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June 2024 June 2024
LOCAL CHURCHES WITH THE COMMUNITY addition, there are localised issues such as the very poor road surface in
Shitterton, poor lighting in some areas and so on. We are still going through the
BUS large number of comments, but the information and suggestions that you have
given us will support discussions we will be having with Dorset Council in the near
future.
ON 7 May an intrepid crowd set out to visit a
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few local churches. It was a new venture for the Finally, it was good to see that the Salt & Pepper Lunch Club remains popular,
Community bus crowd to go and look at very and there were many positive comments about this valuable community
local places of interest. One of the hardest initiative.
things to plan was the route. We have lots of
churches. We need a pub for lunch. This was
the hardest part as so many pubs are closed on Grants
Tuesdays.
This month we received applications from Bere Regis Scout Group for a grant
Our first church was Athelhampton. This is a tiny towards the cost of improving the facilities in the kitchen in the Scout Hut, and
little church. This church is not open to the public from Bere Regis Youth Football who were looking for a grant towards the cost of
all the time and special arrangements were travel for a number of the youth football section to travel to Cerences in France.
needed to get in. The church is now used by an
Orthodox community. We were greeted by
Lesley Harris who gave us a short talk about the D Day Event
church and its community. It serves the rural The Beacon will be lit at 9.15pm on
Dorset Area and the community comprises of Thursday 6 June to commemorate
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many different nationalities who meet there once a month. The orthodox the 80 Anniversary of D-Day.
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Christians are the original Christian religion. The catholic church broke away first Before that the Bell Ringers will play
and then later the church of England broke away and since then there has been to mark the occasion and then
many other Christian religions. It was fascinating to see the icons and the there will be hot drinks served in the
differences and yet similarities in this church to our traditional churches. Scout Hut following the lighting of

Our next church was to St Mary the Virgin at the Beacon. All are welcome to
Puddletown. A village we tend to bypass join this occasion.
now but has strong links to the Martyn family
of Athelhampton House. Nearby Islington
house was given to Margaret on her Village Meeting
marriage to William Walpole who went on to Our village meeting will be held on Saturday 20 July in the Scout Hut. At this
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become a Prime Minister of England. The event we hope to discuss more about our plans for progressing the Community
church has wonderful features, a 12 Hall development, we will hear from DWT about their exciting plans at Wild
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Century font, wooden horse box pews and a Woodbury, we will show the proposed updates to the Neighbourhood Plan
very high pulpit so the priest can see the Review, plus we will have more detailed analysis of the traffic survey responses
congregation. There is a minstrel gallery and what next steps we can take.
and a chapel for the resting place of the
Martyn family and their monkey Mascots.
This church was used for the interiors of the Next Meeting
1967 film Far from the Madding Crowd and
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for the tower gargoyle which was seen in The next meeting will be held on Thursday 13 June 2024 commencing 7pm at the
the film destroying Fanny Robin’s grave. Village Hall. If you wish to have an item added to the agenda for discussion,
please contact the Clerk or a member of the Parish Council before the 1 June.
st

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