Welcome to the Friends of Hamsey Church
Annual Carol Service
The ever-popular Carol Service at Hamsey Church will be held this year on Sunday 8th December at 3.00pm. The service will be led by the Rural Dean, the Rev’d Judith Egar, who so beautifully led the monthly Evensongs there this summer. The a cappella singing group Hamsey Harmony will once again perform, both during the service and after, outside, to send the congregation on their way home! Do remember to bring a torch or candle and a rug, as there is no heating or lighting in the church.
Church opening
Although the church will not be open over the winter months, if anyone has a special reason to visit they should let us know on stpeters-hamsey@usa.net , which will be monitored most of the time. Weekend and weekday openings will commence again in March.
Restoration works
The next stage of the Hamsey Restoration Works is intended to cover all the high priority items identified in the last Quinquennial, in particular the repointing of the tower walls and buttresses, and also to address the dampness in the walls (following which they can be decorated).
Whilst most of the scope is clear, key issues to be resolved concern, internally, the presence or otherwise of wall paintings in the church, and, externally, how to deal with failing rendering on the South Nave Wall.
Investigation is ongoing to report on these two issues, and it is hoped that early next year agreement can be reached as to how to proceed. We then intend to seek grant funding, and in particular a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, for the work.
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The Friends
Our beautiful and historic Grade I Listed St. Peter’s Church, Hamsey, is suffering from the effects of 1000 years of worship and wear and tear.
The Friends of Hamsey Church was set up in 2016 to help with its upkeep into the future. This will include raising grants for renovation, financial subscriptions and working parties to help with spring cleaning inside the church and some maintenance of the graveyard.
The roof, in particular, was badly in need of attention and we are happy to report that following successful fundraising the roof works have now been completed.
Fundraising and grant applications continue to help secure the future maintenance of his very special landmark.
If you are interested in this supporting this project financially or with your time, and would like more information, please contact: friendsofhamsey@gmail.com.
New Award for Hamsey Church
We are pleased to announce that the Hamsey reroofing project has won two Sussex Heritage Trust (www.sussexheritagetrust.org.uk) awards: in the Building Craft category and also in the Ecclesiastical category.
The judges made the following comments:
Building Craft: “Well-executed roof restoration done to high standard with imaginative re-use of clay tiles and Horsham slates which will improve sustainability, combined with sensitive and effective treatment of critical works to establish the structural integrity of the building. Well done!”
Ecclesiastical: “A thoroughly considered approach to the project, demonstrating detailed knowledge of materials, new and reused. A collaborative approach with architect and client which successfully tackled issues that arose. Finished job enhanced an already beautiful building.”
The work was carried out in the Spring of 2017 by Clarke Roofing Southern Ltd
Roofing work in progress
Please sign the visitors book if you visit the church
The new roof
