PILATES CLASSES - MONYASH VILLAGE HALL

Monday evenings - classes at 6pm and 7pm

All abilities welcome. Fully qualified Pilates coach. Telephone 07977 939835 for further details

PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES

Minutes of Monyash Parish Council meetings can now be found on the website, under Local News.

The old Monyash Friendly Society 1849 Banner will be on display during the festival. This is your rare opportunity to see this historic banner as it is not possible to display it very often due to its large size. Photo attached.

Click for a picture of the Banner

MONYASH FRIENDLY SOCIETY BANNER

Click for a picture of the Banner.

FESTIVAL OF FLOWERS, QUILTS AND LOCAL HISTORY 12 AND 13 JUNE 2010

> Craft Demonstrations; homemade cakes, books and bric-a-brac for sale.

MONYASH QUILTERS EXHIBITION OF PATCHWORK AND QUILTING

11.00am to 4.00pm,at the Methodist Chapel

> Admission £1. All proceeds to Monyash Chapel Renovation Fund

MONYASH QUILTERS GRAND PRIZE DRAW

Monyash Quilters are raffling a hand-made double bed size patchwork quilt. Proceeds are in aid or the Air Ambulance and Monyash Methodist Chapel Renovation Fund.

Tickets are £1 and available at Flower Festival 12, 13 June and Quilt Show 28,29,30 August or from Maureen Gee 01629 814592. The draw will take place at the Quilt Show on 30 August.

Click for a picture of the prize quilt.

MONYASH SPRING BANK MARKET

MONDAY 31st MAY 9am - 5pm

Huge variety of stalls and games on and around the village green. Refreshments available all day both on the village green and in the Methodist Chapel, Smithy Tea Rooms and The Bulls Head. .

Ashbourne Band will be playing at 2pm on the village green. Monyash Primary School will be Maypole Dancing at 12 noon and 1pm. Antiques and Collectors Fair in the village hall

MONYASH WELLS DRESSINGS

SATURDAY MAY 29th to SATURDAY 6th JUNE

3 wells dressed in the village. Blessing service starts at the main well on Jack Mere car park at 2pm on Saturday 29th May

ECUMENICAL SERVICE ON MONYASH VILLAGE GREEN

SUNDAY MAY 23rd at 10am

Everyone is welcome to come and join in at this joint service between St Leonards and Monyash Methodist Church

MONYASH OPEN GARDENS and SCARECROW COMPETITION

12th and 13th JUNE 2010

Gardens will be open to view from 10am - 5pm. Start of trail will be at Rowson House Farm and finish will be at Ivy House (where refreshments will be available) Entrance fee : Adults £3, Children (5 - 16years) £1, Under 5s free. Plants will be available for sale on the village green All proceeds to Derwent Rural Counselling and St Leonards Church. For further information contact Sally Wake on 01629 810544, sally@peakdistrictonline.co.uk

St Leonard's Church, Sunday 14th March, 10.00am Family Service followed by refreshments

Everybody weloome

WHITE PEAK WALK

SATURDAY 10th JULY 2010

A 26 mile challenge walk around the Peak District, starting and finishing in Monyash

To enter go to www.whitepeakwalk.co.uk

OPEN GARDENS and SCARECROW COMPETITION - MONYASH

12th and 13th JUNE 2010

Gardens will be open to view from 10am - 5pm. Start of trail will be at Rowson House Farm and finish will be at Ivy House (where refreshments will be available)

Entrance fee : Adults £3, Children (5 - 16years) £1, Under 5s free.

All proceeds to Derwent Rural Counselling and St Leonards Church. For further information contact Sally Wake on 01629 810544, sally@peakdistrictonline.co.uk

MONYASH CHRISTMAS An evening of festive words and music in St Leonards Church

FRIDAY 18th DECEMBER 7.30pm

Mulled wine and mince pies available from 7pm

Entrance free but all donations to St Leonards Church welcome

REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE : SUNDAY 8th NOVEMBER

10am on Sunday 8th November, followed by 2 minutes silence at the War Memorial

HARVEST AUCTION : MONDAY 26th OCTOBER

at 8.30pm on Monday 26th October at The Bulls Head, Monyash.

