Hedgelaying

24 March 2012
The hedge that we planted in the grassfield alongside a public footpath in 2004 has grown so well that the first section was ready for laying in December 2009. Hedgelaying encourages new growth from the base of the plants, creates a stockproof barrier and improves the wildlife benefits for birds and small mammals. This is the first hedge that the contractor, Chris Nicholls, had planted and then come back to lay - which shows how quickly it has grown. The second length, near the top of the grassfield, has just been laid and we think it looks lovely!

The hedge is laid in the Midland Bullock style; further sections will be laid in the coming years.

Disaster

18 March 2012
Just when we thought everything was in hand for our wedding in mid-May we received the bad news that the lovely 12th Century church in Woodhurst had partially collapsed. The church is grade II* listed and of a flint, rubble fill construction with an unusual timber frame tower. The flint wall on the north east corner of the nave has suffered from the extremes of temperature over the last couple of winters which in combination with cracking as a result of the drought affecting East Anglia, and our clay soils in particular, caused a flint fall of a substantial section of the wall.

We have had an amazing amount of press coverage; the "can we can't we" get married there story certainly helped raise interest. The coverage started with an interview on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire followed by articles in the Mail Online, Express Online, Daily Telegraph, The Independent, Cambridge Evening News, The Hunts Post, The Church Times, an American paper and television short pieces on ITV's Daybreak local report and BBC Look East. The best headline goes to the front page of the Hunts Post with "Rubble and Strife". The Woodhurst website has links to some of these articles (http://www.woodhurst-cambs.com/)

The repairs are estimated at £30-40,000 and temporary weather protective scaffolding comes in at around £5,500 plus VAT so as a small village we have a huge mountain to climb with our fundraising. The damage is not covered by insurance as there was no particular incident (impact, lightning, etc) that caused the damage. If anyone is willing and able to make a donation please either contact Neil for more details or use the charity donations web facility at www.charitygiving.co.uk/woodhurstchurch