Garden trail will aid church repairs
A dozen gardens in Much Wenlock will be open on July 9 in a garden trail which will raise money for the Shropshire Historic Churches Trust and the town's Holy Trinity Church.
The event running from 11am to 5pm will involve 12 gardens plus the Abbey Nursery. The Old Cemetery Chapel will be open from 2pm to 4.30pm when arts and crafts will be for sale.
Richard Bifield of the trust said: "The open gardens scheme of the Shropshire Historic Churches Trust is well under way. Each year we have over 75 gardens open over weekends from May to September which raises monies which are split 50/50 between the trust and the hosting church.
"On July 9 we have the Much Wenlock garden trail when 13 local gardens, big and small, old and new, will be open. In 2015 this trail raised over £3,300 - the record for the trust.
"The trust was launched in 1991 since when we have raised over £900,000 to distribute to local churches to help them meet their repair bills."
And in a presentation on Sunday, June 11, a cheque for £7,000 was presented by the trust to the vicar and officials of Holy Trinity Church in Much Wenlock, at which the Bishop of Ludlow was also present.
"This went towards the cost of the major roof repair of the church's nave which are now nearly complete. The total cost is well over £200,000."
A map and tickets for the garden trail are £5, with children under 12 free, and are available from Penny Farthing in the Square, Much Wenlock. There will be refreshments from 11am in Willow House garden in Barrow Street - dogs are welcome - and with Kathleen Turner and her barrel organ, as well as plants, books and jigsaw sales.
There will be afternoon teas from 1pm in the newly re-roofed Holy Trinity Church.
