News List

A lovely Harvest Service saw a large congregation enjoy our wonderful children’s choir which, tutored by Kathryn Watson, has become a very talented and respected group of young performers. The service was followed by Harvest Lunch in the Village Hall.

The Food Bank received donations of produce and non-perishables. Thank you to all who donated, supported and helped.

St Nicholas has a stained glass window appeal running to raise funds for a new window at the re-positioned Baptistry. Designed by our conservation architect and a master glassman, it is a unique work of art celebrating and remembering our last few years.

We held a lovely service at St Nicholas today. The children in the choir sang beautifully as we celebrated and gave thanks for our wonderful church following the repair, renovation and restoration work. Also for the servery and toilet installed and the new baptistery.

Good news from our friends at the National Lottery Heritage Fund. They have emailed Karen Nichols, our Churchwarden, to congratulate us on the successful completion of our project. It has been a long and, at times, very difficult journey but to see our beautiful church now has made all the effort worthwhile. Many people have contributed to our success and we wish to thank you all. Without you, none of this would have been possible.

The day was a lot of fun with The Hoop Guy and Lance the Hoglet (a baby hedgehog) attracting much attention. Leamington Hastings School maypole dancers were a pleasure to watch, as were the teddies parachuting from the top of the tower. Together with the moat and tower tours and a lovely variety of craft stalls, there was entertainment for everyone.

St Nicholas hosted an evening of willow weaving yesterday. Over thirty people had the opportunity to learn about this craft and to have a go at making willow wreaths. Many thanks to basket maker, Deb Jones, for such an informative evening and to all those who visited. An enjoyable time was had by all.

St Nicholas hosted a congregation of scarecrows today. It was a lovely afternoon with visitors voting on their favourites. As well as the large scarecrows, children and adults had the opportunity to create mini scarecrows. Delicious cream teas were served which gave people the chance to sit and chat.

St Nicholas has had a wonderful, happy weekend. Friday and Saturday saw our Christmas Tree Festival and Santa Trail of Light, much enjoyed by families and friends. Treats of hot chocolate, mulled wine and mince pies rounded off two lovely evenings. During the day on Saturday, we also had a Christmas craft fair and the 12 Days of Tudor Christmas.

What a truly amazing afternoon. Our lovely community came together at the Village Hall for a 1940s tea party. A sing along led by Kathryn, ably assisted by Bernard, proved to be a resounding success followed by sandwiches, cakes and tea. Finally, Jackie ran a wonderful bingo. So intense that, at times, you could hear a pin drop. Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers. Those who baked, made sandwiches and tea, served and cleared up, as well as those who sold raffle tickets.

Our St Nicholas Posada started the journey to Bethlehem (Willoughby) today. The journey takes Mary, Joseph and the Donkey firstly to Bilton Junior School, then to Dunchurch Infants and Leamington Hastings, before travelling around families in Willoughby. The long journey ends at St Nicholas’ Church on Sunday December 17th at 4pm at our Carol Service.

Last week, volunteers planted many bulbs and scattered seeds, giving the promise of a beautiful spring time. Feeders for our feathered friends have also been put up and we hope to welcome many birds over the winter. Thank you to all those who take the time to help.

We will always be very grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting our project and enabling us to create a place of peace and serenity for visitors to enjoy.

Today, our beautiful church hosted a harvest service, along with a service of thanksgiving, celebrating the completion of our build and restoration work. We welcomed a large congregation to this wonderful event. It has been an amazing journey of discovery made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the players, to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude.

Some dedicated craftsmen gave our north aisle windows a much needed clean and uncovered a signature and date etched into the glass. The date is clear - 1848 - but the signature is more difficult to decipher. Research is now being undertaken to try to identify the exact name and to find out where the person lived. They are not thought to be from Willoughby as there is no record of a similar name in the censuses of the time.

This afternoon at St Nicholas the opportunity arose for people to go up the tower, learning about the history on the way and seeing our amazing churchyard and community garden, as well as the surrounding countryside.

This afternoon, we welcomed some enthusiastic children and families. Activities included trees, scarecrows, a bird hunt, looking at rocks and chocolate rock making. A hunt for fossils revealed some in the masonry of our lovely church.

