Graham Stansfield Memorial Bench, 25th April 2010

A healthy congregation at Great Witley saw the church playing host to the usual Holy Communion service together with the christening of three young adults from the parish. After the services, the curate, The Reverend Robin Walter, gave his blessing to a new bench dedicated to the memory of the late Graham Stansfield. His widow Nancy and members of her family are pictured here after the short ceremony. Graham was an active member of the local parishioners who is best remembered as a keen historian and researcher on matters concerning Witley Court. Sadly, I never met Graham, as I came on to the scene shortly afer his tragic death.

Another busy turn stewarding at Great Witley

I arrived at Witley Church for a stewarding turn today; I was early (about 20 minutes to eleven. No sooner had I walked through the door and set up the sales stand when a coach party arrived and I found myself giving an impromptu talk to around thirty tourists who had descended on the church without any forewarning. A quick bit of improvisation thus ensued, but the said party were very grateful for my efforts in the end. It was nice to see their appreciation of the building which was reflected in a healthy sale of items from the sales stand and some much appreciated donations in the "milk churn". The only thing missing was the organ being played. The coach driver also knew a fair bit about the church as he often brings parties here because he knows that his fellow travellers always have a good visit. It was also good to see that visitor numbers have recovered dramatically in recent weeks after the dearth of folk during the winter period. Easter weekend was particularly busy - long may it continue.

"Worcestershire Life" magazine, March 2010

The March 2010 edition of "Worcestershire Life" magazine contains an article concerning the fountains and statuary at Witley Court. It can be found on pages 66 - 71 inclusive. A free download is available from the magazine website. Witley has also featured many times in a number of back issues.