As throughout the nation, people of Rosedale gathered at our war memorial on Sunday 11 November to lay wreaths and remember those from the dale who gave their lives in the Great War and in subsequent conflicts.

Before the wreath laying, a Book of Remembrance, prepared by the Rosedale History Society to commemorate those men who gave their lives and also those who served and returned, was presented to the church for permanent display.

We Will Remember Them

The War Memorial in Rosedale Abbey’s churchyard has been cleaned for the first time in decades and work is underway to re-paint the names of all those commemorated on the plinth who died in the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War.

Short biographies of all those who fell in the Great War are on display in the church, especially poignant this year as Remembrance Sunday coincides with the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day. Details of local commemorations will be published shortly.

It’s that time again – time to cut and rake the conservation area in the Rosedale Abbey churchyard. A team of volunteers from the National Park will come on Friday 5 October at around 10.00 am to cut and rake the conservation area, but local volunteers, with any strimmers, rakes etc, would be very welcome. As an incentive, refreshments will be provided!

If you can spare an hour or so, please come along on Friday – no need to book! This will be the last time that the NYMNP volunteers will be cutting the conservation area and from 2019 onwards it will be purely a local task.

The Angel on the Celestial Ladder on the side of St Mary and St Lawrence Church has been moved up a notch as a result of the outstanding £5000 raised at the the recent Flower Festival.

The fund raising effort continues as can be seen from the height of the ladder. Cards, notebooks and the Rosedale 2019 Calendar are available from the Abbey Stores, Graze on The Green tearooms, the Coach House Inn, Gillies Jones Glass and the Caravan Club site shop. Also keep a look out on this site and on social media for further news about fundraising events for this vitally important cause.

Some more images from the festival in St Mary and St Lawrence Church, which has now concluded after a very successful ten days, as indicated in the amounts raised below:

So far over £4800 (and rising) has been raised through donations and sales, a tremendous result and a fitting tribute to all the hard work of the volunteers who set up and helped throughout the festival and especially to the astonishing generosity of all who donated money to the Appeal – it is hoped that the Angel can now be raised a few notches up to the £20,000 mark on the Celestial Ladder (see the exterior wall at the east end of the church).

A preview evening was held for the Flower Festival on Friday 14 September 2018 in aid of the Save Rosedale Abbey Church Appeal. Close to a hundred people, visitors and locals, attended and enjoyed a very convivial event and were royally entertained by the Eskuleles ukelele band.

Over £600 pounds was raised from donations and sales of Appeal related merchandise, an excellent effort by all involved. Thanks go to all who helped set up the the displays and who who contributed to the Appeal on the evening.

Please remember the church will be open to view the wonderful displays by local groups from 10.00am to 5.00pm each day through to Sunday 23 September, with the Harvest Service followed by a Bring-and-Share supper on Saturday 22 September starting at 6.00pm. All are very welcome to St Mary and St Lawrence Church.

As part of the Save Rosedale Abbey Church Appeal, there will be a flower festival held in St Mary and St Lawrence Church from Saturday 15 September to Sunday 23 September. Entry, which is free, will be from 10.00 am to 5pm each day.

There will be a Preview Evening in the church on Friday 14 September from 6.30pm – join us for a glass of wine and a chance to see the church in all its floral splendour.

On Saturday 22 September there will be a Harvest Service at 6.00pm followed by a ‘Bring and Share’ Supper.

All are welcome to these events. Over £90,000 is needed to make our church safe and secure for the future and you can help the appeal by making a donation while enjoying your visit to our beautifully decorated church.

On Show Day, the church tea and cake tent made £2074 for church funds, with additional donations and sales of cards, calendars and roof slate sponsoring bringing in another £655 for the Save Rosedale Abbey Church Appeal – a terrific result all round.

Congratulations to all the community volunteers who baked a seemingly endless supply of delicious cakes and helped to raise so much money for the church and our appeal.

Please note for your diaries, the Rosedale Flower Festival on 15 to 23 September, with the Harvest Service on Saturday 22 September at 6.00pm followed by a bring and share supper. More details here and on social media.

The very popular Rosedale calendar is available again. The 2019 calendar is on sale now in Abbey Stores, the Coach House Inn, Gillies Jones Glass Studio, Graze on The Green and the Caravan Club shop for £10 per copy with envelope. The calendar will also be on sale in the Rosedale History Society tent (Row F 4) and in the church tea tent at Rosedale Show this coming Saturday.

This year there are five local people who have contributed photographs, so you can try and guess who’s is which image or images. And every pound raised goes towards the restoration of St Mary and St Lawrence Church.

These calendars are finished to a very high standard and are practical momentos of a year in the life of our dale and ideal for giving as gifts and Christmas presents. Last year we had to do a reprint as they proved to be so popular, so buy yours as soon a possible!

A view of our church that has not been seen in decades, now that elders, hollies and brambles have been cleared.

Work on the appeal to raise funds for the vitally need church repairs continues. Cards and notebooks are on sale in Abbey Stores and Graze on The Green and the new Rosedale calendar for 2019 will be available shortly in the tea shops, but also in the Coach House Inn, Gillies Jones Glass Studio and from the Rosedale History Society tent and the Church tea tent at Rosedale Show on 18 August.

Please also note the dates of the forthcoming Rosedale Flower Festival to be held in the Church from 15 to 23 September, with a Harvest Service on 22 September at 6pm followed by a bring-and-share supper. More details to follow shortly