Monies from the produce auction will go towards the Church Boiler Fund

HARVEST FESTIVAL : SUNDAY 25th OCTOBER

at 10am on Sunday 25th October 2009 followed by refreshments at

St Leonards Church, Monyash

Gifts of produce, preserves and home baking, etc can be left at the church anytime during the day on Friday 24th October. They will be used to decorate the church and then sold at the Harvest Auction

Harvest Festival Service 10.00 am Sunday 25th October

Auction of Produce (proceeds towards the new boiler) Bull's Head, 8.00 pm Monday 26th October

BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS IN MONYASH

Monyash recently became the first village to host the National Blood Transfusions Bloodmobile at a private house.

51 villagers, aged 18 to 64, attended throughout the day and 37 blood donations were received. Tea and cakes were served afterwards in the garden. The day benefitted from warm sunshine and turned into quite a social occasion.

A donation takes just one hour and can help save as many as three lives. Everyone found it an enjoyable and satisfying experience.

29th-31st August - St Leonard's Church. Refreshments available

WHITE PEAK WALK 2009

Another successful WPW was held on Saturday 11th July. Over 270 walkers and runners took part in this annual event and many locals helped at the checkpoints and in the village hall.

First home, in a time of 4 hours, was local man Alan Renfree, closely followed by Steve Temple. First lady home was Angela Hall in 4 hours 49 minutes. Other trophies were awarded to Tim and Eleanor Kellett as first locals home with times of 5 hours 48 minutes and 10 hours 10 minutes respectively Click for a picture of Alan Renfree arriving at the finish.

Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 July 2009

discount trader, demonstrations, sales table,

29th-31st August - Flower Festival, St Leonard's Church

25th October - Harvest Festival, 10.00 St Leonard's Church

Wedding celebrations at St Leonard's Church

Saturday 23rd May 2009 saw the joyous occasion of the marriage between Georgina Browett and Nicholas Martin. The sun shone on the happy couple and their guests and the party continued their celebrations well into the evening at Mount Pleasant Click for a picture.

25th May Bank Holiday Market

14th June Songs of Praise 10.00 am

28-31 August Flower Festival

Blessing of the wells Saturday 23rd May at 2pm

Three wells on display 23rd May - 30th May

9th April Maundy Thursday

7.30pm Service of foot washing and Holy Communion

12th April 10am

Easter Eucharist followed by refreshments

EVERYBODY WELCOME

Special family service, 10.00 am Sunday 22nd March, followed by refreshments.

Lent lunches at the vicarage, every Tuesday in March, 12.30 to 2.00 (proceeds to Village Aid)

Christmas Carol Service, 10.00am Sunday 14th December (followed by tea/coffee mince pies)

Primary School Crib Service, 2.00pm Friday 19th December

Monyash Christmas, 7.00pm Friday 19th December

Christmas Day Service, 9.30am Thursday 25th December

This annual Monyash extravaganza will take place in the church on Friday 19 December - Cressbrook Band, local performers, readings and carols. 7.00 mulled wine and mince pies for 7.30 start. Not to be missed!

Remembrance Day Service, 10.00 am Sunday 9th November followed by 2 minutes silence at the War Memorial

Christmas Carol Service, 10.00 am Sunday 14th December followed by tea, coffee and mince pies

Midnight Mass, 11.30 pm Wednesday 24 December. Mince pies and mulled wine from 11.00.

Harvest Festival 26 October 2008

Remembrance Service 9 November 2008

Carol Service 14 December 2008

all at 10.00 St Leonard's Church

Sunday 28th September 10 am

Special Service at St Leonards Church, Monyash

We would be delighted if you could join us for this service which has been arranged to coincide with other "Back to Church" events planned nationally for that date

We can promise you a warm welcome, a stimulating service and refreshments and a natter afterwards

Hope to see you there

The annual Harvest Festival Service will be held at 10.00 Sunday 28th September 2008 at St Leonard's Church - please come and join us.

Monyash Village Hall

Saturday 5th July

10.30am - 5pm

Teas, cakes, ploughmans lunches, frittata, white elephant stall

The Flower Festival has been postponed but the May Bank Holiday Market and well dressings will take place - all welcome.

