Toft and Newton ~ Barkwith ~ Friesthorpe ~ Hainton ~ Faldingworth Parish News ~ South Willingham ~ Wragby - Lets Talk Nature

Faldingworth Parish News

EVENTS AT FALDINGWORTH VILLAGE HALL

We may have other events happening at the Church & Village Hall throughout the coming months that you may be interested in, so for the most up to date information, check out our Facebook page – @faldingworthmemorialhall

OCTOBER 2026 EVENTS

Wednesday 7 th October - Coffee Morning, 10am - 12 noon

Saturday 10 th October - Bar Night Bar opens 6.30pm

Saturday 17 th October - Cheese and Wine Tasting, 7 - 10pm (PRE-BOOKING ONLY) – booking is essential limited spaces. To book e-mail Matt Skinner: echosofelixirs@gmail.com

FUTURE EVENTS

Wednesday 4 th November - Coffee Morning, 10am to 12 noon

Saturday 14 th November - Bar Night, Bar opens 6.30pm

Saturday 21 st November - Christmas Craft Fair, TBC

Wednesday 2 nd December - Coffee Morning, 10am to 12 noon

Saturday 12 th December - Bar Night, Bar opens 6.30pm

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL JOANNE ON 07921566861

Faldingworth Scarecrow Festival : A Celebration of Children's Literature! June 2025 <<<more>>>

Faldingworth Coffee Mornings

Coffee mornings take place at Faldingworth village hall every Wednesday from 10am – 11.30am in aid of All Saints Church, Faldingworth.

ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH, BUSLINGTHORPE

This lovely Church was declared redundant in 1984, and since then has been in the care of The Churches Conservation Trust. The Trust only maintains the fabric of the building; the churchyard is still the responsibility of the PCC, which in this case is that of the nearby parish of Faldingworth.  

Surrounded for decades by large chestnut trees, the churchyard had little undergrowth, but the felling of two of these for safety reasons some years ago has allowed ground ivy to spread over a large area of the churchyard. It did however allow an area of grass to establish which has been mown regularly.   Between the grass area and the fence on the south side, some four meters wide, the ivy has been sprayed off with the intention of grassing that area as well. There are, however, on that side ten gravestones in varying conditions, some of which have been knocked over, and a couple broken by falling branches. It has been proposed that they are relocated to stand against the fence adjacent to their present location. There are also three graves in the existing grass area which could be moved up to the wall of the Church.   The latest of these gravestones was erected in 1956, the earliest in the 1770's. To be able to move the gravestones, a faculty must be obtained from the Diocese which requires that every effort is made to contact the families of the deceased to obtain permission to move them.  

The attached plan shows the position of the graves and the family names, where they can be identified. Only those within the area surrounded by the red line would be moved to the positions indicated by the orange lines. The headstones represented by a rectangle are those that have been knocked over. D1 was only discovered after the plan had been drawn up. Photographs of the individual gravestones showing the condition of the engraving stability are available.  

Charles Wheeldon

FALDINGWORTH COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL NEWS

Fair Acres Federation (partnered with Normanby by Spital Primary School)

In a small village setting with good access, Faldingworth Community Primary School offers the benefits of small class sizes and a nurturing environment. With a recent "Good" Ofsted rating, our well-planned curriculum emphasises enrichment and pupil wellbeing. We are excited to introduce wraparound care before and after school this year. At Faldingworth School, pupils thrive, supported by a high standard of care, ensuring they feel happy and safe, ready to learn and succeed.

Each class enjoys an exciting termly trip! This term, pupils have met author Katherine Rundell, toured the LPAC theatre, explored artefacts at Lincoln's Guildhall and participated in a treasure hunt at Lincoln Library. Our youngest learners will soon be visiting Rand Farm. We foster a love for reading and learning through rich, hands-on experiences!

