SHERFIELD-ON-LODDON PARISH MAGAZINE

THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. LEONARD.

THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL. Rector-The Rev. J. C. Brashaw, I\I.A., B.Sc. , O.C.F. Churchwardens-A. P. Barker, Rcdlands, and Percy Sim-.. Homelands, Sherfield·QD.Loddon. Hon. Treasurer-A. P. Barker, Redlands, Sherfield·on.Loddon. Hon. Secretary-H. H. Mundy, The Cottage, Sherficld·on·Loddon.

Mi .. D. Armstrong, A. A. Bucknall, Miss E. Barker, J. N. F. BradJ ey, A. Chandler, Miss Gammell, C. Hews, Mis. M. Hews, C. Sims, E. Van Moppes, Mrs. Willis .

Sidesmen-Messrs. C. Hews, A. A. Bucknall, A. Holl ey, C. S illlS, H . H. Mundy, J. N. F . Bradley, A. Ham .

Organist-So Bullman. Lay Reader-H. H. Mundy.

THE PARISH COUNCIL Chairman:-Philip Sims.

R. Eglington, F. H . Jackson, H. H . Mundy. A. A. Manser, Perey Sims, E. Van Moppes.

Secrerary:-Mrs. P. Sims. The Laurels

April, 1959

THE VILLAGE HALL COMMITTEE CI.airman :- The Rector. Trusrees :- A. B. Barker, J. B. Barker.

F . H . Jackson, Philip Sims. Elected :- A. Chandler, H. A. Lailey,

E. Onions, Percy Sim •.

No. 7,

s. R. V«If_g. & Son 1 Ltd ., Printers. Buingstoke

I

SERVICES IN THE CHURCH -Easter 1. April 5th.

11.00 a.m. Holy Communion. 6.30 p.m. Evensong.

Easter 2. April 12th. 8.30 a.m. Holy Communion.

11 .00 a.m. Matins. 6.30 p.m. Evensong.

Easter 3. April 19th. I 1.00 a.m. Matins. Consecration

By Bishop Lang. 6.30 p.m. Evensong.

Easter 4. April 26th.

of Churchyard.

on one hour when you go to bed on Saturday night.

Tuesday, 21st April, is the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II; Thursday, 23rd St. George's Day ; and Saturday, 25th, for those who remember World War I- Anzac Day.

Yours, JOHN C. BRASHA W (Rector).

ANNUAL MEETINGS

8.30 a.m. Holy Communion. 11.00 a.m. Matins. 6.30 p.m. Evensong.

Easter V. Rogation Sunday, May 3rd. 11.00 a.m. Holy Communion. 6.30 p.m. Evensong.

During this month there are two annual meet­ings to be held in the Village Hall. The first is on

0~. 8th April and is the Annual Church Meeting at 7.30 p.m. Among the items on tbe agenda are the election of churchwardens, 10 members of the Church Council, sidesmen and the annua l accounts are presented.

Apr. 2. 3.

IN THE VILLAGE HALL Women's Institute, 2.30 p.m. Whist Drive, 7.30 p.m., Vmage Committee.

All members of the church are cordially invited and opinions on the affairs of the church and how

Hall the work of the Church can be made more effective will be welcomed.

6. Evergreen Club, 2.30 p.m . 7. Working Party, 2.30 p.m. 8. Annual Church Meeting, 7.30 p.m.

10. Whist Drive. Church Heating Fund , 7.30 p.m.

J 4. Working Party, 2.30 p.m. 17. Whist Drive, 7.30 p.m. Village Hall

Committee. J 8. Jumble Sale, 2.30 p.m. Conservative

Association. " 21. " 24.

" 25.

" 28.

Working Party, 2.30 p.m. Whist Drive, 7.30 p.m. Sherfield Foot­ball Club. Annual General Meeting. Conservative Association . Speaker: Mr. Denzil Freeth, M.P. Working Party, 2.30 p.m.

THE RECTOR'S LEITER Dear Parishioners,

On Sunday morning, 19th April, we look for­ward to the visit from Bishop Lang, who will con­secrate the extension of the Churchyard . The ser­vice will start at 11 a.m. and will be a short form of Matins , with a sermon by Bishop Lang followed by the consecration of the burial ground. The collection at this service will be given to the Diocesan Fund for the work of the church in our own diocese. It is hoped that very many parish­ioners will come to this service. To most of us the consecration of a burial ground is a service only rarely attended, and, further more, very many of us will be buried there. The plot of ground, which is the extension, was given to the Parochial Church Council by Major Cecil Wills, when he was the owner of Sherfield Court.

Summer time begins at 2 a.m. of Sunday, 19th April, so remember to put your clocks and watches

The other Annual General Meeting is that of the Conservative Association on Saturday, 25th April, at 7.30 p.m . The speaker at tbis meeting is Mr. Denzi l Freeth, M.P. , and , as it is generally sup­posed , that the General Election will be held this year, Mr. Freeth hopes that not only his supporters but also man y others will come to hear what he has to say. .

