Why?

Transcript of video... and more

Burton Hastings is a little village in Warwickshire, not far from the Roman roads Watling Street on the Leicestershire border and the Fosse Way and 2 miles along a minor road from the M69/A5 motorway junction. The Ashby Canal is nearby.

The only public building in the village is the historic church. 

The church gets many different types of visitors. As well as people who go to Sunday services, there are: 

• people who come for events such as the auction of harvest goods.

• people who vote in an election.

• people who attend village meetings.

• people who enjoy the peaceful atmosphere in the church.

As well: there are walkers from nearby towns;

Boaters who come from the canal. They will see that the Millennium window in the church has a canal bridge in it. Three bridges nearby are also listed by English Heritage.

And villagers have welcomed young school children who come from a nearby inner city. The children want to see what it's like in a village. This village is a good example for them to learn the huge contrast between here and where they live.

But the children can't stay for long! Little children have little bladders. There isn't a WC for them to use in the only public building. 

It's not easy to offer a drink to visitors as there's no water supply at the church. 

The only internal drain in the church is the font which is only used for baptisms. (By the way it's a 14th century font.) 

What our solution is to the problem

The PCC and Churchwardens would like to build an extension that would contain a WC and a servery, together with a water supply. It would extend through the north doorway, which at the moment is blocked. 

If we succeed

If we have this facility, we can give a 21st century welcome to 21st century people. And to anyone else who visits the church. 

It will allow people to hold social activities.

It will give people the ability to visit somewhere peaceful which will help them to refresh themselves in the quietness of the countryside.  

It will allow them to become aware of an historic building close to, but not disturbed by, an industrial past. 

If we fail

Unless we have this facility, there will be no easy means to use the building as a community facility and the active church could close. The village would have nowhere to meet within the parish bounds. People wanting a peaceful place to visit here would not be able to do so. 

Why we are uniquely qualified to tackle the problem

The church has been kept open for centuries, originally being used by the nuns of Nuneaton and surviving the various religious tumults and conflicts that have occurred in the following years. Although nearby towns such as Hinckley and Nuneaton have expanded, the village and church are shielded by the canal and the distance from any other town and village. 

The PCC and Wardens look after the church and know that we are in a unique location, easily accessible from the whole of the country, but also in a peaceful location. 

Update June 2022 

Up to now, this church building has been used mainly for services such as Sunday services and special occasions such as baptisms, weddings and funerals. 

We can now use it for much more than these gatherings. Services and events are listed on the calendar at a Church near you: St Botolph's Services and Events.