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The Church

All Saints’ Church Somerford Keynes is set in the Cotswold Water Park close to the River Thames and the Thames path. A Grade II* listed building with a Saxon foundation.

Please visit the Thames Benefice website for more information

The Parish Church at Somerford Keynes incorporates one of the oldest stone built churches in Gloucestershire. In 675 a monastery was founded in Malmesbury that became a great mission centre. In 685 a nephew of King Ethelred gave some land at Somerford to the Abbey at Malmesbury and we may assume that from that date a preaching centre was established at Somerford. The first converts were baptized in the River Thames and Mass would have been said, first in the open air, and then perhaps in a rough wooden shelter. By 695AD a stone church had been built under a thatch roof. The north doorway of this church still remains today.

The times below shows the ‘normal’ pattern of Sunday worship at All Saints’ Church but due to the nature of the Thameshead Benefice, there are often changes to this pattern. Please ref to the Calendar for up to date information.

WeekTimeService
1st Sunday 11.00 a.m.Holy Communion
2nd Sunday No service at Somerford Keynes
3rd Sunday11.00 a.m.Morning Prayer
4th SundayNo service at Somerford Keynes
5th Sunday Benefice service- please see Calendar

Officers of All Saints’ Church Somerford Keynes

Church Wardens
David Crofts – 01285 861658
Sussanne Lock – 01285 861250

PCC Secretary
Paula Eales – 01285 862430

Treasurer
Graham Shearn

Rector
Interregnum – no vicar at present

Contact details can be found here

For more information about the churches and parish, read on…

Parish of Somerford Keynes with Shorncote

The Parish of Somerford Keynes with Shorncote, with a population of c. 400, is located at the southern edge of Gloucestershire where it borders Wiltshire. The village is 5 miles from the source of the River Thames and the Thames Path passes through it. The village falls within the Cotswold Water Park and contains a Country Park and Beach. The nearest large town is Cirencester, situated 5 miles away, and the nearest railway station is at Kemble, 3 miles away. Trains run north to Cheltenham, the north of England and Scotland. To the south, trains run to London via Swindon and Reading.

The parish is represented by Somerford Keynes Parish Council within the Kemble District ward of Cotswold District Council. www.cotswold.org.uk

Details of the Parish Council can be found on the village website www.somerfordkeynes.org.uk

The village also has WhatsApp and Facebook groups accessible via the website.

Key Features and Amenities of the village

All Saints Church, Somerford Keynes

All Saints Somerford Keynes is a Grade II listed church dating from AD 685, when Saint Aldhelm, the first Abbot of Malmesbury, was granted 40 hides of land by a nephew of King Ethelred. Opposite the South entrance door can be seen the original Saxon doorway, now enclosed with glass.

The manor was held in 1211 by William de Cahaignes, an ancestor of the Keynes family.

More information about the history of the church can be found on the benefice website www.thamesheadchurches.org.uk

Church Life

Our typical Sunday services are recognisably Anglican.  The church is at the centre of village life and we would like it to be a vibrant and exciting place where we regularly welcome young families to services. 14 new families moved to the village during the “Covid years” and the age distribution in the village has widened, bringing great opportunities to welcome new people into worship with us. As there is no longer a school in Somerford Keynes, village children attend a number of different schools in Cirencester, Oaksey, South Cerney, Stroud, Rendcomb and elsewhere. This to some extent takes the focus of children’s activities away from the village and its church. However, Messy Church activities are held at Somerford Keynes as well as in other churches within the benefice, and regular youth-oriented services and activities are offered from Kemble, as the main hub of the benefice. Children are more in evidence at festivals such as the harvest service and lunch (now organised by one of our new families), on Mothering Sunday, Easter, and at the Crib and Carol services at Christmas. These are all well supported by villagers.

It is important in a rural community, where ours is the only church, that we care about members of the wider community of the parish as well as our own congregation. This achieves more than we could through formal mission activity, supporting the incumbent’s pastoral care in the village.

Groups of villagers regularly get together both socially and in order to maintain village amenities. These gatherings are important channels for checking on the health and welfare of our neighbours, whether they need assistance, a hospital visit or just some company at home. These are things we can do more effectively than an incumbent under greater time pressure. At the same time, we recognise the importance of our priest being actively involved and visible in our village, visiting those who are very sick and the bereaved, and integral to life in Somerford Keynes: not on the periphery, and with more focus on people than on institutions. This can be a challenge for someone not living in the village, but there is a core of support both within and outside our congregation who try to make it achievable.

