All Saints Pickwell & Leesthorpe

St Mary the Virgin

Welcome to St Mary the Virgin, Burrough-on-the-Hill. This is a beautiful medieval church with famous connections, a 13th century font and lancet window and 15th century stone effigies and superb stained glass windows.

Services are held once a month, and we also host many events and craft workshop as our church is firmly rooted in the life of the community.

You are very welcome to look around the church or to attend our services and events.

Our church is a Grade 2 listed building, with parts dating from the 13th Century. It is primarily a place of Christian worship,at the heart of the village. It is a special building, as it has been at the centre of the community for hundreds of years, welcoming the faithful and visitors into its sacred space. The local community attend services, and festivals through the church year such as Harvest, Christmas, and Easter, and use the church for christenings, weddings and funerals, and also enjoy being together under its roof for other activities such as listening to music and taking part in craft workshops and village celebrations. We are fortunate (and unique in the benefice) that our church has facilities that allow us to run such events. The church is a well -cared for and much loved part of Burrough- on- the- Hill.

We have a Holy Communion service every five weeks, which is attended by members of other churches in the Benefice. We are supported financially through grants, through our lettings and workshop revenue, through individual donations both on line and in person, through a programme of regular giving by members of the church and village, and through local fundraising efforts. Our annual budget includes maintenance and improvements to our ancient building as well as mission and ministry initiatives.

Church and community

The Church is part of the Diocese of Leicester, and within that the Burrough Hill Benefice of churches, included in that is the Burrough Hill parish, comprising Burrough on the Hill, Somerby, Gt Dalby, Little Dalby, Pickwell. A strong fellowship exists between all the churches in the benefice.

The Church brings the community together primarily through church services, but also through other gatherings and events. We have an active PCC who work tirelessly to maintain the church, an online history archive curated by a member of the community, a Facebook page and an Instagram page which documents our flower displays. The church welcomes new people to come in and help with church life and seeks ways to include them, for example through opening and closing the church, fundraising, concerts, gardening events, flower arranging, workshops, displays and open days. Our local bellringers practice in the bell tower, and frequently ring for services, weddings and funerals. The church clock is wound by hand by a dedicated village volunteer! The bell chimes were recently repaired, thanks to a massive community fundraising effort, but we have further funds to raise to now mend the mechanism which operates the tenor bell before our bells can once again chime loud and clear across the village, keeping the time, and announcing the church’s presence to all.

Despite donations given to the church, keeping such a building in good repair is costly and time consuming. We are constantly in need of funds to cover insurance, alarm costs, heating, and repair to parts of the church damaged by water, decay, temperature fluctuations and impact caused by bats, beetles and birds! We are keen to develop our outside area for increased use by the community, and restote our WW1 memorial inside the church, but this is dependant on financial support either from grants or donations. What we really need, above all else, is more people who want to be part of our church.

If you would like to make a contribution to our current appeal to repair the tenor bell mechanism, please cut and paste the following link into your browser and proceed to St. Mary's Sumup donation page:

pay.sumup.com/b2c/QJNTW9BK

Alternatively, by scanning the QR code in the Tenor Bell Appeal news item you will be lead to the donation page.

Our Associate Priest

In February 2020 Rev’d Jane Walker and her husband Bill moved to The Rectory in Somerby. Her role is part-time, and focuses primarily on providing spiritual care, support and encouragement, and strengthening the valuable links which exist between the churches and village life.

The parish of Burrough-on-the Hill: St Mary the Virgin (The Burrough Hill Parishes) is committed to the safeguarding of children, young people and adults. We follow the House of Bishops guidance and policies and have our own Parish Safeguarding Officer, PSO. The Diocese of Leicester’s safeguarding pages contain vital links and information including contacts for the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisor (DSA) who advise our PSOs. If you are concerned that a child or adult has been harmed or may be at risk of harm please contact the DSA Rachael Spiers ( email [email protected]) on 07930819279 If you have immediate concerns about the safety of someone, please contact the police and your local authority Children or Adults Services.

Somerby: All Saints

St Swithun

Little Dalby: St James