Three wells will be blessed at 2pm on Saturday 24th May and will remain on display all week

Marc Little and his family have taken over Lathkill Coaches. Marc is taking bookings for private coach hire, day trips and holidays. 01629 813792 for more details.

This year's flower festival will be held in the church from 24-28 May, 10.00 to 4.00 each day. We look forward to welcoming you there to see our displays. Refreshments will be available.

St Leonards Church, Monyash

Sunday December 16th 2007, 6pm

ALL WELCOME

Please come and join us for drinks and nibbles to celebrate the completion of the restoration and redecoration of St Leonards Church

6pm - 7pm Saturday 17th November in the Church

A chance to see what has been achieved, with your support, over the last 10 years, and meet old friends and new villagers

Mulled wine and mince pies will be served from 7.15pm. Admission free, donations welcome, all proceeds to the Church. Enjoy Christmas readings and music from local artists, mixed in with some of your favourite carols.

On Sunday October 7th the Bishop of Repton, Bishop Humphrey, led a service to celebrate the refurbishment of the interior of the church. The service was well attended and everybody was able to enjoy the new bright interior and soft furnishings that have been provided

Congratulations to the Monyash Primary School Water Polo Team who emerged victorious in the first ever Bakewell Primary Schools Water Polo Competition held recently

The winning team comprised Alice Yarwood, Michi Burrow, Sara Little, Evie Bellamy, Joe Little, Gorge Swindell and Thomas Kellett and was coached by Marc Little

Pictures and information about the 2007 May Bank Holiday Wells Dressings are now available on this site. If you would like to have high quality pictures please contact Bob Johnston.

Wells Dressings

2006 has been another milestone in the long history of Monyash Church. It witnessed the completion of over ten years of repairs to the fabric and structure of the building and its internal fittings and appearance. The programme started in 1996 after much pre-planning when, with the assistance of English Heritage and local funding, the tower was repointed and ominous cracks, caused in part by the corroding ends of the iron bell frame in the upper tower, made good. Urgent repointing and other repairs to the south porch, south transept and west walls were the next stage of the programme. In 2004 the remainder of the exterior stonework was repointed. In the meantime and with assistance from a team of volunteers, the three bells, two of them dating from the early twentieth century and the third from the eighteenth century, were restored to proper ringing condition and extensive repairs carried out to the ringing mechanism. New bell ropes were provided and the stair treads up to the bell and clock chambers made safe.

With the exterior of the building now in good order, attention moved to the interior. The whole of the electrical wiring and light fittings were renewed and, following a complete internal washing down of the walls and roof timbers, all of the rendered and plastered wall and ceiling surfaces lime washed. This phase was funded in part by a generous grant from the Derbyshire Churches and Chapels Preservation Trust. The final step was the replacement of the soft furnishings with new carpet runs complemented by a host of new individually embroidered kneelers. The opportunity was also taken to remove the pipe organ, a compact chamber instrument on wheels, from its position near to the north entrance to its former location between the vestry and pulpit, thus affording an uninterrupted view of the interior of the building upon entry to it from the north door. All of the pews and wood panelling have been carefully oiled and polished. The result has been to transform the interior appearance of the Church. Its achievement has been very much a collective, local effort.

A service of rededication to commemorate what has been accomplished is planned for later this year.

But time stands still for no one, not even our venerable church. Next on the list is the cleaning, repair and re-hanging of the Royal Arms. Dated 1742, the large wooden hanging bearing the Arms was taken down while the interior cleaning and redecoration took place. Future plans also include installing a loudspeaker system, replacement of the central heating boiler and, in the medium term, extensive repairs to the north aisle roof.

Our aim throughout has been to make this much-loved and ancient building as welcoming as possible to visitors, a Christian home in which to conduct our regular Sunday and other services and a place to meet and celebrate important events for the wider village community. In this spirit the church is kept open during the daytime throughout the year.

Following a visit by Mike Smith and photographer Karen Frenkel, an eight page spread featuring the village appeared in the June edition of Derbyshire Life. Illustrated with 23 colour pictures, the article describes the village and its history. The piece reports on the impact of the IRD scheme in helping support the development of the play area, the village hall and the extension to the school, and the more recent Village Plan resulting in the upgraded play area. Also featured are the pub, smithy café, and the church. Mention is made of the White Peak Walk and the wonderful Monyash Christmas. Mike Smith calls Monyash “a welcoming oasis for the many ramblers and cyclists who cross the exposed, almost waterless plateau” of the White Peak.

