St John's Preservation Group - WATERPROOFING WORKS - £16,000 FUNDS NOW AVAILABLE

At the St John's Church Preservation Group committee meeting on 7th September (our first committee meeting which was also open to the public) we agreed unanimously to 'go for it' and use £2095 from our reserves to make up the £16000 we needed to raise to waterproof St John's Church. This decision was made possible by the £3000 donated by Mr Richard Whitehouse a few weeks ago. Without this money we could not have risked using our reserves as we would have been left with no reserve at all. We have a policy of reserving 10% of all earned and donated income against contingencies and future replacements/renewals. We are also very grateful to Mr Bill Wilkinson who donated £2000 so that we could open the office/drop in centre next door to the church in May. The drop in is proving to be invaluable as a contact point and place to bring donations.
We have notified the Diocese that the funds are now available and we are awaiting a reply regarding the next steps to be followed. The 'faculty', the permission needed for work to take place on a church building, was granted a year ago so we are hoping for a short time line - certainly we want to see St John's waterproofed for this winter.
We are now, for a short time, (we hope), allocating all funds raised to reinstate the reserves, before we can move on to the next appeal.
We feel this is a good time to mention that no-one in the Preservation Group has as yet ever claimed any expenses ie petrol, bus fare or telephone. Those who volunteer have considered these costs to be an extra donation to the cause.We have no paid staff. Please keep sending your donations, raising funds for us and bringing clothes, shoes, tombola prizes etc to the drop in. Without this regular support we can't operate and we massively appreciate every single donation.
Many thanks again to all who have helped to raise this £16,000 - the list is too long to mention here but a list will be prepared. This has been a real community effort involving individuals, pubs and clubs and a loyal local media who have followed our efforts to Save St John's very closely. This is the first step in a long process of saving and restoring St John's - but it will be done and the good news still is of course that the last survey in January 2008 confirmed that the building is repairable and did not need to have been fully closed to the public. Our next aim is obviously to get the building re-opened even if only for a few hours a week.

LIGHTNING CONDUCTOR
More good news here. English Heritage have now approved the fitting of a Pulsar Lightning Conductor to St John's subject to agreement regarding how it will be fixed to the tower roof.
A Pulsar Lightning Conductor protects the whole building whereas the more traditional lightning rods as fitted now (but broken) protect only the tower and one third of the rest of the building. The building has no lightning protection at all at the moment.

We are now awaiting arrangements for the churchwarden to give access to the contractor to gain access to the tower roof, from inside the tower to see how the Pulsar can be fitted - whether a tripod will be needed or if a roof fitting is possible.
The Lightning Conductor will be funded by a £5000 grant from Dudley MBC Central Area Funds Committee.
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FEASIBILITY STUDY
The feasibility study is very behind schedule. We are still working with the consultants and St John's Church Steering Group on the contents and wording of the questionnaire. The delay has been partly our fault with slow responses due to us trying to consult widely, which has been difficult with key people who we wanted to speak to being away on holiday. As at when we do agree the form (which shouldn't be long now) we will need an ARMY of volunteers to deliver the questionnaires and fetch them back, and very quickly if we are to pull back some of the time slippage.
Please email if you will be willing to help.
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VICTORIAN SOCIETY ARTICLE - The Victorian Society, Birmingham & West Midlands Group - Autumn 2010 Newsletter ON ATTACHMENT

Big thanks to the Birmingham and West Midlands Victorian Society for their loyal support for our cause. Please read the article in the current magazine which is on attachment and consider joining the society if you have an interest in Victorian and Edwardian architecture. St John's Church dates from the Victorian era.

Link to the Birmingham and West Midlands Group http://www.victorian-society-bham.org.uk/

Are You a Bell Ringer?

The St John's Church Restoration Group are looking to set up a handbell ringing group. Anyone interested please email Deb Brownlee at debbrownlee@hotmail.co.uk

Dave Swarbrick (Fairport Convention) only Black Country Night

RoosterSpake Presents The Legendary Dave Swarbrick (Fairport Convention)

Venue: "The Omma un Chain Music Club", The Crosswells Inn Langley

Date: Saturday October 30th Tickets £6.00

Contact: Lozz 01384 231013 lozz@blackcountrypodcasting.com

Only Black Country Appearance Don’t Miss!!

Full support Local Artists Support all local ‘live’ ‘original’ music.

Women Chain Makers Strike

Wednesday 19 October 1910 marked the end of a nine week strike that involved around 1000 women chain makers living in the area immediately around Cradley Heath who refused to work until they all received the newly-agreed minimum rate of 2½d an hour. Small chain making was the first industry to obtain minimum wage legislation, and local people, rightly, look back on the part they played in this campaign with pride.


