Northamptonshire Ride & Stride

Saturday 10^th September, 10am-6pm

In the week leading up to Saturday 10^th September, the weather forecast for the Ride was dire – ‘rainy and windy’. In the event the forecast calmed down on Friday, Saturday was warm and breezy, and we four recorders who shared the day only had to move our seats into the porch twice for tiny showers. But perhaps some potential riders were put off by the forecast, as we had one of the lowest numbers of visitors to our church on the edge of Northamptonshire in 20 years – 8 cyclists, all supporting Rutland churches and Rutland Historic Churches Trust.

There were also two visitors who came by car from Leicester, a handicapped man and his carer who regularly visit churches on the ride day, knowing doors would be open. They have a special interest in wall tiles behind altars, and left a donation for the Churches Conservation Trust. It was also good to meet Mr Brittain, a former resident of Wakerley, who brought flowers for his family grave and told David Allan and me about the Reverend Jackson, whom he had known. There is a plaque on the tower wall which reads: “The spire of this church was restored in 1969. This was made possible by using a bequest of £400 by the last Rector of Wakerley, the Reverend Arthur Goddard Jackson, Rector 1917-1945, died 1969. Requiescat in pace” (may he rest in peace). Mr Brittain said the Rector left Wakerley to go to Duddington. There were, in fact, a further four Rectors’ names added to the List of Rectors of Wakerley   hanging by the font, so the Rev Jackson wasn’t actually ‘the last’, but after he left, Wakerley and Fineshade and Barrowden were joined and shared a Rector, and in the 1970s St John’s was taken into the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The List records 48 Rectors of Wakerley, starting from 1252, but the church is Grade 1 listed partly because of the chancel arch, and the carvings round the top of the shafts are dated to around 1130, so there was a church building here long before the first Rector on the list.

The Visitors’ Book has several pages with this year’s lovely comments, including some from guests at the summer wedding and from Sally Porter, who is the Midlands Region Development Officer of the Churches Conservation Trust. The most recent entry in the Book, on 24^th August 2011, was by Lucy and Simon Kinna from Bushey Heath, Herts – “Glorious place and special to me: my ancestor Rev Samuel Hunt being a former Rector and buried here.” Indeed, the List of Rectors shows he was here from 1809 to 1814 and there is also a stone plaque in the chancel to him and his wife Sarah. He died in 1814 aged 68 and Sarah in 1845 aged 86. This modest white and black plaque was made by   T Swann of Barrowden, our eminent stonemason.

As always the greatest number of ‘visitors’ on the day was of the non-human variety. There were so many 7-spot Ladybirds on the neat churchyard grass that you had to be really careful not to tread on them, and they colourfully smothered at least one of the tombs. Bees love St John’s and they live under the tiles. Overhead during the morning were about 100 house martins and some swallows, feeding up before migrating south, a group of six buzzards who floated over in ones and twos, two red kites and two sparrowhawks. In the afternoon a sparrowhawk was chased away by some house martins and a long-necked black cormorant flew over, going towards Wakerley Wood, perhaps on its way to Blatherwycke Lake. The only downside was a red admiral butterfly which fluttered high against the window in the south aisle – but it may have found its way back outside before we had to lock the door.

Linda Worrall, Local Organiser

Last updated: 1 October 2011