9th August 2017

Fellowship and gardeners' support for Whalley Abbey

WHALLEY Abbey Fellowship members gathered in force for the organisation’s AGM held recently at the Abbey in the Ribble Valley, which is the Retreat and Conference Centre for The Church of England in Lancashire.

The meeting was preceded by Communion in the St Bernard Chapel, and was followed by lunch in the Abbey dining room. Members are pictured on the steps of the Retreat and Conference House.

Chaired by the Rev Toby Webber, Vicar of Altham with Clayton-le-Moors, the AGM considered a wide range of business, including thanks from the Chair for the considerable financial support, some £61,000, given by members that has enabled recent work on the courtyard wall to be completed.

Also under discussion was a change of name to Friends of Whalley Abbey. “We hope that this change might encourage more people to join,” said Rev Webber.

Forthcoming dates for the diary include a Quiet Day on September 23, led by Michael Meehan and a Coffee Morning on Tuesday October 17 from 10am to 12 noon.

A concert by St Christopher’s School Choir will be on a date yet to be confirmed.

Members enjoy free admission to the grounds on all but a few days each year. Details of membership rates and more information about the group can be found on the Abbey website www.whalleyabbey.org under the ‘Home’ menu.

Members of the Whalley village Britain in Bloom team are pictured in the grounds of Whalley Abbey – the Retreat and Conference Centre for The Church of England in Lancashire.

They, and others from the team, kindly volunteer on a regular basis to help keep the extensive gardens and borders at the Abbey – a Scheduled Ancient Monument – up to scratch.

When working at the Abbey they go by the name ‘The Lavender Ladies’.

The Abbey’s gardens are just a fraction of the hard work required to keep Whalley up there with the best blooming villages in the country!