Our well-organised curriculum goes beyond the basics, offering enriching experiences for all pupils. This term, alongside core PE skills, children are learning fencing! We collaborate with the Lincolnshire Stay Safe Partnership to deliver workshops on online safety, wellbeing and the Mini Police initiative. Pupils also have the chance to take on leadership roles, such as Junior Road Safety Officers, Play Leaders, Reading Ambassadors and Wellbeing Champions, fostering responsibility and community spirit.

Community is at the core of Faldingworth Primary. We celebrate Christmas, Harvest and Easter with assemblies at our local church, and are currently collecting donations for a Lincoln food bank. Our Friends of School team actively support fundraising with events like quiz nights, pop-up restaurants and wreath workshops at the village hall. The annual Faldingworth Scarecrow Festival, held alongside our summer fair, draws visitors from far and wide, featuring local bands, charities, food stalls and many free family-friendly attractions. It's a fantastic day out, with games and stalls for everyone to enjoy!

Parents seeking school places now or in the future, please contact us to arrange to meet the team and have a tour of the school.

Faldingworth School Tel: 01673 885366 Email:  enquiries@faldingworth.lincs.sch.uk

Little Jesters, an independent preschool located within Faldingworth School, offers a nurturing environment for 2-4 year olds. Rated "Good" by Ofsted, Little Jesters provides high-quality early education with places currently available. For more information, contact 07464 468932.

~~~~

Toft Newton Parish News

Whats on / News from Newtoft, Toft Newton

NEWTOFT VILLAGE HALL

Family bingo will started on18 th January. Everyone is welcome. Doors opened at 6pm. Eyes Down at 6.30pm. Do join us for an evening of fun at the village hall, Newtoft.

Pilates classes at Newtoft Village Hall every Thursday evening.  7-8 pm until the clocks change then it's 6.30-7.30 pm. Everyone welcome.  

Crafting group every Wednesday evening 6.30-8.30pm. Bring all your crafting projects and have a cuppa and catch up.  £3 a session.  

Newton By Toft

ST MICHAEL'S CHURCH AT NEWTON BY TOFT

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our very first community coffee morning at St Michael's Church in Newton by Toft, on Thursday 2 nd July.

We were absolutely delighted to welcome nine wonderful guests to our debut event. For a brand-new gathering in our small and lovely church, this was an excellent turnout and a truly joyful start. The morning was filled with delicious refreshments, lively conversations, and plenty of smiles. It was wonderful to see neighbours catching up and making new connections in such a warm atmosphere.

Aside from bringing us together, these mornings have a special purpose. The funds raised will help with the vital upkeep of our historic church building. They will also support a very meaningful, upcoming memorial project at the church that we look forward to sharing with you all soon. 

We are so grateful for your support. This is just the beginning! While we do not have a set date for the next coffee morning just yet, future dates will be announced very soon. We look forward to seeing our gathering grow!

Alice Lyall

A Successful Weekend

We were proud to be one of the many historic buildings open across Lincolnshire and to take part in The May Churches Festival over the weekend of 9 th – 10 th May.

Whilst the church was "unmanned and unmoused" during the festival, our doors were wide open. We were delighted to welcome so many visitors into our 12 th century church to enjoy its history, its peace and its local hospitality. Visitors were invited to help themselves to refreshments, including bottles of water and chocolate biscuit bars. We also shared bags of jellybeans - each adorned with a special sticker of the church, and small, hand-decorated wooden crosses as gifts. It was a joy to read the many kind messages left in the visitors' book by those who spent time in the peace of our 12th-century building.

Save The Date 8 th – 9 th May & 15 th – 16 th May - Churches Festival 2027!

The Tale of Phiz and Boz
Following their appearances in our recent comic book teasers, the "stars" of the weekend were undoubtedly the handmade church mice! Phiz and Boz proved so popular that they completely sold out over the weekend. Their names hint at a very special local connection to the illustrator Hablot Knight Browne and author Charles Dickens as explained in an article in this edition

🐭 Newton Mice Back on Order !

