You can make regular payments to the Friends. To do this, you will need to set up a Direct Debit arrangement with your bank.
We are sorry but you cannot donate by cheque.
You can make regular payments to the Friends. To do this, you will need to set up a Direct Debit arrangement with your bank.
We are sorry but you cannot donate by cheque.
You can make regular payments to the Friends. To do this, you will need to set up a Direct Debit arrangement with your bank.
We are sorry but you cannot donate by cheque.
LATEST NEWS
News and photos of the Friends activities
April 2025
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The Easter Market at The Parrot, Forest Green
We would like to thank everyone for their support at our Easter Market again this year.
The sunshine certainly brought out the crowds and we enjoyed a very successful event with a grand total of £1885 being raised in just the 4 hours over lunchtime.
Another major step towards the total required for the complete renovation of the roof of the South transept.
March 2025
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Quiz at the Bulls Head
The Bulls Head, kindly hosted a Quiz evening to raise money for FSPSP. Again, all tables were booked and the pub produced tasty pies to feed the brain cells. £342 was raised from the Quiz, and the Raffle organised by FSPSP raised £308, giving a grand total £650 towards the urgent restoration work needed for the south transept. Many thanks to the Bulls Head and all the staff, plus Andy the Quiz Master, for such an excellent evening.
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FSPSP AGM
We had less supporters than usual at the AGM, as it clashed with a special talk by the Horticultural Society. However, the wine & nibbles help things along, and the meeting went well with reports on finances, recalling 2024 events and looking at future plans for 2025. These reports are all on the website, along with the revised data protection policy.
In 2026. we may change the AGM day to a Wednesday, as that Eve appears to have less village events.
Download the 2024 Summary Report, the 2024 Finance Report and Charity Legal Responsibilities
February 2025
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Geoff's Charity Quiz
We had another sell-out eve at the village hall with all eleven tables fully booked. Together, the Quiz & Raffle raised £1380 with £700 given to FSPSP and £680 to Vaughan House in Guildford. Many thanks to Geoff Harry and the Church Hospitality Team who made sure there were excellent questions and food during the evening.
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The History of Ewhurst Church
Two talks by Janet Balchin
Janet's two talks were both sold out with the Wilson Room filled to capacity. Everyone enjoyed the detailed and entertaining way in which Janet spoke, giving the history of St Peter & St Paul's from its beginning 900 years ago to the present day.
The Friends are very grateful to Janet for donating the £400 raised from the evenings.
January 2025
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Information for FSPSP Supporters on National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF) Grant
Regretfully, the application for a £200,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) grant was not successful.
Christmas Card Sales
The Christmas cards this year raised a total of £255.
Thank you, once again, to everyone who supported us by buying them,
packaging them and donating the photogaraphs.
23 December 2024
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Carol Singing at the Bulls Head
The choir led the carol singing outside at 6.00pm and then inside the pub later.
A great Chrismassy occasion as always. Thank you to Val and the choir who donated the magnificent total of £455 to the Friends Charity.
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Information for FSPSP Supporters on National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF) Grant
The application for a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) grant was submitted at the end of November. The amount we are asking for is just above £200,000 as FSPSP will be using just over £100,000 from the funds that you have generously helped us raise since the charity was launched in 2022.
The NLHF committee will contact us by the end of January 2025 to let us know if our application is successful or not.
FSPSP would like to thank Ewhurst CofE Infants School, Ewhurst Players, Hurtwood House Academy, Sayers Croft Rural Centre, Ewhurst History Society, the Parochial Church Council and Ewhurst and Ellens Green Council, who are all major supporters of FSPSP's grant application..
We will still need your continued support as any money raised in 2025 and 2026 will also be needed for funding the restoration work. The main events for this year are already planned and are in the Events section of the website. We expect to have a response to our latest application by early 2025. Hopefully a positive one!
July 2024
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Family Fun Day at Sayers Croft
The sun shone, people came and there was plenty to do. Caving, the Climbing Tower, Pond Dipping, Boulder Climbing, Axe Throwing and the Adventure Playground were all on offer to meet all abilities.
