For a good while now people have been lamenting about the sorry state of our lychgate that stands at the entrance of St Peter’s Churchyard on School Hill, opposite St Peter’s Church.

Some kind souls have even asked if there was anything they could do to help renovate – and I have had to explain that we need to renovate in a particular way in order to conform to the requirements laid out by Guildford Diocese when renovating and restoring historic buildings and fabric, conserving and using the original materials as far as is possible. This work is specialised and we have been seeking to find the right person to restore our lychgate for well over a year now.

I had sadly come to accept that this much-hoped-for restoration would not happen during my incumbency at St Peter’s, with the retirement date in August looming ever closer – but following a chance-encounter, I feel so hopeful that all might not be lost after all!

I am delighted to say that one Monday morning in June, a local carpenter and craftsman specialising in working with oak wood in a traditional and conservation context actually found us! Danny Tongeman, company owner of Besp-oak Carpentry, has a workshop based in Frensham and upon spotting the lychgate, made contact with me with a view to working with St Peter’s Church family to restore the lychgate to its former glory.

Danny has met with Churchwarden, Gerald Blues, and with support of the PCC, they have agreed that this would be a marvellous journey for St Peter’s and Besp-oak to begin together – Danny’s passion for his work, and Wrecclesham’s communal love of St Peter’s lychgate will no doubt prove to be a wonderful blessing for the community now, and in generations to come. As with all projects of this kind of specialism, it will take time and skilful craftmanship – and the job specification and quotation for this project gives a timeframe of approximately 2-3 months at a cost of £18,000.

We want to raise £6,000 in the community and with this in mind, we are launching the WRECCLESHAM LYCHGATE APPEAL – an invitation for us all to be part of the restoration project by offering what we can towards the cost. There is no donation too small – every single pound raised will go totally to this community project in the hope that between us and other local and wider funders/charities we can really make this happen.