Thanks to the arrival of Pathé news in June 1910, the scandal of the women’s sweated labour attracted world-wide interest and sympathy from influential people who gave their support to the cause.

The meeting where the dispute ended was held in the schoolroom of Grainger’s Lane Primitive Methodist Church, the same place where it had begun on 22 August, when the formidable Mary Macarthur of the National Federation of Women Workers inspired the women to stand up for their rights. It was from these same premises that the women received their strike pay, and there that they held a mammoth tea-party with bread supplied by well-wishers. Sadly that building was demolished in 2007, after its congregation had re-located to Overend Methodist Mission. The leadership of the church in 1910 included people from all sections in the dispute, and some of their descendants are members at Overend today.

It seemed highly appropriate to commemorate the centenary of this event locally and so a celebration service is being held at Overend Church, Banner’s Lane, Cradley on Sunday 17 October at 6.00 pm. All are welcome to attend. Further details from Margaret Bradley 01384 567274.

Sandwell - Forging Links project

I am an artist working on Forging Links, a project based in Sandwell that aims to engage the young people of Sandwell with the area’s industrious past and present. I wonder if you would be interested in helping the project by publishing this request for information on your website? Or passing it on to anyone you think might be interested?

What are your memories of Sandwell’s famous factories?
Do you have a story to tell about them?
Did you work for Patent Shaft, GKN or Accles and Pollock, just to name a few?

We would like you to send us your personal stories about Sandwell’s industries, so they can be brought to life through Forging Links.
Forging Links is a project that hopes to engage the young people of Sandwell with the area’s industrious past and present. Over the next 12 months we will be working with local people and Sandwell Council’s Museum Service and Community History and Archive Service to uncover the secrets of Sandwell’s industrial past. All the stories and memories collected will be used to create a website and exhibition which aims to present the heritage to a new generation.
If you would like to share your stories please send them to Forging Links, Multistory, 1st Floor, Landchard House, Victoria Street, West Bromwich, B70 8HY, or e-mail forginglinks@hotmail.com.

Kind Regards
Katie Shipley
http://www.katieshipley.com/
http://www.listeningtoyoureyes.blogspot.com/

Share the places you love at www.heartoflandscape.com

Everyone has their own special places – it might be a park or an area of countryside; an historic building or a modern development; it could be a place where you like to relax and unwind or socialise with friends. The interactive map on the Heart of Landscape website allows you to locate, share and celebrate your favourite places and landscapes in the Black Country.


Perhaps your landscape is a place you know well and have fond memories of; or maybe it’s a new place you’ve found that you want to tell others about.

The website will be open throughout June and July. Visit the website or listen to Beacon Radio for more information on the Heart of Landscape, including your chance to vote for your favourite place in the Black Country online during June. In July there will also be an Event Day at one of the landscapes on the map.

Whatever your favourite places might be, the Heart of Landscape website allows you to put them ‘on the map’ so that other people can learn about and enjoy them! You can also give your ideas for how they can be improved. All these ideas will be recorded and collected into a report on what makes the Black Country special.

http://www.heartoflandscape.com/

Tales from a churchyard – local history coffee morning - Tipton Library

Tales from a churchyard – local history coffee morning Tipton Library
Tuesday 27th July 10.30am – 12.30

Tipton Library is pleased to announce the latest in its popular series of local history coffee mornings when local author and historian Chris Smith will be coming in to talk about his latest book ‘Tales from a Churchyard’ on Tuesday 27th July at 10.30
The book tells tales of the churchyard at St John’s Church, Kates Hill which boasts many famous inhabitants including William Perry, the Tipton Slasher.
There will be copies of the book on sale and there will be a special raffle in aid of the Save St John’s Church appeal to win a local history goody bag
Robert Hazel, library manager, said that the events are always well attended and we look forward to another interesting morning. The book is full of wonderful stories and it should be a very popular event.
The event is FREE admission by ADVANCE ticket and tickets can be obtained by calling the library on 0121 557 1796
For more details on the campaign contact Deb Brownlee on 0787 119 5042. For more details on the library please contact Robert on 07500 608746