St Nicholas is sharing our heritage journey in 2024 with our calendar. Each month illustrates different aspects of our conservation building work and some of our heritage activities.

On sale now for £5. Contact Karen on 07866 572209 or at kjndon@aol.com

An interested group spent the last two days on a trip to Magdalen College Archives. Much of Willoughby paid rent to the college which owned great swathes of land here and around the country. The old records for the parish are stored in towers on the college site.

St Nicholas’ Heritage Weekend was a great success in spite of the rainy weather on Saturday. The bell ringing was a pleasure to listen to and Sunday’s sunshine provided the backdrop for a lovely ‘Songs of Praise‘ service. The children’s choir sang at the service and their cleverly reworded song before the teddy bears’ parachute jump was very special.

One of the activities in our bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, was to uncover overgrown gravestones, which had been laid flat and were covered with grass, and to carry out research into the people buried in the graves.

The Community Garden is really taking shape now. The poppies look beautiful and are attracting bees and other insect life. A grumpy toad visited the lilies but, sadly, the local rabbits have nibbled the flowers off our newly planted lavender. Our volunteers, known as the Garden Gang, continue planting and looking after the garden. Thank you.

Our skilled craftsmen are slowly replacing parts of the unstable ceiling and strengthening other areas. Lathes have been secured, ready for the first coat of lime plaster. Three coats are needed with drying time between each one.

Our first plants are in the garden, including two beautiful trees. This wonderful progress is all thanks to the Garden Gang led by Andrea who have spent many hours clearing the plot of land and digging it over.

Kim Taylor, who describes himself as an enthusiastic amateur, gave a really informative and entertaining presentation in St Nicholas’ Church this evening. The subject matter obviously caught people’s imaginations as over 80 people attended.

Some more graves have been uncovered along the east side of the church. Volunteers are busy searching records and archives to find information about the families buried in the churchyard.

The scaffolding is up inside the church ready for some stripping of damaged plaster from the ceiling and upper walls. The damage is particularly bad in the section above the organ. Following repairs the whole aisle will be repainted.

The external work has taken many months of skilled and dedicated work from our conservation builders and we are nearly there. The photographs provide a last look at the uncovered buttresses and the bricked-up window before they are rendered and the outside work is completed.

St Nicholas’ Big Draw and Maypole Dancing proved a great success with over 60 people in attendance and great fun had by all. The Maypole dancing by Leamington Hastings Academy pupils was lovely and one could see the skill needed when their parents and friends took to the floor!

Thank you to everyone who visited St Nicholas Church this afternoon for our Scarecrow and Craft event. It was wonderful to see so many people of all ages. The scarecrow ‘congregation’ was much admired, as were residents’ ingenuity and skills.

The last of the scaffolding on the north side of the church has gone and all the external work should be completed in a few weeks. We are immensely appreciative of the care and skill taken by our conservation builders and stonemasons during the restoration and repair.

Follow the map for a 14.2 mile cycle route around Willoughby and its surrounding villages.
Our third heritage leaflet provides interesting facts about the area and photographs of some of the local landmarks. Paper versions of the leaflet are in the church and it has also been uploaded to the ‘Our Heritage - Heritage Trails’ section of the website.

Join Charlie the church mouse on an adventure of discovery around the churchyard. Find the bird and bat boxes and the graffiti on the tower wall. Discover the history of the church clock and search for symbols on the graves.

During work on the roof, a 1962 halfpenny coin was found in a matchbox, showing when the roof was last tiled in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Today, we placed that coin, together with a 2022 coin with King Charles’ head on it, back in the roof space as a record for the future. This seems apt as our restoration work began the day after the Queen’s funeral in September 2022.

A Fashion Show with a twist. What an amazing evening! As well as a normal fashion show, we introduced a fun theme where we were looking at fashions mainly from the last century.

A busy afternoon in the church today with visitors enjoying the Art Workshop led by local artist, Jessica Hartshorn.

​St Nicholas hosted another build tour today. An entertaining and informative event led to people gaining an understanding of the complexities surrounding the process of restoration.

Fun at St Nicholas this evening with mini-Tudor jousts, games and pancakes. Thank you to all those who popped in for a visit and to the National Lottery players for their support.

