Landkey Village

St Paul's Church was delighted to welcome the Rt Revd Dame Sarah Mullally to lead its Easter service on Sunday 1st April.

This was a visit which had been arranged many months before to mark the re-installation of the organ which had been restored following a successful fundraising campaign.

Dame Sarah was, until very recently, Bishop of Crediton, but was elected in December 2017 to the post of Bishop of London, the highest position ever to be held by a woman in the Church of England. This engagement at St Paul's was one of her last before she moved to take up her post in London.

Many people joined the regular congregation for this occasion, helping to fill most of the pews in the church. In her sermon, Dame Sarah focused on the wonder of the Resurrection, explaining that the hope that it offered was available to all. Referring to the stone which had been inexplicably rolled away from Jesus' tomb, she related from personal experience just how difficult large stones are to move. Her husband (who was among the congregation), having purchased an ornamental stone for the garden, discovered on its delivery to their driveway, that it was far too heavy to be moved into the garden by anything other than a mechanical hoist, much to the intrigue of neighbours who witnessed grown men struggling with it in vain!

She also went on to liken the promise of the Resurrection to the passages in C S Lewis' "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" in which the permanent winter is finally broken after Aslan's return.

The usual Easter Sunday liturgy was paused after Dame Sarah's sermon in order to allow her to rededicate the organ. She offered a prayer that it would be used to enhance the worship at St Paul's.

Dame Sarah was warmly thanked by churchwarden, Eileen MacCaig, for having taking the service and also congratulated her on being appointed to her new position. As she was presented with flowers and a gift from the restorer (a mug depicting organ restoration work), the congregation erupted into a heartfelt round of applause. She and her husband stayed for a while afterwards and enjoyed refreshments, which included hot cross buns.

On Easter Sunday, 1st April, The Rt Revd Dame Sarah Mullally will lead the service at St Paul's church.

Currently Bishop of Crediton, Dame Sarah has been chosen as the new Bishop of London, the highest position to be held by a woman within the church of England. She had agreed to lead the St Paul’s service, which will include a rededication of the refurbished organ, prior to her appointment and we are grateful to her for keeping this engagement. All will be welcome.

More information on this event will follow.

Landkey residents might be interested to read this article which appeared in a 1936 newspaper (the identity of which is not known) and which offers a glimpse into life in the village and church dating as far back as the late 19th century. Thanks are expressed to Eric Price for providing this clipping.

Oldest Inhabitant Looks Back

(From a 1936 newspaper)

Landkey, an old-world village near Barnstaple, retains much of its charm, for it is still mainly dependent on agriculture.

With an Acland in the House of Commons for the Barnstaple Division, Landkey is proud of being the birthplace of that distinguished county family.

Here is situated Acland Barton, now a farmhouse, adjoining which are the remains of the ancient family chapel, erected about 300 years ago.

The oldest male inhabitant is octogenarian William Gould, the carpenter who fixed the clock in the ancient parish church in commemoration of the Jubilee of Queen Victoria [June 1887].

Among Mr Gould's most vivid recollections are those of Landkey Revels, last held 70 years ago, and the wrestling matches for silver spoons - one local champion went to church with his trophies fastened to the band of his hat. Church services then were renowned for the accompaniment of the singing on lute and bass violin.

Then there were the challenging sermons of the famous sporting parson, the Rev. Jack Russell, of the nearby village of Swimbridge, who would often go straight from morning service to prepare for the hunt.

Mr Gould remembers the coaches rumbling to a brief halt before the Ring O'Bells; the first train on the Barnstaple-Taunton line; and the obsolete industry of lime-burning at Venn, a neighbour hamlet. Efforts are being made to revive this.

Mr Gould recalls the time when there was one newspaper per week for the whole village. Two landowners shared the copy and read it to their employees, who kept the parish supplied with news of international affairs and local gossip.

A picture of Mr Gould appears on this site (see Village Events - Events Gallery).

The nave of St Paul's church took on a festive feel when 10 Landkey organisations contributed decorated Christmas trees to be put on display from 15th - 17th December 2017 as part of the church Christmas Tree Festival.

A great deal of work had been put in to make the trees look festive and this was appreciated by the visitors who came along to inspect them and then to cast a vote for their favourite.

The presence of the trees added to the seasonal feel at the church Nativity Play on Sunday 17th December. Led by Angela Bellamy, this was an unrehearsed retelling of the story of Jesus' birth but Angela ably involved members of the congregation to take the various parts and the result was a production which was thoroughly enjoyed by the congregation which numbered at least 60.

The star of the show, though, was Coco the donkey, who was kindly loaned for the occasion by Emma and Adrian Ley. Joseph Ley played the part of Joseph and led Coco, ridden by Isabelle Ley as Mary, into the church at the appropriate moment.

The organisations who contributed trees to the Festival were: Landkey Brownies, Landkey Guides, Landkey WI, St Paul's Mothers' Union, Landkey United Fellowship, Landkey Horticultural Society, Landkey Village Hall, Landkey Primary School, Landkey Parish Council and Swimbridge Nursing Home. Lyncroft Stores made a financial contribution. Thank you to all for helping to make this a successful event.

There was scarcely a seat to spare in Landkey village hall on 12th November 2017 as local residents came together to pay their respects to those in the armed forces who have been killed or wounded while defending our nation.

In a break with tradition, the 2017 Remembrance service was held in Landkey village hall, rather than in the church as has been the custom in previous years. This change was made to avoid the necessity of making the long walk up the from church to the war memorial after the service. Local residents seemed to feel that this was a helpful alteration.

The service was led by Chris James, who forms part of the clergy team which serves the group of churches which includes St Paul's, and his sermon included readings of poems by local poet, David Prowse. There was a feeling of enthusiasm for the occasion among those gathered and this was expressed in the volume of the hymn singing, which could surely have been heard from outside the hall!

More village residents joined those making the short walk up from the hall for the Act of Remembrance after the service, swelling the number of those wishing to pay their respects to at least 80. A wreath was laid on behalf of Landkey Parish Council by children, Izzy and Sam, pupils from Landkey Primary School. A wreath was also laid on behalf of St Paul's Church while individuals also laid crosses.