If you missed out on bringing a mouse home, don't worry, we now have a new batch of these delightful characters. Each mouse is uniquely crafted by our volunteers. They are £5.00 with each purchase helping with the ongoing upkeep and preservation of St Michael's. Please get in touch with our church warden, Alice Lyall 07849194575 or visit our Facebook page - St Michael's church - Newton By Toft to place your request.

A huge thank you to everyone who visited, volunteered, or purchased a mouse. Your support helps keep our community, and our history, alive.

Jane Ginnelly

From Newton-by-Toft to the Pillars of Arras: Remembering Private John Edward Simons

In the September 26 edition of the Community Spirit magazine, we reflected on the tragic details of John's final day; March 21 st , 1918, when the German Spring Offensive claimed his life at the tender age of 20. He left behind his grieving parents, Edward and Lucy Simons, and a quiet Lincolnshire village that would never see him return. Yet, because John has no known grave, his story doesn't end in a peaceful churchyard close to home. Instead, it stretches across the English Channel to the ancient, war-torn soil of northern France. This summer, my family and I travelled to France and whilst there, we visited the Arras Memorial.

A Sanctuary for the Missing

The Arras Memorial is located within the Faubourg d'Amiens British Cemetery. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it is a place of breathtaking scale and profound stillness. Rather than a single monolithic structure, the memorial is a beautiful, open-air cloister. Its soaring stone columns frame the sky, creating a peaceful sanctuary out of a landscape that once knew only devastation. Engraved into the massive stone panels are the names of 35,942 soldiers from the United Kingdom, South Africa, and New Zealand, who fought and died in the Arras sector between the spring of 1916 and August 1918 and left behind no identifiable remains. Alongside the main cloister stands the Arras Flying Services Memorial which honours nearly 1,000 airmen of the Royal Air Force, Royal Flying Corps, and Royal Naval Air Service who were shot down and have no known grave. The site shows the sheer depth of their sacrifice and serves as a stark reminder of how the war tore young men from every walk of life and every corner of the globe and brought them to this single patch of French soil.

Finding John: Bay 7 and 8

Visiting the memorial is an overwhelming sensory experience. Your eye is instantly drawn to the endless rows of names, carved alphabetically by regiment. In Bay 7 and 8 you find the name: Private Simons J.E. Though John originally enlisted locally in the Lincolnshire Regiment, battlefield consolidations saw him transferred to the 2 nd /6 th Battalion of the North Staffordshire's. He was positioned directly in the pathway of the massive German onslaught on that foggy March morning. Standing in Bay 7 and 8, the global scale of the Great War suddenly feels incredibly intimate. You realise that this grand monument in France exists precisely to hold the space that should have been a headstone in Newton-by-Toft.

No Winners, Only Losers: The Final Ledger of War

When you stand amidst the silent stone pillars of Arras, the grand political narratives of victory and defeat quickly melt away. Monuments like this do not celebrate a triumph; they lay bare the devastating ledger of conflict. They remind us that in modern warfare, there are no true winners — only varying degrees of loss. Every single name carved into the stone at Arras represents a life cut short, a family shattered, and a community stripped of its future. The grief felt by Edward and Lucy Simons in Lincolnshire was mirrored in millions of homes across Britain, Germany, France, and beyond. Whether a family wept in English, French, or German, the pain of a missing son was exactly the same. The tragic irony of the German Spring Offensive - the very battle that claimed John's life; is that it ultimately achieved nothing but a staggering toll of human misery. Hundreds of thousands of young men on both sides were killed or wounded in a matter of weeks, fighting over scorched earth that would change hands yet again just months later.

When we looked at the endless rows of names on the Arras Memorial, we not only saw a monument to commemorate those who gave their lives, we saw a monument to the ultimate futility of war, a monument which stands as a permanent, heartbreaking lesson that when nations resort to the battlefield, humanity as a whole has already lost.

A Permanent Legacy

