Polstead Church 21st July 4pm
We will be celebrating St Cedd’s Celtic roots with the
support of Cantus Firmus Choir.
This will be a relaxed service suitable for all the family and
afternoon tea will be served following the service.
This year we will gather at the church and then make the short walk to the Gospel Oak for prayers and then
Return to sit in the church.
The history of the Gospel Oak - St Cedd and his monks
brought Christianity to East Anglia and according to
tradition St Cedd preached under the original tree in the
grounds of what is now Polstead Hall in 653.
When the original tree collapsed in 1953, a cut through
the trunk revealed over 1,400 growth rings indicating that
the tree would have been a mature tree in the time of St
Cedd. Since 1902 there has been an annual service,
started by Rev Francis Eld Rector of Polstead.
After the loss of the original oak, a replacement was sown
from the acorn of the original, and this provides the focal
point of the service