This page contains Congerstone Village
News & other information about the
Village, Church and Gopsall
Page updated 3rd July 2024
For information about all upcoming events, click HERE
Information board for the Gopsall Villages Walk now in place on the drive to St Mary’s Church
Details of the walk can be found HERE
CONGERSTONE BUS SHELTER
The Parish Council have received complaints about the state of the bus shelter, particularly the dumping of all sorts of unwanted items. It is therefore kindly requested that unwanted items, other than books, should no longer be left in the shelter.
GIBBET POST
Bilstone’s Gibbet post, which had been temporarily removed for restoration by HBBC, is back in place. It is now supported above ground by two steel brakets.
1st December
St Mary’s stars shine out for Christmas
HARVEST SUPPER 2023
Many thanks to all those who helped to run this traditional village event and to all who came. The total raised for the Church was £945.
VILLAGE HALL TEAM AWARDED LOTTERY GRANT
The dead tree overhanging the car park next to the church and part of the play area has been dropping branches for the last year. Norman Headley and Alan Simmonds have saved the church hundreds of pounds by taking it down piece by piece, so as not to damage the churchyard and play area fencing. Thanks, are also due to Tim Sinnott who kindly disposed of the brash. The work was overseen by Frank the dog, who carefully controlled the revs in the tractor to power the cherry picker!
SUMMER BBQ
Many thanks to all those who helped to run this event and to all who came. The total raised for the Village Hall Renovation Fund was £887.
WORKSHOPS run by Lynn MacIsaac
to raise money for the Hall Renovation Fund
CHILDREN’S TRAIL
The St Mary’s Children’s Trail was launched on 7 June 2023 by children from Congerstone Primary School. The trail is one of the Trails of Discovery developed by the Arts Society as an engaging way of encouraging children to discover and be inspired by a place of worship, an historic building or a town through its art, artefacts, and social history. Click HERE to see pictures.
TELEPHONE BOX
Congerstone’s Grade II listed telephone box
has been painted by BT. This, after BT claimed that it was the responsibility of the Parish Council and that it didn’t have an active phone (it does!!).
Many thanks for all those who helped and those that came to the fete and spent their money.
The Bells of St Mary’s will ring for 30 minutes
at 3pm on Coronation Day
This official emblem celebrates the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III on 6 May 2023. The emblem is created with the flora of the four nations of the United Kingdom:
the rose for England
the thistle for Scotland
the daffodil for Wales
the shamrock for Northern Ireland
These natural forms combine to describe St Edward’s Crown, used for the coronation of British monarchs.
Alternative Fuel Payments (Domestic) scheme
( For UK households who use alternative fuels, like heating oil, to heat their homes)
January 25th 2023 update
Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to the Royal Dockyard Chapel in Pembroke Dock, Wales
(official photo for use by the C of E)
St Mary’s weathervane is finally back!
The lead roof of the tower was replaced with terne-coated stainless steel some months ago and, after a long wait, the refurbished weathervane has now been installed.
Many thanks to all those who helped set up and run the fete and to all those who attended. The church provided much needed cover for teas, cakes and books!
Despite the rain, £1475 was raised; a sum that will nearly cover the annual cost of insurance for the church.
Jubilee Bells
The bells of St Mary’s will ring at 12:30h on Friday 3rd June to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The Congerstone Litter Pick
The Gopsall Villages WI did their first ‘post-Covid’ litter pick on Sunday 27th March. Dressed in their dayglow orange or yellow jackets, they picked litter in the village, along the Bilstone – School loop and down the approach roads from Shackerstone, Little Twycross and the Barton and Bosworth Road bridges.
The twelve pickers were, in no particular order: Gill Teperek, Jane Harris, Shez Musgrove, Helen Birks, Anita Carter, Denise Gillet, Josie Jones, Gill Lawrence, Maxine Michalowski, Valerie Stanyard, Jean Woolner and Margaret Newborough. Gallantly, Tony Teperek drove the pickers to their start points and later collected bags of litter when they were full and transported them to the village hall for collection by the council.
The Pickers having their well deserved ‘post-pick’ lunch in the Village Hall.
GOPSALL – A Millennium of Influence
“One of these days we should write a book about Gopsall” said John Matthews & Mike Foley whilst they were supporting an important building in the area, the village pub (The Horse & Jockey). Well, here it is!!
SEE the HOME or LOCAL ARTICLES & BOOKS page for further details or download the details as a PDF HERE.
Christmas Stars at St Mary’s
It was lovely to see so many villagers in St Mary’s Church on 1st December 2021 to celebrate turning on the church tower Christmas stars. Mulled wine, soft drinks, mince pies, sausage rolls and shortbread biscuits were enjoyed by all, while listening to Christmas carols sung by the Musical Villages Choir.
There are now stars on all four sides of the church tower.
Pop Up shop at St Mary’s
Thanks to everyone who attended. We made over £200 for St Mary’s Church on 20th November in addition to the £454 taken at the Christmas Pop Up shop in the Church Hall on 6 November 2021.
St Mary’s rededication service
This service was on Saturday 16th October. The Bishop of Leicester officiated and Lord and Lady Howe attended. During the service Ruth Webb played a selection of music by Handel on the Willis organ (donated to the church by the 4th Earl Howe in 1914). After the service, Lord Howe gave a short talk about his family’s links with St Mary’s Church and members of the Musical Villages Choir sang several songs.
See the results of the restoration and new building works at St Mary’s Church: use the ‘OUR CHURCH’ tab or view and/or download the PDF lookbook HERE
Playing in the Snow
Congerstone, 24th January 2021
St Mary’s tower with its two Christmas Stars
Congerstone War Memorial
& Remembrance Sunday 2020
Shackerstone Parish Council have had the War Memorial steam cleaned and the lettering repainted in time for Remembrance Sunday. The total cost of this work was £2946.
The Horse & Jockey – Congerstone’s Gold Mine!!
(thanks to Don for the photo)
Many thanks to villagers Sandra, Vicky and Quinnan for cleaning the phone box and bus shelter on the memorial triangle in Congerstone
Join the Congerstone Rock Snake & keep her growing – she’s now 12.7m / 41ft long!
The snake is opposite the bus shelter with a box of rocks. Take a rock, paint it however you like and add it to the Snake.
Adults are allowed to join in too!
GOPSALL & CONGERSTONE at WAR
Gopsall & Congerstone at War describes the military occupation of Gopsall Hall and Park in the Second World War based upon the memories of 22 soldiers, 7 women from the Auxiliary Territorial Service and 12 local residents. The Foreword is written by The Rt Hon the Earl Howe PC whose family owned Gopsall for over 120 years. The A5 sized paperback contains 124 pages and 80 black & white images. Price £6 collected or £8.50 by post.
All proceeds to St Mary’s Church, Congerstone.
To purchase a copy contact Gill Lawrence, preferably by email (oldpogill@gmail.com), otherwise call 01827 880130.