There were many colourful stalls, some with hands-on activities such as The Wildlife Trust, the LEAP stall and the Bag-a Tell. Energy could be recharged by burgers, pizzas and ices and there were plenty of other things to buy. The Superior Raffle attracted a lot of hopeful ticket buyers, and the first prize was won by a Ewhurst resident but there were many other prizes, so plenty of happy winners.
Ewhurst History Society ran an archaeological "mini-dig” for children at the Roundhouse, with Hands-on-History providing a display of replica Roman artefacts and costumes for children to dress up in.
The event has made over £5,000 towards the restoration work needed for our lovely village church.
Thank you everyone who supported us in so many ways, that’s what gave this excellent result!
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Change of FSPSP Bank name
If you are an FSPSP donor who uses the FSPSP CashPlus account, it will now show as Zempler Bank on your personal statements. There is no need for you to do anything or make any changes. If you have any questions, please contact our secretary at secretary.fspsp@gmail.com
1 May 2024
Martin Lockwood has resigned as churchwarden of EOFG Parish and is no longer an Ex-officio Trustee. The ex-officio trustee position will be taken by the churchwarden elected for this post by EOFG PCC.
FSPSP are very sorry to say goodbye to Martin, as he has been a valuable and active member of the team, especially with his professional knowledge and links to the building trade. We will miss his helpful input at our meetings and involvement in our events.
The trustees wish him well for the future and appreciate the work he has done with us.
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The Third FSPSP Annual Genereal Meeting
12 March 2024
More than thirty people came along to enjoy a glass of wine and nibbles and to hear what FSPSP did last year and plans for the future. This included an update on the Heritage Lottery Fund application to add technology inside the church to improve the visuals and for the urgently needed repairs to the south transept.
Download copies of the 2023 Summary Report and the 2023 Finance Report
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Easter Market at the Parrot Forest Green
Tuesday 19 March 2024
The weather was kind this year and over 200 people came along to the hustle and bustle of the Market.
Once inside, they browsed the many different stalls, looked for bargains on the Going for a Song stall or tried their luck with the excellent raffle.
After that, time to relax with a coffee or a meal in the restaurant. As ever, the classic bus was on hand to transport you if you didn’t want to drive!
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Visit by St Mary’s CofE Primary School, Putney - Feruary 2024
We welcomed 23 children and their teachers to find out about the history of the church and learn how the bells worked. They finished their session with us with a short assembly, celebrating their week at Sayers Croft and gave the Friends a lovely Thank You card, which is on the church notice board.
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Crocuses for the King 2023
The crocuses are just beginning to flower – but only open if the sun is shining. Not sure that all 200 will be showing as some may have been winter feed for the squirrels.
2023 Christmas Card and Logo sales
Thank you to everyone who supported us, to those who designed the cards and to everyone who bought them. The card sales started in October with logo items which are always available. The support from the village was excellent with 114 packs of cards sold and a total sales income of almost £700.
After printing costs, we made over £450.
The Spanish Evening - November 2023
Plenty of wine, good food, music, a premier Raffle and the support of the village community, all helped make this an excellent evening for those who managed to book a table.
Thanks to Rainbows End, we benefited from their Christmas decorations, and with Spanish flags, moustaches, mini sombreros, fans and roses we added a touch of Spain to the village hall.
By the time we reached the musical interlude, everyone was ready to join in with Johnny Robbins and his Spanish themed songs.
A big thank you to everyone who supported this event, it raised £4,350 towards the roof repairs for the south transept.
See the comprehensive programme of the evening HERE
Lots of digging needed for the trenches.
We marked them with yellow spray so the planters could find them.
Planting Crocuses for the King - October 2023
The Friends are hoping for plenty of spring colour in the churchyard after children from Ewhurst Infants and Rainbows End along with residents from the Old Rectory, planted 200 crocus bulbs bought with the money raised from our “Crocuses for the King” stall at the Carnival.
