£3,000 Needed Quickly for Church Repairs
Preston Capes has not had its own rector since 1948, when the Rev. R.H. Palmer left the Rectory to retire.
For the past 10 years, the parish has come under the control of the Rev. G. High, rector of Charwelton, with Preston Capes and Fawsley.
The original Church of St. Peter and Paul at Preston Capes was built in 1250. Although parts of the medieval structure, including the beautiful corbels, remain, the church has been altered since then. The south aisle was added in the 16th century, and was refloored a few years ago.
Raising funds for restoration has been Mr. High's biggest headache since he took over the Rectory. It took 12 years to raise £3,000, with the help of annual autumn bazaars and personal donations, and if the church is to be kept intact, another £3,000, must be raised as quickly as possible.
"It is the tower that we are most worried about," said Mr. High. "It has a large crack across it, and unless something is done soon, the masonry is bound to start crumbling."
"I am worried that a strong gale, or even aeroplanes, could bring it down."
10 More Years
In a bid to ensure that the tower does remain standing, Mr. High has had to stop bellringing. "It looks as though it will be another 10 years before the necessary money is raised," he said. "I just hope I live that long."
The Rectory at Preston Capes has not been inhabited by a rector for 12 years, Mr. Palmer being the last one to live there. The house, which was once owned by the Knightley family of Fawsley fame, was recently bought by Chelmsford Conservative MP, Mr. Norman St. John Stevas, who uses it as a "weekend cottage."
Since he moved in, Mr. St. John Stevas has done much to restore the house - one of the few large houses in the village.
The Knightley family's main connection with the village was in the 19th Century, when Sir Valentine Knightley was rector for 62 years until his death in 1898. The church organ has been dedicated to him.
Mr. High holds a service at Preston Capes every Sunday, and once a month on a weekday, "Otherwise," he said, "apart from a minor association with the village WI branch and the small cricket club, my ties with the villagers are not so strong."
Before coming to Charwelton, Mr. High was rector for four years in Oxfordshire. Before then he had been in South Africa for many years as a missionary, and in the end, as a rector of a 3,000-square-mile parish. "The area was large," he remembers, "but the congregation was a small one."
Mr. High is now pleased to see that the parishioners at Preston Capes are entering the churchyard for the Northamptonshire "Tidy Churchyard" contest. "With their brilliant record in other horticultural fields, they have a good chance of winning, I think."