Church Restoration

The interior of Monyash Church has undergone a remarkable transformation. Gone are the stained and dirty wall surfaces and the atmosphere of gloom. For the first time in living memory the vision of those, led by the celebrated architect Butterfield, who masterminded and executed the late-Victorian restoration, is to be seen and admired.

Andrew & Nick Bradbury who have carried out the works are to be congratulated for what has been achieved. What is very striking is that the simplicity of the medieval church is preserved and enhanced by the limewashed surfaces

The new Play Area is now completed.

The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire has agreed to come to Monyash and cut the official bunting. Whilst the children of Monyash School have agreed to come and make the first official testing of the playground

The opening will take place at 1.45pm on Friday July 14th in the playground behind the Bulls Head pub.

This Monyash web site is receiving around 60-70 visitors every day from all over the world. Each visitor looks at on average 3 pages. The most popular pages are the accommodation, pub and cafe pages, but all of them are being looked at. The site is mainly used by people in the UK, but in June 2006 we were also visited by people in the USA, Netherlands, New Zealand, Seychelles, Japan, Australia, Poland, France, China and Malaysia!

If you have any ideas or suggestions to help us develop the site, or things you would like to put on it or see on it, do let us know.

Flower Festival

Wells Dressings

Interior Church works - Progress

With the exception of one or two very small items the electrical wiring has now been completed. With new interior lights the Church is far brighter in appearance than it was. The next stage of cleaning down and decoration of the walls will begin in June and will take about 3 months to complete.

A New Playground for Monyash

Funding has been obtained for this project and work is due to start at the end of February 2006

The new playground will provide equipment for children of all ages and abilities, from toddlers to teenagers, with equipment adapted for children with special needs. The park itself will be easily accessible for people with pushchairs and wheelchairs, although we are retaining as many of the lovely trees and shrubs as possible and putting in comfortable seating

Work was delayed by the snow and rain earlier in the year but hopefully will progress quickly now the weather has improved

A grand opening is being planned and the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire and the children of Monyash School have agreed to attend. Please look out for posters with details of this event, we would be pleased to see everyone there

FLOWER FESTIVAL

"Bygone Monyash"

27th May - 1st June 2006

St Leonard's Church, Monyash

10am - 5pm

Light refreshments will be served throughout the festival

Proposals to improve the Playing Field at the rear of the School progress

Led by the Parish Council a small action group has been formed to take forward proposals to improve and upgrade the Playing Field facility to the rear of the School

This amenity has long been identified as something the Village wished to see enhanced and improved for the benefit of the whole community, including the School

Although still very much in the early planning and development stages the action group have begun some exploratory work involving site surveys and inspection and have also begun to formulate a business plan to assist with the development of potential funding and grant applications which will be made to a range of potential sponsors and supporters

Do you have an email address?

Would you like a simple and memorable Monyash email address? You can have your.name@monyash.net (or .org, .biz or .com) and all emails will be automatically routed to your existing email address. The proceedings from the small annual fee go toward the running of the church

For more information email shirley@monyash.net

Carols on the Green

Christmas Eve 6.30pm

All welcome. Come along and celebrate Christmas with all your favourite carols

Monyash Christmas

Friday 16th December 7.30pm in St Leonards Church

An evening of festive words and music. Free admission (a collection will be made). Refreshments available. All welcome

Monyash Archaeology Survey

A preliminary meeting for this project will be held on Sunday 4th December at 3pm in Monyash Village Hall

If you are interested in finding out how you can be involved with this survey come along to the meeting or contact Lynn Burrow on 01629 814300 if you have any queries

English Nature has been working with English Heritage to make this ruin safe to visit. Works were completed at the end of May. A new bridge has been built over the River Lathkill to provide access to this interesting house, which is built over a huge shaft.