The 'St Nicholas Puzzle' presentation took place this evening. Karen Nichols described the history of how she and her team eventually secured National Lottery Heritage Funding of £248K to save the church building.

St Nicholas is proud to announce we are finally able to use our servery and toilet. These facilities have been part of our dream for the church and the community for over twenty years.

There was a meeting of the garden gang today to discuss plans for our Community Garden.

St Nicholas was delighted to welcome residents from Galanos House to our first Heritage Art Workshop this morning.

An interested group visited St Nicholas today to see what has been happening over the past few months.

Some volunteers have been hard at work putting up the bird and bat boxes made at our ‘Explore the Churchyard’ open days last summer.

The scaffolding on the north side of the church came down today showing our lovely new roof.

St Nicholas owes a massive debt of gratitude to the National Lottery Heritage Fund. As we move ever closer to 2023 we do so with a lift in our steps and positivity towards the future.

Our church stands proud with a beautiful new roof which will last for generations.

The second of our heritage trail leaflets has arrived back from the printers and has also been uploaded to the ‘Our Heritage - Heritage Trails’ section of the website.

Friday evening saw our first Santa Trail. People, fortified with mulled wine and mince pies, braved the cold to see the Christmas trees in the marquee and to walk around the village.

The stainless steel parapet gutters and the tiling to the north side of the nave roof are almost finished. All the work on the roof will be done by Christmas.

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Work to construct the framework for the toilet enclosure is well under way and the cabinets and electrics for the kitchen have been installed.

The early 13th century font has been moved to make way for the new toilet and kitchen and now stands near the Peace Window.

The new stainless steel gutter has now been installed on the south side of the nave roof and the roof above weatherproofed and tiled.

The Remembrance Sunday event at St Nicholas was a thoughtful review of the War Years with a theme of 'Those who Kept The Home Fires Burning'.

A massive thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who spent time making soups, building the bonfire and organising the fireworks.

Work on the roof and stonework made good progress in October.

Digging the trench for the 'Trench Arch System' of disposal for the toilet and mini kitchen started today under the watchful eye of the archaeologist.

St Nicholas has produced its first ever Heritage Calendar.

Two groups were given a guided tour of the church both inside and outside by Steve Cooper, one of the owners of the specialist company carrying out the renovations.

Preparation is underway for moving the font and building the new toilet facilities.

Children showed their craft skills making heritage items this evening.

After many years of effort and heartache, work has started at St Nicholas.

Volunteers have uncovered many of the graves at the front of the church. Can you help to decipher the inscriptions on these graves?

Please join us to commemorate the life of our beloved Queen.

The two ‘Explore the Churchyard’ afternoons on 17 and 27 August have been a great success. Old gravestones not seen for many years were uncovered.

Jackie West, Churchwarden at Ladbroke Church, gave an interesting talk on stained glass windows today. She focused on the various processes used in producing and repairing stained glass windows for churches.

The first of our heritage trail leaflets has arrived back from the printers and has also been uploaded to the ‘Our Heritage - Heritage Trails’ section of the website.

A geologist and an archaeologist visited the church today to complete a comprehensive 3D scan of the church and churchyard. It was fascinating to find out more about their work.

St Nicholas’ Church welcomed two archaeologists this morning for a site visit. They came to look round and discover whether there was any existing wood to take samples of to determine the date of the tower. In addition, they checked out the whole tower and church both internally and externally looking for any clues.

We are really delighted that the building work will begin on the 12 September

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A wonderful Heritage Weekend saw people out enjoying the sunshine and visiting the Rural Crafts Exhibition at the church.

We are getting ready to start the renovations!

We have finally hit our funding target to build these new facilities in the church.

St Nicholas has received exciting news! The National Lottery Heritage Fund has given us permission to start work after awarding us just over £248,000 for roof and heritage work in the church.

The family service today looked at new beginnings with a focus on lambing and planting bulbs.

Welcome to our new Priest in Charge

The Carol Service was held on 19 December

The trees could be seen in the church throughout December.

Various talks throughout the week

The Santa Trail took place during the evening on 10 and 11 December.

Reaching out to the Community

A sound success

A flowering success