Before they could be planted in the daffodil area by the vestry, we had to make sure we could get into the ground. This area has never been dug so that was a challenge, but we solved the problem by digging thirty three shallow trenches. These were long enough to plant two sets of three crocuses, one blue and one purple. Hopefully there will be a lovely mix of blue & purple crocuses among the yellow daffodils!
Our planters came from Rainbows End pre-school, Ewhurst C of E Infants School and the Old Rectory Nursing Home. They each planted at least 3 crocus bulbs, making sure they were covered with soil and then watered.
Some of the planters got muddier than others but they all received a certificate for their work.
School Visits Autumn 2023
Two schools from Sayers Croft have visited our church this autumn.
The Meath School from Ottershaw spent some time looking around the inside of the church, deciding what things were used for and how the church may have looked in the past. They very much enjoyed going up into the belltower to find out about the bells and when and why they are used. Some had a chance to ring one of the bells and all of them hit our single bell so they could feel the vibrations.
North Heath School, Horsham had two classes who each had a session with us. Both groups had a talk about the history of the church and how it has changed since 1140 when it was built. They then completed an activity sheet about the outside of the church and had a session up in the bell tower which is always popular. There was bell ringing for some and everyone hit a bell.
Heritage Lottery Grant Update
Our Expression of Interest Application for a Grant of over £250,000 has been approved and we can now submit a full application. The relevent form to do this will not be available until mid August and this has then to be completed and submitted by next May 2024.
However, we have no guarantee that this will result in the grant being awarded to us. We are requesting £300,000 towards the final cost of over £400,000 for the restoration work on the South transept and for the associated community work which has to be part of the grant.
Crocuses for the King
Carnival Stall Saturday 5 August 2023
Thank you again for all of you who braved the weather either to donate towards the crocus bulbs for the churchyard or who helped on the stall. Special thanks go to Connie Watson & Mary McMath who made all the crocus decorations. The crocuses outside did not appreciate the rain and “died” before we opened but those inside stayed fresh!
Our Carnival Stall
The crocus area in the churchyard
Our Carnival Stall
We collected over £140 for the crocuses which we will plant by the chancel in the autumn. Any remaining money will go towards the restoration work on the South transept.
Bulls Head Quiz, Tuesday 1 August 2023
Thank you to everyone who attended the quiz and to those who donated Raffle Prizes. 52 people took part in the Quiz and your support for the raffle made £223, giving us a total of £379 for the evening.
This made it the most successful quiz at the Bulls Head Quiz so far.
Here is a photo of the winning team with the magnificent trophy.
Update on Jennie Seller’s border by the West Porch
The Friends have cleared away some of the osteospernium daisies and added three lavender plants under the two rose bushes.
As you can see in the photo, the lavenders are small but flowering. We are hoping for a bigger display next year once the plants have grown a bit more.
Tuesday 23 May 2023
Charity 80's Pop Quiz at the Bulls Head
The Bulls Head, ran an 80’s Pop Quiz during the evening and once again kindly donated the proceeds to the Friends. Our thanks to the Bulls Head and all the Quizzers who came along to support this event.
Friday 18th April 2023
Visit by St Mary's Church of England School, Camberwell
The Friends, with help from other members from the congregation, gave pupils from St Mary’s Church of England school, Camberwell, the chance to find out the history of our church and our special bells. As always, the highlight of their visit was the visit to the bell tower and to ring a bell!
Tuesday 28 March 2023
The Easter Market at The Parrot, Forest Green
Despite the cold wet weather we had excellent support from the community and took just over £1,836. The stall holders had excellent displays to tempt everyone and the Friends had their new banner on display outside the pub so everyone knew where the fundraising was going.
The classic bus had some happy passengers including children & dogs and the passenger donations raised £30 for the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice.
Our pictures here give you a taste of what was on offer ...