CHURCH HEATING MAY FAYRE

This Fayre is on Saturday, 9th March, at 2.30 p.m .. and Mrs. J . D. Barker has kindly consented to perform the opening ceremony. A leafiet , giving many details about the Fayre, is enclosed with this magazine. We hope you will give us your full support. There are many items well-worth buying and we hope yo u will enjoy the lighter side. In the evening, at 8 p.m., Mr. Reg Ruffel is kindl y organizing a dance, and we look forward to an enjoyable evening.

ALTAR FLOWER ROTA The Altar Flower Rota for the year will be

made up and published in next month's issue. Meanwhile for the next few Sundays the rota is as follows: - . Apr. 5. Mrs. Brashaw.

12. Miss Barker. 19. Mrs. Bradley. 26. Mrs. Jeffrey Dodd.

May 3. Mrs. Eglington.

EXTRACTS FROM THE REGISTERS Funeral

Feb. 21. William Chandler. Marriage

Mar. 2J. Cyril Raymond Smith to Maureen Olive Coombes.

COLLECTION FOR DR. BARNARDO'S HOME

The Sum of £13 was collected in the parish for the Barnardo-Day Fund in March. Miss M. K. lackson would like to thank all who gave so generously and particularly Mrs. Burt, Mrs. Collis and Mrs. W. Grigg for their great help in ·collecting.

RANDOM RECOLLECTIONS OF SHERFIELD

(Continued from March iss/le) By A. P. BARKER

I have ca lled these notes "Random Recollec­tions" as it is difficult to put them into any sort of order and it may well be that events recorded in my memory in fact took place earlier or later than stated. I am however clear that the earliest hap­pening in Sherfield to which I can place a definite date is the first Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887 when I was five years old. A large tent was erected in a field at St. Leonard's (now Dray ton House) to entertain the Village to dinner with games after­wards but what took my fancy was the arrival of a farm wagon drawn by a huge grey dappled horse (very similar in colouring to the rocking horse in the nursery which is perhaps why I remember it) which my father had sent round to pick up the old and very young so that no one should be left out on such an occasion: the old ones sat on benches while the younger ones scrambled all over the wagon being restrained from falling overboard by a supply of pig nets a.nd the clutching hands of their elders.

When the time came for us to go to school we spent much of our holidays both winter and sum­mer on the moat behind the Church on which moat we had an old cumbersome punt housed in a lean-to shed: all this by the kindness of the Butler family who occupied the small farm house now enlarged as Sherfield Court the home of Sir Roger Makins.

As many in Sherfield only know of this moat by hearsay it may be of interest to say something about the moat itself and the island in the middle. The former is of considerable ex tent especially on the west side where it is broad and deep while on the east side nearest the Church it was then nar­row and very shallow and unpleasant as all the drainage from the house and farmyard ran into it: there was a ricketty bridge to the island over the narrowest part: the island was quite square and used as an orchard . It was possible, however, to get the punt all the way round though naturally most of our time was spent on the more open part. On the present day Ordnance map the island is marked "site of fort" but I very much doubt if there was ever a building on it. True that there were some bricks on the north-west corner but nowhere else since as boys we thought of the

possibility of buried treasure and the searches we made on the water line were fairly thorough -George Butler always maintained that he had never come across anything like foundations on the island and he had dug a well in the centre to water the livestock kept in the orchard the sides of the island being too steep for calves and the like to drink from the moat itself.

The site of the moat has its peculiarities as it is on top of the mound on which the Church stands there being a considerable fall on the west side of the containing bank down to the watercourse which runs at the foot of the field. As a defensive measure it must have been almost useless as the mere matter of cutting a ditch across the west bank would drain away the water in no time. Indeed in 1891 there was the remains of a wooden sluice gate which no doubt controlled the water periodically allowed to run over the lower fields in order to get an early crop of grass. In that year the gate was well away into the moat itse lf as the bank on both sides had given way forming a bay which was from time to time enlarged by cattle drinking there .

Seeing that the Church was founded by the Priory of Merton in the twelfth century I suggest that the moat more likely came into existence as a . fishpond than as a defensive measure. Be that as it may (1 have not been able to find any mention of either the Church or Moat in the Manor Court Rolls) there was an almost incredible number of fish and it was a common sight on a warm sum­mer's day to see the water almost black with tench or carp all about -lIb. size and about six inches under the surface. No amount of bread or worms would tempt them and we were not skilled enough to catch them in a net though we tried often enough.

It was here on the moat that the little grebe's nest was found with two eggs: the nest was made on a floating mass of weeds only just above the surface of the water and it was hard to spot as the bird. if allowed time, would always drag some wet reeds over the nest hiding the eggs completely which in consequence become green-coloured instead of white.

In winter-time we skated whenever possible and in the great frost of 1891-2 the ice was nearly a foot thick: to give the fish a breathing place two holes by the island bank were kept open and here it was possible to see several pike of about 6 lb. each. I remember well picking up a thick stick and hitting one over the head to the great annoy­ance of George Butler who loved fishing for them: on a nother occasion I saw George Wells take off his coat, lie down on the ice, and throw a pike out of the water with his bare hands onto the bank. It was then seen it had a rusty triangle hook in its mouth which was removed by the aid of a forked stick and the fish returned to the water.

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