Wereham News

The Wereham monthly Newsletter

St Margaret's News:

Thank you again to our willing corps of cleaner- helpers who arrive cheerfully without being reminded! It's always good to see you there and to see the difference it makes to St Margaret's.

Our next cleaning day will be Wednesday 3rd October, which will guarantee that the church is clean and sparkling before the fundraising concert.

Fundraising concert for the Clock and Bell:

The Cantable Youth Choir will feature in a musical evening to be held at St Margaret's Church in Wereham on Thursday the 1st November 2007 at 7:30 p.m. Cantable are a local choir from West Winch and the surrounding area, who have won several competitions, and have performed widely locally and abroad including America. For this concert they have chosen a programme of well- loved and familiar songs which you are sure to enjoy.

Tickets are £5 if purchased in advance or £5: 50 at the door. Light refreshments will be served during the interval.

Wereham Youth Club:

Fundraising for Wereham's youth club got off to a flying start last month with a Fun Day at the Village Hall. A car boot sale, tombola, games and stalls netted a generous amount towards the amenities fund.

A message from the organisers:

Wereham's Youth Club held their first Fun day on Sunday 9th August and raised the very pleasing sum of £580. We would like to thank everyone who supported us - especially those who helped on the day. In addition, we would like to extend our warmest thanks to all the businesses and individuals who so generously donated prizes. Our next fundraiser will be Saturday 13th October and this will be a Halloween Disco at Wereham Village Hall. We do hope you will come along!

The tickets will be priced at £5 per family of four- with an extra charge of £2 if there are more than for children.

The Disco will start at 7 p.m. and finish at 11 p.m. and all the proceeds from this will go towards the purchase of more with equipment for the children to enjoy. Once again we would like to thank everyone involved for your help and support!

Janet, Jess and Sam.

Wereham Wildlife Woodland News:

Saturday 13th October will see the official launching of Wereham Wildlife Woodland in the form of a Tree planting Ceremony at the Village Pond at 2.30pm. All are welcome to the brief ceremony which will be followed by a cake-cutting and a nature trail around the pond for the children. At last the Woodland team were given the chance put their spades into the soil, when, under the direction of Paul Smith ,our Tree Nursery was finally constructed at the Scout Hut on Grange farm on Saturday the 1st of September! Below you can see the project almost completed and we are now ready to accept those donations of tree seedlings.

Fundraising for Wereham Wildlife Woodland is beginning in earnest. The first event was the Yoga Taster held in the Village Hall on Saturday morning 8th September. This was aimed both at regular yoga students and those who were simply interested wanted to learn more about it. Twenty three people attended the session which was most enjoyable. A number of people have asked about further sessions and Gail is considering the possibility of more-in the new year.

"Beating the Bounds"- a tandem ride by Dudley and Margaret Pickston.

Dudley and Margaret are planning a 200-250 mile tandem ride around the Norfolk boundary and are looking for sponsors in order to raise money for Wereham Wildlife Woodland. The ride, which they hope to complete in four days will be touching on places such as Hilgay, Welney, Emneth, the Walpoles, Terrington, King's Lynn, Hunstanton, Cromer, Great Yarmouth, St Olaves, Harleston, Diss, Thetford and Brandon.

Although Dudley and Margaret are experienced and confident bikers, this will be the first time they have toured on a tandem and this will be in a challenging experience for them both. The ride is planned for the first week in October, so by the time you read this, they may well be on their way -- but it is not too late to add your sponsorship. You can sponsor them by contacting any member of the Wereham Wildlife Woodland group or at the Village Shop.

On Tuesday, 20 November a Christmas Hall of Stalls will take place in the Wereham Village Hall, to raise funds for Wereham Wildlife Woodland. This will feature stalls displaying quality handmade goods and items not usually found for sale commercially, for those shoppers looking for Christmas gifts with a difference.

In addition there will be an exciting raffle and exclusive handmade Christmas cards and gift tags will be on sale. We feel really excited about this event, which we hope will prove a really festive Christmas affair. More details in next month's G4 news

The Magpie Centre

Please don't forget the Equestrian Car Boot Sale which will be held on Friday the 19th of October 2007 starting at 6 p.m. this is the biggest and best indoor car boot sale in Norfolk where you will find everything Equestrian at bargain prices. Pictures cost eight pounds and must be booked through the RDA office telephone 01553 810-2020 more information or go to the magpiecentre@aol.com

The Gospel Tree

I noticed last week that the Gospel tree, at the top of Church Road, was being pruned by gardeners from the White House. I learned from a booklet, loaned to me by someone in the village, that the Gospel tree is a Chichester Elm which was given to the Lord of the Manor (then resident in the White House) by a Mr Brown who was a nurseryman from Downham Market and was planted there in 1859, on New Year's Day, by the three children of the house. However it was blown down in the great gale of February the 28th 1860 and replaced by the present one. The new tree was tied down to an octagonal frame( to save it from future gales?) for the first eight years of its life and finally released in 1868 or thereabouts, and flourishes there to this day.

It was explained to me that it was named the "Gospel tree" because early itinerant preachers (Charterites?) would hold meetings beneath the tree and read passages from the Gospel there.

Wereham Hall

I have gathered some interesting recollections from people in the village about Wereham Hall, which once stood on the corner of The Row and the road to Stoke Ferry. People remember that Wereham Hall belonged to Major Lennox, an eccentric bachelor who lived on his own in the Hall, which by then was in an advanced state of disrepair. Someone, then a small boy, remembers venturing into the garden and being chased by a Major Lennox wielding a sword no less! Another person remembers that Major Lennox had to obtain his water from a horse trough in a nearby farmer's field -as it seemed there was no longer any running water in the house.

It is said that the Major, although habitually extremely dishevelled and scruffy, every now and then would go to London on business wearing Homburg and tails and prevailing upon the Innkeeper at the George and Dragon to give him a lift in the pony trap to the railway station. On one occasion a young girl in the village had the courage to approach Major Lennox and ask him if she might have a few sprays of beech leaves from the row of fine beech trees that lined the driveway. The Major stomped off and then re-appeared with a handful of beech seeds which he thrust into her palm with the gruff instruction "Go and grow your own! ".

It seems that after Major Lennox, the Hall became, temporarily, the site of a nudist colony presided over by somebody interestingly called Pa Faithful! Someone else remembers that, later still, it became the venue of Music Hall type dances and striptease shows. It was finally bought by a local farmer and released from its ignominy by being demolished and re-developed. A rather sad end to a fine old house.

Co-ordinated by Pammie Walker