Friday 24 March 2023
Visit by the Instructors from Sayers Croft Outdoor Centre
Fifteen instructors from Sayers Croft gave up an hour of their Friday afternoon, once their visiting schools had left, to come to the church and find out more of what we can offer the schools visiting their site. All the large history banners were on display and they looked at a selection of our activity sheets. A visit up to the bell tower was also a must for most of them. Most of the Friends Trustees were there and were able to talk about what we do. We discussed the best ways in which we can liaise with Sayers Croft and what we can offer them in the future. Everyone agreed that it was a very useful meeting.
Friday 3 February 2023
St Mary's School, Putney visit the Church
This was the fifth time we have hosted St Mary’s, the first three times as part of Ewhurst Church and the last two as the Friends of St Peter & St Paul.
This year, without the limitation of Covid, the children were able to climb to the bell tower where Jan Jesson told them all about the bells and bell ringing. They then studied the many changes made to the church over the centuries by reading the display banners.
As always, the school ended their visit to us and to Sayers Croft, with their own assembly in the South transept.
Tuesday 6 Sepember 2022
The Bulls Head Quiz
The Friends are delighted that the Bulls Head Pub nominated the Friends of St Peter & St Paul to be the very first village charity to benefit from their first Pub Quiz. Our Pub Quiz has been missing for over three years, so our thanks go to Kindall and Phil for re-starting and organising this community event.
Thank you to everyone who came to support the event. The quiz entry fees and raffle raised over £200 and all three winning teams very generously donated their prize money, adding another £50 to the total.
Saturday 30 July 2022:
Family Fun Day at Sayers Croft Outdoor Centre
And a Wonderful Day Out it was!
Thank you to Sayers Croft for allowing the Friends to take over their site and providing their trained instructors to look after us during the day. None of this would have been possible without our wonderful volunteers who helped before and during the day. Our thanks to them.
BUT MOST OF ALL - THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME AND HELPED RAISE
SO MUCH FOR OUR CHARITY - FriendsofStPeter&StPaul
Weekend 2 - 5 June 2022:
A Flower Festival for the Platinum Jubilee
Many thanks to Margaret Lockwood for creating this beautiful, intricate display, Crowns and Coronets, on behalf of FPSPS. You did us proud Margaret.
In all there were fourteen displays in St Peter & St Paul this weekend, each made by a village organisation.
Our thanks too to Pam Bell and all the others who worked so hard to make the Festival happen.
Tuesday 5 April 2022: The Easter Market at the Parrot Inn, Forest Green
Almost 200 people came to the market over lunchtime. The stalls were busy the whole time and the traders all reported good business. Many who came also enjoyed a coffee and lunch in the bar. The free classic bus service from Ewhurst was a great success and many people enjoyed the ride.
At the end of the day we can safely say that over £2,200 was made for our Friends of St Peter and St Paul Charity.
Friday 25 February 2022: Charity Quiz Night
Our first joint event with the Parish Charities team was the most successful yet. Despite only having ten tables instead of the usual eleven a record £1,400 was raised. The ladies from Ewhurst in the Parish Charities group served up a delicious Ploughman's Supper and FSPSP ran the quiz . Excellent donations made sure that the Raffle was a big success and £300 was raised.
The evening began with representatives from the two charities, Vaughan House, Guildford and the Friends of St Peter & St Paul speaking about their work and how money from the quiz would help. The £1,400 raised will be divided with Vaughan House receiving £750 and FSPSP, £650..
Sunday 6 February 2022: A Jubilee Celebration
At 10.30am on Sunday 6 February a special bell-ringing session took place to celebrate the start of our Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. This was the first occasion that the new bells have been rung for a national event. Thank you to our bell ringers for marking this historic occasion.
Friday 4 February 2022: A visit to the church by St Mary's School, Putney
Twenty six Year 6 pupils and three members of staff walked from Sayers Croft to learn about our historic village church. They were told how the building and the bells have changed over the years and about the past events they have witnessed. Banners around the church showed how the different parts of the interior looked in the past and this gave the pupils the opportunity to see the changes for themselves and to realise that recycling items is nothing new!