John Edward Simons may not rest in the soil of Newton-by-Toft, but through our research, his name remains permanently chiselled into the heart of our community. As I stood before his name, I remembered not just a soldier, but a young man from Newton by Toft whose life was stolen by a conflict that left only losers in its wake.

Jane Ginnelly

NEWTON CHURCHYARD Over the years and well before my time, I have been told that there was a hedge in front of our church, apparently, behind the hedge there was a wilderness of long grass and blackberry briers when the grounds were unattended. Since those days someone in their turns, and not always someone who lived in the village, has maintained the church grounds as it is today.

There are always nice comments of how well the church and grounds look in the centre of the village, which is now open for all to see. The very healthy church grounds donation tin has been going now for two years, this being the third and all donations are kept and recorded. The funds go towards maintenance of the mower and is being saved for the day when the village lawn mower needs replacing! The donation tin originally started when I began cutting the grass after Charlie Mallinson regretfully became unwell and was unable to cut it. I, like many others before me, who have cut the grass, take nothing out of the tin.

I personally would like to thank all of you who have put your donations in an envelope and marked it with your name and address, and delivered it to me, so that the records and yearly accounts can be updated. Finally, for those of you who are unsure, the Churchyard donation tin is totally independent from Church funds. With the Church being in the middle of the village, with your kind donations, I can keep the village looking tidy, so thank you all.
Charlie Albone

WHAT IS A CHURCH?

I took my young daughter into Church the other day to our lending library to choose a book. She asked me “Mummy – What is a Church?” I turned to her, thought for a moment and replied, “It's a religious building; It's where people celebrate births, marriages and death.” 

Since she asked me the question, I have thought about it more and more – What would you say to someone who asked you? Think about the first time you walked into a Church? How did it make you feel? 

A church can be many things and their meanings will be different and personal to each of us. 

I spoke with my daughter about what I thought a church was. We then spoke about the last time she visited. She told me the last time she visited there were lots of people but there wasn't today and that she liked it when there was lots of people there. I like that too I told her. I want our church to be filled with people. 

Every city, town, or village that you pass through has a Church – a place where people can gather together. 

How much do you know about the church where you live? Do you visit regularly? Do you keep up with regular events that are going on? 

Churches need a community to keep them open. Please support events at your local church. Please donate where you can. Learn about your local community and make new friends or reconnect with old ones. 

Follow us on Facebook – St Michaels Church Newton by Toft for all upcoming events

Community Camp out on Newtoft playing field in August '24

Many campers got together at the Newtoft Social Club on a lovely summer evening. A wonderful evening was enjoyed by all. Thank you to Pat Macrae for sending the photographs into us.

Caravans, campervans, tents or anything you fancy sleeping in was welcome.

We wgot there for 10am on the Saturday to set up camp and sit to picnic about 12.30.

There were games for the kids and adults in the afternoon, swing ball, rounders etc. and for the night a fire pit for chilling and guitar playing

Toft Tots – Thursdays, Toft Newton Community Centre, 9.15– 11.00, Term Time only

Football .......

Walking Football –Tuesdays, Newtoft Community Centre, 7.30-8.30pm, 16yrs plus

Children's Football – Fridays, 6-7pm, Newtoft Community Centre, Trainers / Footie Boots needed, Outside Play!

Newtoft Pups .... Come on you Pups!

Fitness by Dance ~ A class every Tuesday 6.30-7.30 at the New Toft Village Hall .... £ 2. New dancers always welcome. Contact is Steph Orr 01673 885573

Friesthorpe Village

Wragby & the Torringtons

WRAGBY APPLE DAY

Watch out for our Apple Day on a Sunday in September , 11am to 4pm at Wragby Town Hall, Louth Road, LN8 5QX. Free Admission .

Come along for a day all about apples. Get your mystery apple(s) identified and sample different types of apples. Free Apple juicing will be available (10kg limit, apples to be clean and please bring containers).  There will be a pruning and grafting demonstration, a LOGO produce and information stall, along with displays by other associated organisations being present. Delicious homemade refreshments will also be available, cash only.

