A VICAR of Dibley-style animal service will be held at Bromsgrove’s All Saints Church on Sunday, September 11, as part of its offerings for Heritage Day.
Everyone is welcome to take along their pets to the service at 3pm which will see ‘creatures great and small’ receive a blessing as the church celebrates ‘all things bright and beautiful’.
On the Saturday, September 10, the church on Burcot Lane will be open between 10am and 4pm for people to look around, have a drink, and to see a display of historical material which is rarely seen.
Information and illustrations will be shown on the local nail-makers. The Baptismal Register from the 1870s will be on show so people can see how many of the residents were nail-makers at a time when the church would have been full every Sunday with town tradespeople, school teachers and nailmakers and those who worked on the railway.
Also displayed will be memorabilia on the Day family who lived in Davenal House at the end of the 19th century. The lovely Good Shepherd window in the church was donated in memory of Catherine Elizabeth Day. Thomas Day was Clerk to the Workhouse for nearly 30 years. Mrs Day gave the church the land where the Church Hall was built.
The display will include details of the lives of the Workhouse residents. They lived in the specially designed building which remains as a conspicuous structure along the Birmingham Road. Also along the Birmingham Road, the large, early Vicarage stands hidden behind trees close to the Townsend Vets traffic lights. For a long time it was used as the Mount School.
A treasure hunt – ‘Hunt the Saints’ – and a question sheet will be available for children on the day.
An All Saints’ Church spokesperson said: “We are very grateful to Pat Tansell for all the help she has provided in tracking down display items.
“We look forward to welcoming many visitors on Saturday.”