Christmas Cards 2021
Christmas card sales hit a new record high this year. Over 1000 cards were sold – realising £319 for FSPSP funds.
Thanks to the picture-donors, especially George Yates, whose two designs were extremely popular.
To all you photographers - maybe start thinking about more local wintery scenes ready for next years cards!
27 November 2021
A Taste of Italy in the Village Hall
80 guests sat down to a three course Italian themed meal where false moustaches were de rigueur. We were entertained by master of ceremonies, Andy, who led the wine tasting proceedings and tested us with a short quiz. Johnny got us joining in and then weeping with his beautiful singing. A silent auction and raffle rounded off the evening.
The generosity of everyone was incredible.
A massive total of over £6,000 has now been raised as a result of this evening. Another step toward the restoration of the south transept.
As someone said "Viva Ewhurst!"
22 & 23 October
Exhibition and Sale of Paintings
Each of the three sessions in the Wilson Room were well attended. The artist, George Yates, was in attendance for the whole of the time and more than a hundred people came to look at and buy the many paintings which he had kindly donated to the Friends. A magnificent sum of £800 was raised for our charity.
Our thanks also goes to the Cranleigh Arts and Crafts Society for the loan of the display boards and to CCM for the use of their van to transport the boards.
Saturday 2 October 2021
Dedication of a rose border in memory of Jennie Seller
The border by the West porch has been replanted with Nostalgia roses by FSPSP in memory of Jennie Seller. Jennie was the wife of Rev Tim Seller, the Assistant Minister at St Peter & St Paul for many years.
The short outdoor service was conducted by Rev Rosemary Mason, who recalled all the work and fellowship Jennie carried out within the village. Despite the torrential rain, over 20 people attended, a true tribute to the love felt for Jennie.
The cost of the border was covered by donations in memory of Jennie and the remainder of that has been given to FSPSP to continue Jennie’s memory.
Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 Sept 2021
Heritage Weekend
People came to learn about the church. They were able to tour the churchyard, visit the bell tower and buy the latest Ewhurst book, Ewhurst 1910 - 1960.
Saturday 8 August 2021
The Friends Stall at the Ewhurst Carnival
Thank you to everyone who had a go at guessing the weight of a church roof slab. We had some fun and raised some interest and money towards the charity.
Correct weight? 10.8kg = 23.8lbs.
The winning weight was 11.2kg
August 2021
A beautiful cupboard, made by Roser & Elms of Ewhurst, is installed in the South transept. This will store the many display banners which the Friends will place around the church during open days and special occasions.
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Previous Dates and Events
December 2020 The Friends Group is set up.
December 9 2019 Chancel roof restoration completed
November 17 2019 Service of dedication for the Time Capsule
August 27 2019 Peal of Stedman Triples rung in memory of Phil Henry
October 2018 The Heritage Lottery Fund awards a grant for the roof repairs
October 6 2018 First Full Peal On the Restored Bells - in 3 hours
Rung to welcome the Revd. Clare Shepherd,
recently inducted as Rector of Ewhurst Okewood, and Forest Green.
The first peal on the bells since restoration
March 11 2018 Mothering Sunday & Bell Dedication Order of Service
February 16 2018 The Surrey Advertiser, article about the bells being removed.
January 2018 The £55,000 target for the refurbishment project is raised
Thanks to everybody who has contributed
METHOD: 5184 Bristol Surprise Major - Composed by J.W. Holdsworth
Ringers from the Guildford Diocesan Guild:
1. Nicholas MW Haggett
2. Sally A Schupke
3. Jackie Roberts
4. Stephen P Darvill
5. Christopher H Rogers
6. Julian Morgan
7. Richard H Burton
8. Mark ER Gill (Conductor)
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Previously, fund raising events were organised by the Fund Raising Group, the Bell Fund and the Roof Repair Group. Photos from some of the events are shown below.
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The French Evening
Special Bell Ringing Events
The Big Day Out
The Roof Repair Team
Golf Days
