Upper Itchen Benefice

The Church in the Wood

The church is situated in a wood on Bramdean common. It is maintained by the three trustees of the charity of Louisa Francis Katherine Bishop for Divine service. Mrs Bishop was the widow of the Rev Bishop who caused the church to be built here in 1883.

When she died in 1893 she gave instructions to her trustees by a codicil to her will, in which she left £2000. They were to pay the vicar of Bramdean to take services, to maintain the church, and to ring the bell. The latter they do, beginning 15 minutes before each service, to guide the congregation through the wood.

Evensong is celebrated on the second and fourth Sundays of each month from May to September at 3pm, with a carol service on the second Sunday in December. Baptisms and wedding blessings, sometimes of gypsies, take place quite frequently.

The church has no parish and no funds apart from those donated by the congregation or well-wishers. Recently attendance has averaged 17 at evensong with greater numbers coming to open air services.

Access is on foot by mud track. Park your car on Bramdean common, and listen for the bell!

Lighting by candles,

Music by harmonium.

Dogs, horses and wellington boots welcome.

AN UPDATE FROM THE CHAIR OF TRUSTEES OF CHURCH IN THE WOOD

Some good news from the Church in the Woods

As mentioned in our last bulletin, the bell tower had been leaking. It was rotten and the cause of rot in the roof. Some of the galvanised metal sheets had corroded, and the spire leaned this way and that depending on the wind.

Steve Webb, the man who, with his son Aiden has done all the replacement work to date, has made a new tower and spire. He has also rejuvenated the weathercock and bell. The latter is the original, cast in 1880  by Warner and Sons , London . The clapper was very worn, was covered in rust and had a large flat on it.   However, now that is has been cleaned up, to all but the highly attuned ear it sounds as good as new.

The previously corroded metal work has been replaced in copper. This is often used by the best churches, St Paul’s cathedral among them on their rooves. However, it is unlikely they will have got their copper as economically or greenly as this one. A couple of ex hot water cylinders were spotted by Aiden, in a shed in Beauworth near where they were working. Steve bought another from a recycling yard and someone who had a heap of redundant copper pieces was persuaded he didn’t want them. Hence the words, ‘hot water’ stamped to part of the spire. It will, in due course, turn green.

What now? Well, business as usual as it has been throughout the work, and services were conducted through the year.

See you then

James 14/7/24

The services in 2025, all starting at 3pm, will be as follows:

July 27^th, August 10^th ,and 24^th  and September  7^th  and will culminate in Harvest Festival on the  21st September. Don’t forget the Carol Service on December 14^th

The joyous Wedding Blessing of Chloe and Norton WHYTE, September 2022

Bramdean Woods

You must keep your dog on a lead no more than 2 metres long on open access land between the 1st of March and the 31st of July to protect ground-nesting birds, and at all times around livestock. Rights of way and accessing land: Use your right to roam – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Thank you for following the Countryside Code.

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;

let the sea resound, and all that fills it.

Let the fields exult, and all that is in them.

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD,

for He is coming – He is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.

Psalm 96.11-13

Winter 2020