After a year where we've been asked to live in isolation, and with restrictions lifting, the Friends thought it might be nice to ask the community to come together and partake in a sponsored walk to raise funds for the maintenance of church.
Starting a 2pm on Saturday 15th August from St Mary's, Over Silton, we're going to walk a 5 mile circuit round the woods. Arriving back at Over Silton, where there will be refreshments at the Manor.
Everyone is free to join us, you can find all the details of the walk in the information pack (download here). If you would like to help raise money there is a sponsorship form in the information pack, alternatively you can join us on Just Giving.
When the Ordnance Survey first mapped the country they carved the bench mark symbol into walls and buildings to show where they had taken their measurements from. For the first time the Ordnance Survey have made available a list of where they all are.
On this route there are five bench marks to be found be found. The first is easy to find, on the west wall of the church.
The other bench marks do exist but, due to the undergrowth they are very hard to find, so along the route we've marked where they should be with signs, each with a letter on. Collect all the letters, decrypt the word and receive a prize at the end of the walk.
Situated on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors, in a field half a mile to the east of the village of Over Silton, lies the medieval church of St Marys.
Although the church has no heating, electric lighting, or water supply, it is still used for services.
For centuries the church has stood at the centre of three rural communities, and generations of local families have been married, christened and buried at St Marys. However, the opening of a second church in the 1870s, with better access, in the neighbouring village of Nether Silton shifted the focus away from St Marys.
With a dwindling congregation the Friends of Over Silton Church was set up to help maintain and preserve this historic building, keeping it alive for future generations.
The job of maintaining a historic building is endless. Weekly the church needs sweeping and checking, over the summer months the grass needs cutting. These jobs are nothing compared to maintaining the fabric of the building.
For example, over the last few years the bell has been re-hung, the chancel roof has been completely replaced, and large parts of the boundary wall rebuilt.
As the current list of work to be completed dwindles, the church architects regular inspection throws up more work, and so it goes on.
While the Friends of Over Silton Church can undertake some maintenance tasks such as grass cutting and cleaning the gutters, any work on an ancient building such as St Marys needs to be undertaken by craftsmen skilled in using traditional skills and materials such as lime mortar and stone.
The money raised by the Friends of Over Silton Church is used directly to help maintain and preserve the church.
* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.
