News
Great Dalby Flower Festival
(August 27, 2006)Great Dalby Chapel celebrates 160 years of existance this year. There will be a Flower Festival and teas, over the August Bank Holiday weekend at the Methodist Chapel. In addition, St Swithun's will be supporting theChapel's fund-raising by having the church open, and hopes to provide a small history exhibition of Irregular Marriages at the church in the 18th Century.
The Church will be open on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday and relief Stewards will be needed. Annie is planning to be there most of the time, but will need some breaks, so please contact her if you could spare a couple of hours over the weekend. Hopefully a Rota can be drawn up.
The small history exhibition in the Church will show a record of Irregular Marriages which took place in the church between 1732 and 1752, when couples could get married at St Swithun's, without either party being resident in the village at the time. For example Susan Smith of Somerby might have married Benjamin Brown of Bottesford here in Great Dalby. This all came to an end in 1753 with the Marriages Act, when one the couple wanting to be married, had to reside in the parish, and have banns read.
Copies of the Parish Registers will be available to browse, together with copies of the 1841, 1851, 1861, 1971 and 1891 census.
In addition, there will be a photographic display of old village photographs. Maybe you can help to identify places, people and events.
Update........... Saturday 27th August 2006 - what a great first day! A steady stream of visitors all day to both Chapel and Church. Fun is being had trying to identify Roy's photographic mysteries. Who are they, where are they, and what are they doing?? When was the Village Hall opened. Was it 1937 or 1938 - we now have the answer! Do try and get along either tomorrow or Monday, and meet old friends, have a laugh, eat and drink, and raise money for the Methodist Church.
The final sum raised was around £1100 - a great result and a very enjoyable weekend for visitors and workers alike!