St John's Church Preservation Group news

Members of St John's Church Preservation Group aiming to save and restore St John's Church, Kates Hill are overjoyed following the news that a grant of £5000 from the Church Urban Fund has been approved which will go towards the cost of the essential feasibility study 'The Future For St John's Church', which engages specialist architects and community consultation experts to establish a sustainable future for the 170 year old Grade II listed building and includes assessing local demand for the church to be re-opened as an Anglican place of worship.
This means that grants totalling £12,000 have now been approved towards the initial appeal for £31,000 which was made up of £5000 for a new Lightning Conductor, £16,000 for waterproofing works and £10,000 for the feasibility study. The new grant means that Preservation Group funds formerly allocated to the feasibility study can now be used towards the waterproofing.
A grant of £5000 was recently approved by Dudley Council Central Dudley Area Committee for the Lightning Conductor, and a grant of £2000 was also recently granted by the Diocese of Worcester towards the feasibility study. Deb Brownlee chair of the Preservation Group "We have been working closely with the church authorities through the St John's Church Steering Group chaired by Archdeacon of Dudley Fred Trethewey and the grants now approved along with £14,000 we have raised to date means that we are now just a tantalising £5000 away from getting the restoration work started. We urge our supporters not only to share in our joy at receiving such magnificent help both from Dudley Council and the Church authorities but also to help us with a big push now to get this last few thousand in so that work can start. What a day it will be when the scaffolding goes up!"
Archdeacon Fred Trethewey says: “I am delighted that the Church Urban Fund has awarded the PCC of St John’s a grant of £5000 towards the costs of a feasibility study on the future of St John’s Church building. This is in addition to a grant of £2000 which has been made through the Diocese of Worcester. It will enable the Steering Group to progress its investigation into future possibilities and also enable funds to be released to carry out repairs on the building”. Patron of the group Dr Carl Chinn, "This shows just what incredible results can be achieved with a combination of support from local people and partnership working. I call on the people of the Black Country to throw their full weight behind the St John's Church Preservation Group and make sure that this last £5000 is raised in record time."
Anyone wishing to help can send donations to St John's Church Preservation Group, The Old School House, St John's Road, Kates Hill, Dudley, DY2 7JT. Donations of tombola prizes especially bottles and unwanted gift sets are also desperately needed and can be brought to the Preservation Group stall on Dudley Market any Saturday or to their new drop in centre in the Old School House which is open Monday to Friday.

Supporters can also run or jog to help raise funds at the Kates Hill Fun Run, organised by the St John's Church Preservation Group as part of the St Thomas's Community Games Programme and taking place on Wednesday 7 July on Green Park, Kates Hill. The run consists of up to 8 laps of the park, total distance just over 2 miles. Entry costs £2 for adults and £1 for children. Registration starts from 5pm on the day and the run starts at 7pm. Anyone who can obtain further sponsorship can get a sponsorship form from savestjohnschurch@hotmail.co.uk or by calling into the drop in centre. Telephone contact number is 0787 119 5042. There will be catering on site and anyone running in fancy dress will receive a small extra prize. All proceeds will go towards the church waterproofing appeal.
Supporters are also encouraged to collect their loose change and organise any other events they can eg coffee mornings and jumble sales to help raise funds. More information about the work of the Preservation Group can be found on http://www.savestjohnschurch.zoomshare.com/or by visiting the group on their Dudley Market Stall every Saturday. Donations can be sent to St John’s Church Preservation Group, The Old School House, St John’s Road, Dudley, DY2 7JT.

BACK TO 1837 – BUT WHERE DO YOU GO THEN?

A one-day course designed to help people to research their family tree before 1837 will be held on Saturday 9 October 2010 at the Birmingham & Midland Institute, Margaret Street, Birmingham.

The course, co-ordinated by Birmingham & Midland Society for Genealogy and Heraldry (BMSGH) ,will cover Parish Registers and Bishop’s Transcripts; indexes; poor law records; early Wills and Inventories. Most of these records prior to civil registration in 1837 are held at local record offices and libraries and are not available on the internet.

The course starts at 10.00am and finishes at 4pm. The cost is £5 for non-members of the Society. The Society’s bookshop will also be available on the day.

For further details, please contact Jackie Cotterill on 01562 743912, email: gensec@bmsgh.org or visit the BMSGH website on http://www.bmsgh.org/

Dawn to Dusk in the Black Country by Giggetty

Brian Langtry, the founder member of the Black Country folk group Giggetty, has contacted me recently. Many years ago he did several black and white drawings featured in The Blackcountryman magazine, several of them illustrating the poems of Jim William Jones Dudley’s foremost serious poet who is featured on the “Dawn to Dusk” CD.


The album “Dawn to Dusk in the Black Country” was the first and best selling album produced by Giggetty and copies can be seen to change hands on auction sites quite frequently the album having become something of a collectors item.

Brian has recently digitally re-mastered the album, which can be purchased from http://www.giggetty.co.uk/ and is now setting about getting the availability of this to the many interested folk of the Black Country.

I have suggested that Brian pens something for the next issue of The Blackcountryman, so we can learn a little more about Giggetty's past.