Canterbury Cathedral trials free entry to precincts
CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL’s precincts are to be open at no cost for a trial period from now until 10 March. Before, adult visitors (aged 18 and above) needed to pay an entry fee of £17. The fee will now be applied just for the cathedral constructing and areas including the Cloisters, Herb Garden, and Chapter House during standard sightseeing hours (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.). A notice from the Chapter this week said that the trial was intended “to check the feasibility of balancing free access to large parts of the Cathedral estate with our must attract paying visitors to be able to cover the substantial costs of running and maintaining this site and community. . . As all the time, it’s free to attend a service of worship or to return into the Cathedral to wish.” canterbury-cathedral.org/free-precincts
Man pleads guilty to killing elderly churchwarden
A 36-YEAR-OLD man, David Parish, of Halyard Drive, Bridgwater, has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a former churchwarden, Beryl Purdy, who was 86, by reason of diminished responsibility. Anna Vigars KC, prosecuting, told Bristol Crown Court this week that psychiatric reports commissioned by the defence and the Crown had been received. Police were called to reports of a burglary at Mrs Purdy’s home in Broomfield, near Bridgwater, on 27 March last 12 months. She was found seriously injured and died on the scene. Her family said in an announcement: “Bez was a caring one that would help anyone in need and was very much a part of the village, being a churchwarden for 20 years.” Mrs Purdy was churchwarden of St Mary the Virgin, Glemsford, in St Edmundsbury & Ipswich diocese. The Rector, the Revd Mary Styles, told local media: “The community is in shock, and we’re all deeply saddened by this incident.”
Death announced of former Hymns A&M chairman
Patrick ColdstreamPATRICK COLDSTREAM, a former chairman of Hymns Ancient & Modern, the charity that owns the Church Times, died early on Sunday. He was 89. Mr Coldstream began as a features author on The Financial Times, then worked within the City. He succeeded Bishop David Sheppard as chair of the CCBI inquiry that produced the report Unemployment and the Future of Work, in 1997 (News, 11 April 1997). He joined the board of Hymns Ancient & Modern, and succeeded the late Professor Henry Chadwick as chairman. His term got here to an end in 2014. Obituary to follow
Questions ‘must have been asked’ about Vennells
AS THE official inquiry into the Horizon scandal continues, a Church of England spokesperson has commented on the involvement of the Revd Paula Vennells, the previous chief executive of the Post Office, in various Church of England posts (News, 19 January). “It is obvious that more questions must have been asked in regards to the appropriateness of Paula Vennells’s involvement in various committees and dealing groups within the Church of England by 2019 and 2020, when more had come to light in regards to the Horizon scandal,” the spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph on Saturday. “We recognise that and might want to reflect on that.”
Bristol community mourns stabbing victims
A CHURCH community in Knowle West, south Bristol, has expressed shock after two teenage boys were stabbed to death on Saturday night. The victims, who died in hospital, have been named locally as Max Dixon, 16, and Mason Rist, 15. The Priest-in-Charge of St Barnabas’s, the Revd Clive Hamilton, said: “It is completely shocking, but I’m afraid that is the truth of life in lots of parts of Britain, not only Knowle West.” An announcement on the church Facebook page read: “As we did pray this morning there is no such thing as a faithful prayer that trivializes evil, no real faith that ignores the destructive powers of sin, and no true witness that turns a blind eye to the violence of our world.”
TRA bans former Wells Cathedral School teacher
A FORMER head of sports at Wells Cathedral School, Martin Swarfield, 46, has been barred from the occupation indefinitely by the Teaching Regulation Authority (TRA) after having sex with a pupil. In May 2017, the college undertook a safeguarding investigation; the following month, the pupil made a proper grievance, and Mr Swarfield was arrested at the college and suspended. In February 2018, after disciplinary meetings, he resigned. The TRA panel found that his actions were “calculated and sexually motivated”. The head teacher, Alastair Tighe, said that the TRA’s findings represented “a deplorable breach of expected standards and a complete lack of integrity on the a part of Mr Swarfield”.