Hainton Village

HENEAGE ARMS, HAINTON, LN8 6LX

 BARKWITH GROUP QUIZ Sunday 9th November 2025, at The Heneage Arms, 6pm for a 6.30pm start. £7 per person, including refreshments and the bar will be open. A room raffle will be held too. Teams of no more than 6 people. Everyone welcome.

SOUTH WILLINGHAM

SOUTH WILLINGHAM PARISH HALL

WHAT'S ON IN SEPTEMBER 2026

Wednesday 7 th – Coffee and chat & Willingham Winner draw 10.30am - 12 noon

Tuesday 13 th – REEL ISSUES FILM EVENING 7pm. ALL WELCOME call Roland 07946259053

Wednesdays 14th & 28th – Ballroom Dancing group 6.50pm. (Paul 07885100525)

Thursdays 1st, 8 th , 15 th , 22 nd & 29 th – Tai Chi 11:00am to 12:10 then Qigong 12.10 -13.10pm (Carol - 07592071523)

Wednesday 21 st - Coffee and chat 10.30am to 12 noon.

Friday 23 rd October - CURRY supper. See details on posters, fliers, South Willingham Residents WhatsApp, Facebook page or our updated parish website https://www.southwillingham.org.uk

After many years Cecilia's Arts & Crafts group has sadly had to finish due to too few members.

Future events:

Friday November 20 th QUIZ and supper from The Lincolnshire Fryer van

To book the hall call Roland on 07946259053

To book the hall call Roland on 07946 259053

BARKWITH.

BARKWITH GROUP COFFEE MORNING

Wednesday October 28 th at St Mary's Church, East Barkwith, 10.30am to 12 noon. Do come and join us for coffee, cake and chat - you will be most welcome. 
For our August coffee morning we managed, for the first time, to sit out in the lovely sunshine - it has been too hot over the summer to sit out! 

BARKWITH GROUP HARVEST SUPPER

Friday 9th October 2026, 7pm for a 7.30pm start at East Barkwith Village Hall. A hearty hot meal and lots of delicious desserts to choose from. Why not gather a table of friends together and join us?

Tickets are £15 per person, book them with either Anne 01673 858249, Polly 01673 838514 or Veronica 07849478370. Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements when booking your tickets. Bring your own wine and glasses.

A room raffle will be held too.

BARKWITH GROUP QUIZ

We are delighted to have found another local venue for our annual quiz, thanks to The Crossroads Inn, East Barkwith, on Sunday 8 th November. 6pm for a 6.30pm start. £6 per person, teams of no more than 6 people.

Light refreshments as usual and a room raffle will be held too. We hope to see you all there for our popular quiz.

CLOTHING BANK  

The clothing bank is in the carpark of East Barkwith Village Hall. The organisation, ASTCO, who host the clothing bank give money back to our community for the donations made. Their commitment to us is that all the clothing is reused or made into something new - nothing goes to waste.

So, when you are next thinking of donating any clothing, handbags, belts or shoes please consider using the clothing bank in East Barkwith.

LOGS FOR SALE - The Barkwith Church Community are selling fully seasoned hardwood logs and kindling.   All proceeds will go to local good causes. £2700 was distributed last season from this venture.   Please contact Andrew on 07770667632 .

Thank you, Dave Cotgrave, for sending the stunning photo of St Mary's Church, East Barkwith with Star Trails. The image is a composition of 360 individual exposures, blended together and edited using a combination of Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop and Star Stax. The photos were taken on an extremely cold evening in January over a 2½ hour period between 6.45 and 9.15pm. The exposure time was 15 seconds, with a 5 second interval between shots. Thanks must go to Chris Wilson for switching off the outside lights to allow Dave to get the shot.

 ##################

An Afternoon Walk with Beryl

Today, for the second time this week, I set out for an afternoon stroll. Unusually, I ‘bumped' into two village personalities out walking their four legged friends, braving the weather which was overcast, mizzerly and damp, but on the plus side it was sharp with the cold so I found it quite pleasant! At one point, I thought where are you sun, just to see your brightness and warmth and send the gloom away, but then, I rounded a bend and there it was! The sun - NO - but a sight to cheer me up, so with a little more lightness in my step I continued a little further! On my way back I rested by the bridge to relax, watching the gentle flow of the water. It was a lovely 5 mins and in the afternoon quiet, I could hear the sound of the flowing water like a babbling brook, so, feeling at peace, I finished my walk.  No sun or blue sky, but everything was ok in my world!