Church and village life are very much intertwined in Somerford Keynes. When the Neighbourhood Development Plan was prepared in 2019 well over 90% of the residents of the village stated that they regarded the church as an important part of the community. This is borne out by the level of support for church festivals and at fundraising activities. The Harvest lunch is open to all villagers and is attended by many who are not regular church goers. Organised along “bring and share” lines, the event fosters fellowship and allows the Rector to meet villagers in a relaxed setting. 

Often individual parishioners take the lead in organising activities such as quiz nights and safari suppers to raise funds for the church. Sometimes proceeds are split with other charities and in many ways the success of an event is judged by the PCC according to the level of community involvement more than the funds raised, though the funds are of course most welcome.

Services

The pattern of regular services at present comprises Holy Communion on the first Sunday of each month and Morning Prayer (occasionally Prayer Book) on the third Sunday, sometimes led by the church wardens. We are fortunate that one of our wardens is authorised by the bishop to lead services and also that we are part of a benefice supported by a number of retired priests and Readers – with more in the pipeline! For a short time we are doubly fortunate to have a Curate seconded to the benefice. All this brings a variety of different approaches to ministry and there is no doubt scope for further development to make our church a more attractive place for families.

We believe that Wedding and Baptism services in particular are an opportunity to present a positive experience of church life to a wider section of the community. Weddings are encouraged and we are lucky in that we probably have the best facilities within our benefice in terms of a church seating more than 100 and also the only car park, provided and maintained by a local farming family. They also open the adjacent field for parking at larger events, sadly often for funerals these days.

The PCC

The parish has an effective PCC which meets 4 times annually. Services, theological and mission matters are mostly covered by church wardens’ meetings involving all parishes in the benefice, with these matters being communicated to and supported by the other members of the PCC. The PCC then manages the maintenance of the church buildings and churchyard, finance and fund-raising activities, while remaining responsible for oversight of all aspects of church life, including services and mission.  This approach achieves much of the benefit that a more formal Benefice Council could bring, though the latter has its advantages and the concept is supported by our PCC.

The Rector chairs meetings of the PCC when time permits, benefitting from being able to make many decisions at wardens’ meetings.

Although most Childrens’ activities do not involve members of the PCC directly, PCC members are all DBS checked and have completed Safeguarding courses. Safeguarding is treated as an important priority and is well coordinated through a benefice Safeguarding Officer.

Stewardship of the church fabric and financial assets does not present any issues beyond ensuring that fund-raising targets are met. The PCC regards the payment of its Parish Share as a priority and manages events to achieve that. A fabric Fund of almost £10,000 has built up, designated as such by the PCC but not a Restricted Fund. We aim to support benefice youth ministry financially and through participation in its governance by one of our parishioners.

Friends of Somerford Keynes Church

The Friends of Somerford Keynes Church is a fund-raising body, independent of the PCC but with our two church wardens as its current trustees.  Many improvements to the church structure have resulted from grants made by the Friends, and the involvement of the whole community is greatly valued. The main fund-raising activities organised by the Friends are concerts, some in the church near Christmas time, some in the Manor and its garden on summer evenings. These often involve professional musicians and are always of the highest musical standard, usually classical music but including occasional alternatives such as a locally acclaimed guitar ensemble. The church is certainly packed on these occasions and the home-made canapés and mince pies accompany perfectly some cool sparkling wine in summer or mulled wine in winter.

Maintaining the Church and Churchyard

The interior of the church is regularly cleaned by a rota of volunteers, mostly ladies (whose standards are difficult for men to emulate!)  but helped by the “heavy gang” when ladders and a deep clean are called for, such as after the nesting season.

The village is rightly proud of the condition of its churchyard, which is maintained by volunteers who meet every week of the year on Friday mornings to mow the grass, edge the paths and the Easter Cross, prune tree branches and generally keep the grounds in good order. It hardly ever rains on Friday mornings in Somerford Keynes:

Bell Ringing

The church has 4 bells which are rung for weddings as well as calling villagers to Sunday services. The largest bell tolls for funerals to mark each year of the life of the departed.