Visitors can peer down the shaft to see water rushing along in the sough below. For more information, contact English Nature on 01629 816640

The keep fit classes in Monyash Village Hall on Thursday evenings have had to come to an end due to a lack of numbers. Thank you to all those people who have supported these classes over the past couple of years. Hopefully they will resume in the future - watch this space

Perhaps you may have noticed that Church floodlights have been on since the beginning of December to try and brighten up these dark winter months. Most of you know that we look each year for donations to support the running costs of these lights as it is a major expense for the church to bear. Please offer your support as the whole village benefits from the church being lit up.

To donate any amount, however small or large, please contact myself or Chris Woodhouse, the church treasurer

The village plan highlighted the need for action on the conservation area in Monyash Church grounds. This area was originallly set up almost 20 years ago with the intention of providing a nature study area for the school children of Monyash. Over the years the maintenance of the area has become increasingly onerous, especially as the school developed different priorities because of the National Curriculum.

It has been proposed that the conservation area is converted into a Community Woodland. By working with the existing plants rather than fighting against them the area could soon change into a woodland that could be used for nature study by the school but which require much less ongoing maintenance.

With the help of the Peak National Parks Forestry team the school children will plant trees and flowers and may spend a small amount of time each year maintaining the area. If you would like to be involved with the project, perhaps with tree planting or helping the children keep the path clear or strimming once or twice a year please contact Lynn Burrow or Trish Forrester

Exterior repairs to the Church are continuing. Andrew & Nick Bradbury are making steady progress in repointing the stonework and ensuring that our precious building is rendered wind and weather tight

As always anyone willing to help out with the Flower Rota, cleaning the church or, when the weather improves, maintaining the churchyard, should contact Jane Andrews or myself

Website Statistics

The month of May saw the Monyash website receive its most visitors ever, with 702 unique visits recorded, and over 2,500 individual pages requested.

The most daily visits occured on the 23rd May, which was the Friday before the Spring Bank Holiday!

The most requested page on the website is the accommodation listings, receiving 395 visits, with the Pub and Smithy Cafe also in the top 10 requested pages.

While the majority of visitors are from the UK, the website is also accessed from many countries around the world. The US is the most popular after the UK, but May also saw visitors from Poland, Russia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Norway, Australia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Italy, Mongolia, Seychelles and Taiwan!

As the website approaches its first birthday, it is important to ensure that its popularity continues to increase. If you have any suggestions, news items, or corrections to anything on the website, please let us know!

Background

How Far Have We Got?

What’s Next?

More Information?

New Year was enthusiastically celebrated in the village as usual. Austin Powers and friends led the party in the Bulls Head. If you have any pictures we can add to the collection do send them in!

Pictures now available!

Another excellent evening of entertainment from local people - good music, amusing anecdotes, Christmas readings and, to top it all, mulled wine and mince pies.

The format was as usual, with Smithy's Brew hosting the event and contributions from the many talented musicians in Monyash.

Picture now available!

Jim Birchenough was a good friend, drinking companion and godfather to my son Christopher. When reflecting on death over the occasional glass of beer, sometimes consumed along with Bob Heywood, now retired landlord of the Bull i’ th’ Thorn, Jim remarked that all a person was worth was a couple of inches in the deaths column of the Buxton Advertiser. Jim did not get that but I am not sure he would be pleased to know he was having his couple of inches in cyber space instead.

I first knew him shortly after the break-up of his marriage when he left Lathkill House and moved a few doors down to Rose Cottage (one of several in Monyash). He had been a local chemist in Bakewell and was now working as a shift chemist at Enthoven in Darley Dale. He retired over seven years ago and settled down to developing his house and enjoying some time with his drinking companions, often on a Sunday lunchtime. He enjoyed his garden and conservatory and found time to grow more plants. He experimented with fuchsias but after a while realised he was allergic to them and came out in a rash every time he touched them. He often talked of his family and had photographs dotted around the house. His retirement allowed him to take extended holidays to visit them in Australia. His great rock during this time was Vera, his friend and companion, and during his later life they moved in together and spent their holidays visiting their respective relations down under. It was a wrench for him to sell his home in Monyash but it made sense as he spent most of his time with Vera in Buxton. Sadly Jim contracted Alzheimers disease and his mental health and then his physical health deteriorated over several years. It was a fall and a resulting blood clot that put him in hospital. He died on September 29th 2002 just one day before his 73rd birthday.

Picture now available!