work is complete, the church will be in great shape to continue worshipping God and welcoming the community of Lindfield for many years to come. Watch this space for updates!

All Saints Church Development Project

By David Tingley

All Saints church has been standing on its present site since the 13th century. Its imposing tower and spire standing at 116ft  would certainly have made a big impression when villagers at the time caught sight of this. All Saints has become an iconic symbol of our picture postcard village, standing proud at the top of the High Street. However, 2013 is set to be a milestone in the building’s history as the church embarks on a major development project. 

In fact it’s a huge undertaking, with 50 separate elements all running along different timelines over the next three to five years. The development plans affect both the church and the building next door, known as The Tiger, and are estimated to cost in the order of £2m.

Read the full story in February's magazine - out now. www.allsaintslindfield.org