The bells also form part of village celebrations to mark events such as jubilees, the deaths of HRH Prince Phillip and of the late queen, and the coronation of the new King and Queen.

Flowers

Flowers are placed on the altar for each of the bi-monthly services outside Lent, with special window displays marking the main church festivals. This is all achieved by volunteers demonstrating impressive flower-arranging skills and providing all the flowers themselves.

A summer Open Garden

Two homes with beautifully maintained gardens open them to the public every other year in turn. This is one of the principal fund-raising activities alongside a Christmas Fayre in the Village Hall. These are wonderful opportunities for the whole community to come together and for new people to become involved with the village and with the church at its heart.

With social functions in 6 separate parishes within the benefice, the Rector and family cannot be expected to find time to attend all by any means, but in Somerford Keynes they always receive an invitation as our guests, accompanied by a warm welcome.

All Saints, Shorncote

This tiny Grade II listed church, less than a mile from Somerford Keynes, is now maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust www.visitchurches.org.uk with the PCC Somerford Keynes responsible for the churchyard.

A service takes place only once each year, on the first Sunday after Christmas. The top picture shows that little natural light can enter. As there is no electricity, no other light gets through either, so it’s candles, fingerless gloves and a hot water bottle for the foot-pedal harmonium player.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere for this service, always for the whole benefice, is decidedly warm, even before returning for hot mulled wine and other delights at the invitation of the church’s neighbour!

Somerford Keynes Village Hall

The village is so fortunate to benefit from this modern hall, with solar panels producing more electricity than the hall uses. It can be booked for private parties and is made available for church functions free of charge. It is also used for community events of course, such as the coronation of the King and Queen in May 2023.

Preparations begin below:

Water Lane – closed to traffic for the coronation street party:

The hall has Wi-Fi, a fitted kitchen, toilets and disabled facilities www.somerfordkeynes.org.uk

Regular events, clubs and societies at the village hall include:

  • Art
  • Bridge
  • Village History
  • Monthly Coffee Mornings (for church funds)
  • Pilates
  • Short Mat Bowls
  • Tuition
  • U3A Astronomers
  • Zumba

Defibrillators

The external wall of the Village Hall hosts the first of our village AED Defibrillators. The Village Hall trustees, Parish Council, Southwest Ambulance Trust, Community Heartbeat Trust and two generous local donors came together to provide the defibrillator. A second has now been placed in the Phone Box on the main street, following its conversion and redecoration by villagers and further support from the Community Heartbeat Trust.


Somerford Keynes Village Lake

In addition to the public water parks, we have our own village lake, with otters, kingfishers and plenty of other wildlife. This lake also offers the opportunity to volunteer and get to know other villagers who meet a few times each year to keep the paths and picnic furniture in prime condition. www.somerfordkeynes.org.uk

The Baker’s Arms

The Baker’s Arms in Somerford Keynes is a traditional Cotswolds pub serving food and real ales.

Situated in the centre of the village, it is patronised by holidaymakers at the holiday homes on the nearby lakes as well as the villagers themselves. www.bakersarmssomerfordkeynes.co.uk

The Cotswold Brew Company

A venture which started in the village during lockdown, the brews include Cotswold Craft Lager among others. “Tap Room” weekends are hosted at the brewery on the outskirts of the village, complete with live music and a wood fired pizza oven. www.cotswoldlakesbrew.co.uk

Cotswold Country Park and Beach

The Cotswold Country Park features a beach on freshwater lakes in parkland, with areas for water sports and walking, plus an adventure playground. www.waterpark.org

Neigh Bridge Country Park and Lake

For a more tranquil nature experience the Neigh Bridge Country Park offers a circuit walk around the lake, freshwater fishing, and a children’s play area:

Footpaths

The parish is criss-crossed by many footpaths, including the Thames Path to the London Barrier. These offer a great opportunity for dogs to meet each other and to introduce their owners to new friends!

The Palm Sunday walk from Somerford Keynes to Poole Keynes takes advantage of these paths, continuing on to Kemble for the benefice service there.

Somerford Keynes is a place where everyone is welcomed, embraced and rejuvenated.