Revisiting a local landmark and maintaining a family tradition.

Some time before Christmas Phil and  went out for a walk, as we often do. It must have been just before Christmas because the weather since then has been too dire for us to consider going out for a casual walk. Indeed, it rained so hard yesterday and most of last night that the river was positively bouncing through the village this morning. But, significantly, it was no longer raining! 

Anyway, we went out for a walk on that occasion and, looking up to Heights Church on the hilltop overlooking the village, we commented that we hadn’t walked up there for a while. During lockdown, once we were permitted to meet and walk with slightly larger groups of people, we got into the habit of doing family hikes up to the old church and back again. On the first occasion, a lovely sunny day, our then three year old granddaughter was totally enchanted and walked around the graveyard solemnly declaring, “I could live here!” Somehow we never got round to going up there in the summer of this year, although I know our daughter has walked up there with an old friend. 

It’s really called St Thomas Church, Friarmere, also known as Heights Chapel. According to the great wikipedia it is a “redundant Anglican church” although it is occasionally opened to visitors. It is a Grade II listed building, under the care of the Churches Conservation Trust.

Built in 1765 to serve a growing local population, it was declared redundant on 16th April 1970 and many of its interior fittings were transferred to the new parish church in Delph village. The churchyard is impressively gloomy and apparently contains the war graves of a Royal Scots Fusiliers a soldier of World War I and a Royal Navy officer of World war II. More impressive to me are the graves of members of families well know around the village and especially a few graves of small babies, dead and buried at 15 weeks old or even 9 weeks old. 

Like other places in and around Saddleworth, it has figured in films and TV series, including the churchyard being used in a BBC adaption of Daphne du Maurier’s gothic novel, Jamaica Inn. There you go! 

So, anyway, late this morning came a message from my daughter: “we are plotting an expedition to Heights Church. Anyone interested?” She took coffee for the grown-ups and hot chocolate for the small people. I took mince pies and biscuits and fruit. We met in Delph School carpark and off we went, accompanied by her dog and meeting her longest-standing friend, someone I have known since she was two days old, when my daughter was still a bump. 

Here are some pictures of today’s rather chilly and windy, but not rainy, expedition. 

 

 Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!