Beryl Reynolds (early 2020)

~ Mary Jordan Remembers ~

It is over forty years since I came to East Barkwith, and there have been many changes in the village since then.  One of the shops became a cafe, then a private house. The chapel ceased to be used for worship, and joined its two predecessors in private use. The YMCA hut was taken down just before it fell down, and was replaced by the Village Hall, which has itself been extended and modified. The reading room, where the Scouts paraded for Baden-Powell, was used as the school dining room, and has gone, replaced by the Play Area. The school and school house, where I kept a bucket on the stairs to catch the rain leaking through the roof, has been converted to a house on sale for over half a million pounds. The pub has gone up-market. The doctor's surgery moved from one bungalow to another, and eventually went to Wragby. The garage has disappeared.  The seed store has been converted into a desirable residence, and the fertiliser factory has been demolished and replaced with another large house. New houses have been built on fields and former gardens - some shoe-horned into spaces which seem impossibly small. Hedges have been grubbed out, then replanted. Farming practices have changed, the machinery has got larger, and tourists have become one of the crops.

However, some things don't change. The people in the village have inevitably changed over forty years, but the present inhabitants are as neighbourly and generous as their predecessors. The Post Office is still there, as is the church.  The response to the restoration appeal shows how much the church is valued by the people of the village - valued for what it represents, and as the village's outstanding building.

Mary Jordan

Churchyard Regulations

................. for the Parish of Barkwith

Comprising the Churchyards of: East Barkwith, East Torrington, Hainton, Sixhills, South Willingham, West Barkwith and West Torrington .

The Chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln, His Honour Judge Mark Bishop QC, issued regulations as to the control and use of churchyards in the Diocese of Lincoln in 2008 updated in 2012. These regulations are legally binding and differ from cemetery regulations, which are made by local Authorities.

The regulations are available to read in full via the Diocese of Lincoln website.

Below is an extract of the regulations, to help manage our local churchyards.

Parishioners, and those who die in the parish, have a right to be buried, or have their ashes interred in a churchyard in the parish. Other people may be buried there at the discretion of the Parish Priest, providing there is room. Once buried, there is to be no disturbance of the remains except for exceptional and legally authorised reasons. Burial is a symbol for our entrusting of the person to the eternal love of God. The burial fee does NOT buy the burial plot, it pays towards the general maintenance of the churchyard.

Memorials

Anyone wishing to erect a memorial stone should consult the Parish Priest as soon as possible, to ensure that the memorial conforms to the regulations. If the memorial does not conform to the regulations, or the Parish Priest refuses consent, an application for a faculty to the Chancellor of the Diocese is required.

Headstones should be between 2'6” and 4' high, 1'8” and 3” wide, 3” and 6” thick. They may be of natural stones, teak or oak, cast or wrought iron. Some stones such as black or grey granite, marble, synthetic stone or plastic are not normally permitted. The base of the stone may include a flower holder, but should enable ease of mowing. Monumental masons have full copies of these regulations, and will give advice on what is permitted.

Designs containing open books, hearts, figure statuary and photographic representations are not permitted. Neither are kerbs, chippings or glass shards. Any application for these must be by faculty application to the Chancellor of the Diocese.

Inscriptions should contain only the name of the deceased, dates of birth and death or age and date of death. Epitaphs must be simple and reverent, preferably from the Bible, Book of Common Prayer or Common Worship

Vases should not be more than 12” x 8” x 8”

Ashes

It is preferred that ashes are placed in the ground without a container, but if a container is used, it must be of a perishable nature.

Flowers

No artificial flowers should be placed in a churchyard except Remembrance day poppies, traditional Christmas wreaths, and good quality seasonal silk flowers. All should be removed within 3 months. The Christmas wreaths are to be removed by January 31 st of the following year.