<b>Details for online giving:<br></b>https://www.parishgiving.org.uk/donors/find-your-parish/swallowcliffe-st-peter-swallowcliffe/<b><br></b>
Rex, the Parochial Church Council's Fabric Officer, writes,"In 1632 Charles the First was king, Anthony Van Dyke was knighted and appointed court painter, Sir Christopher Wren was born, the colony of Maryland was founded in North America, the English Civil War started and a treble bell weighing 4 1/2 cwt was cast in the Salisbury foundry by John Dawson. This bell is the oldest of our three bells in Saint Peter's Church Swallowcliffe. Our tenor bell was cast at the famous White Chapel foundry in London in 1846 and the third bell (the number two bell) was cast in John Warner's foundry in London in 1881. This small peal of bells has rung out over Swallowcliffe for all these years marking great occasions, the passing of many of our former villagers and celebrating weddings, Royal anniversaries and many other happy occasions."In September 2019 specialist bell hangers from Whites of Appleton inspected the bells and the bell frame and instructed us to take the tenor bell out of action because it was dangerous and recommended full restoration of all bells and their fittings. So we tendered this work out to contract and decided to employ Nicholson Engineering. a local bell hanger from Bridport, Dorset. We then had to seek planning permission - in church terms called a Faculty - from the Diocese of Salisbury and to start a fundraising appeal to raise over £19,000 - a daunting task for a small village of some 170 residents and especially during the Covid pandemic. Without the magnificent support of the Friends of Saint Peter's Church, who guaranteed to underwrite the project, we would not have been able to start the project at all. The Fundraising Appeal began in late September 2020 and applications for grants were made to bell charities and to Historic England. By the end of the year, your amazing generosity had raised £17,675 for Operation Bell, for which the Swallowcliffe PCC is extremely grateful."On 7 January 2021, Ian and Tim, bell hangers from Nicholson Engineering, arrived to remove the bells, the fittings and wheels and to lower them gently through 2 trapdoors to the ground. Two days later they were all in the foundry at Bridport. Here they will be restored and given new clappers, new crown staples, new Iroko headstocks, new oak wheels and new bellropes with red, white and blue 'sallies'. They will also be tuned and the bell frame in the bell tower will also be restored."Hopefully by the 9th of April our restored bells will be safely re-hung in their new fittings and through your generosity will be ringing in a more brighter and more healthy future for many years to come. I hope that you can celebrate their return with us and thank you for your support and generosity."
In 2015, Judy and Caroline came up with the idea for a village project, making church kneelers. The Parochial Church Council agreed that £150 be given from church funds towards the project.The original theme, the wildlife of Swallowcliffe, proved too difficult to carry through, so we decided to use the geometric shapes in the church’s stain glass windows. Copying these shapes onto the canvases was very challenging and took some time. However, once done we were able to assemble willing stitchers and provide them with a patterned canvas, colour chart and wools. It was a little like painting by numbers.Many of us met on Monday afternoons in the Village Hall with the usual sewing group to stitch and gossip. It became quite noisy at times! Those unable to attend these sessions did their sewing in their own time.Once a canvas was finished, it had to be stretched and blocked. We used the foam inserts from some of the current red church kneelers and covered it in calico. The canvas was then fitted over the cushion and secured underneath. A strip of linen sewn on the bottom finished it off.This last lockdown was an ideal time to complete fourteen kneelers now in the church, which is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the moment. The last four, still out with stitchers, will be added as and when they are finished.Caroline would like to thank all those involved in the project for all their help and hard work. The Parochial Church Council adds its congratulations to everyone and passes on its thanks.
THE ECCLESIASTICAL PARISH OF SWALLOWCLIFFESafeguarding Children, Young People & Vulnerable AdultsThis church community commits itself to the nurturing, protection and safeguarding of all children, young people, and vulnerable adults in its care. A vulnerable adult is anyone over 18 who because of physical or mental impairment, age or illness is or may be permanently or temporarily unable to report or defend them self from abuse. All church members share the responsibility of helping to protect individuals in these groups from neglect, or physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, of minimising the risk of abuse and of reporting any such abuse, whether alleged or suspected. 1. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) has a moral and legal responsibility to implement a robust safeguarding policy for protecting these individuals, and for reviewing this policy on an annual basis (usually at the first General Meeting after the Annual Parochial Church Meeting). The PCC is also responsible for ensuring that adequate insurance cover exists in respect of applicable Groups/Activities. 2. The PCC is committed to implementing the current Diocese of Salisbury Safeguarding Strategy based on the Protecting All God's Children (the House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policy Statement for Children and Young People, 4th edition, 2010), Promoting a Safer Church (the House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policy statement for Children, Young People and Adults, 2017), and any updates which may occur. 3. The Parochial Church Council therefore commits itself to:• Promoting a safer environment and culture by a) Striving to provide a safe, caring, and consistent environment so that children, young people, and vulnerable adults may thrive in a happy and loving Christian atmosphere.b) Seeking to protect children, young people, and vulnerable adults from actual or potential harm.• Responding promptly to every safeguarding concern or allegation so as to enable concerns to be raised and responded to openly and consistently bya) Responding immediately to every concern raised that a child, young person or vulnerable adult may have been harmed, or be at risk from harm, or about the behaviour of an adult or child.b) Working with the Salisbury diocesan and appropriate statutory bodies during an investigation into abuse, including when allegations are made against a member of the church community.c) Challenging any abuse of power, especially by anyone in a position of trust.• Safely recruiting and supporting all those with any responsibility related to children, young people, and vulnerable adults within the ecclesiastical parish bya) Ensuring careful selection and recruitment of ordained and lay ministers as appropriate, voluntary workers, and paid workers with children, young people, and vulnerable adults in line with safer recruitment principles and checks.b) Providing supervision, support, and access to training.• Caring pastorally for victims/survivors of abuse and other affected persons bya) Ensuring that informed and appropriate pastoral care is offered to any child, young person, or adult who has suffered abuse.b) Ensuring that appropriate pastoral care is offered to any member of our church community against whom an allegation is made.• Caring pastorally for those who are the subject of concerns or allegations of abuse and other affected persons bya) Endeavouring to offer care and support to all those that have been abused, regardless of the type of abuse, when or where it occurred.b) Continuing to learn how to respond in a supportive and healing way to the needs of those who have suffered abuse.• Responding to those that may pose a present risk to others bya) Ensuring, in partnership with the Diocese of Salisbury and other agencies, that care and supervision is provided for any member of our church community known to have offended against a child, young person, or vulnerable adult, or to pose a risk to them.4. The PCC has appointed a Parish Safeguarding Representative, to whom any concerns or allegations of abuse should be reported immediately: The Reverend Dr. Graham Southgate, The Rectory, Fovant, Wiltshire. SP3 5JATel: (01722) 714826Adopted by the Parochial Church Council of the ecclesiastical Parish of Swallowcliffe on 21st May 2018 (date) and signed on behalf of Swallowcliffe PCC by the Reverend Dr. Graham Southgate (Incumbent, Nadder Valley Benefice).
