What a crafty way to celebrate!

Tamworth Herald Friday September 30th 1983.

Displays mark a bumper anniversary for a church.

Harlaston villagers stepped back in time at the weekend for a special anniversary.

Potter Mrs Daphne Hemming hasn't yet found the house of her dreams - but until she does she'll make do with this minature, sculpted out of clay. It taakes Mrs Hemming, who lives in Whittington, several weeks to complete a house like this.

Mrs Mary Gould is a lace expert. She knits fine lace tablecloths and doilies, she crochets and she is especially keen on the ancient craft of pillow lace.

For it was exactly 100 years ago that the village church was restored - at a cost of £1,429 5s 5d.

Today parishioners are raising cash to have the leaking church roof repaired. The price of the work is not yet known - but it is likely to be well in excess og the money spent back on the restoration way back in 1883.

But the old community spirit is as strong as ever, and villagers banded together to decorate their church for the centenary celebrations.

They decorated the church with beautiful displays of fruit, flowers, corn and berries, and mounted an exhibition to show the history of the building.

On display were a collection of old photographs and documents - including a tithe map dating back to 1845, in addition visitors were given the chance to browse through old church registers, looking at the births, deaths and marriages recorded over the years.

And local craftsmen came along to display their traditional skills.

Crafts on display included corn dolly making, candle making, macrame, jewellery, knitted lace, bobbin lace, crochet and pottery.

Church wardens Mary Tiso and Evan Mercer said that they were delighted with the response to the exhibition.

"We are very pleased indeed with the response - from people who came to visit, and from those who helped make the day such a success," said Mr Mercer.

"We would like to thank everyone who supported us. We are very grateful."

Dropping a penny in the bottle is five-year-old Gillian Grove, who lives in Harlaston and spent the afternoon looking round the church.

Years ago corn dollies were made at harvest time to ensure good crops the following year. Now this ancient craft has become a fascinating hobby for Mrs Arleen Trickett.

The candles produced by Mrs Joan Lyons are wierd and fantastic as the stalagmites and stalactites found in caves.

Stepping Back in time.

Villagers near Tamworth stepped back in time for a special weekend celebration.

They gathered at St. Matthew's Church, Harlaston, for a centenary craft exhibition.

Villagers were celebrating the 100th anniversary of the church's restoration.

Churchwarden Mr Evan Mercer said: "The exhibition was very well attended and we were exceptionally pleased with the turnout.

"We had a large number of craft stalls and there was an exhibition of parish records for visitors to see."

Now villagers are looking forward to a special service on November 13th, to mark the actual anniversary of the celebration.

Mrs Daphne Henning from Whittington is pictured with a mirror that formed part of a display at the church.

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