GARWAY CHURCHYARD PROJECT

During the summer of 2025 a group of volunteers took on the task of updating the 1970’s version of the Churchyard graves. With the kind permission from Garway P.C.C. to develop this further.

Due to age and weathering, many of the headstones have very little detail, or none at alI. It is hoped that the original mapping of the Churchyard will help to identify some of the missing information.

A small group of volunteers will sympathetically remove existing vegetation by hand from the headstones.

Each headstone has been photographed by Jane Bovell and Stuart Wilding and the details recorded.

Plot “locations” will be re calibrated in relation to the Tower by Stuart, which will produce a new, revised overall burial plan.

Garway PCC or Friends of Garway Church will establish which plots are Grade1 or Grade 2 listed.

A small team Lesley, Viv and Liz are cross referencing data from burial registers, providing further information.

Our aim is to create a database on this website, which will include images and details of each grave. Once it has been created, we hope to be able to give more information about the people who are buried there. For example, which graves share familial links, their occupations, war records etc.

Knights Templar Midsummer Medieval Fayre on Garway Common and in Garway Church

Friends of Garway Church are excited and privileged to welcome The Company of the Black Bird medieval re-enactors to Garway this summer on 23rd and 24th June.

Friday 23rd June – St. Michael’s Church

Clive Kelly (pictured) and his team will be visiting St. Michael’s Church on the afternoon of Friday 23rd June where they will host talks and tours for the children of Garway School. The Friends of Garway Church hope that, fully equipped with reproductions of the clothing, armour and weapons used by the Knights Templar during the medieval crusades, Clive will help the children form a closer bond with the rare piece of history on their doorstep.

And from 3:30pm, for a modest fee of £5 cash on the door, Clive will also be on hand for adult visitors wishing to further enrich their understanding of the Templars, the Crusades and how they fit into the history of Garway. Friends of Garway Church will be personally inviting groups with an interest in history and aiming to raise money for the Church Restoration Fund.

If you are part of a group or an individual with an interest  in attending please do not hesitate to  get  in  touch  via  the  Friends  of  Garway Church email address: whizzo1@btinternet.com

Saturday 24th June – Garway Common

Clive Kelly and The Company of the Black Bird will once again be dressed for action but this time as the centrepiece of A Medieval Fayre on Garway Common.

Friends of Garway Church will be hosting a fundraising event with a medieval flavour to bring the community together to join in celebrating our great historic treasure, St. Michael’s Church.

Clive will deliver three presentations about the Templars across the afternoon and offer some lucky members of the audience a chance to try on some of the Templar equipment.

The Medieval Fayre will include stalls, refreshments and a range of activities to keep all the family entertained. Plus there will be plenty of useful information about the work of Friends of Garway Church to help the community better connect with who we are and what we do. And of course we hope to raise further money for the Church Restoration Fund.

If you feel you have a  skill,  can  provide  an  activity  or  host   a stall  that would contribute well to the medieval  flavour  of  the  day, please do not  hesitate to get in touch  via  the  Friends  of  Garway Church email address:  whizzo1@btinternet.com

Beating the bounds of the diocese

The Bishop of Hereford paid a visit to Garway Church on the afternoon of Saturday 19th September 2020. This was the eighth visit of the day on the Bishop’s Prayer Pilgrimage around the bounds of his diocese. Together with his wife Deborah the Bishop was welcomed to St Michael’s Church by the incumbent Elizabeth Cathie. Sadly, the numbers in the congregation where restricted by the rules of Covid-19, but there were representatives from the PCC, the Friends of Garway Church and other parishes in the Archenfield Group.

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