Wreath Holders for the War Memorial 
St. Mary’s Priory Church, Tutbury

The plan to install Remembrance Wreath Holders at St. Mary’s Priory Church is making progress!

The purpose of Wreath Holders is to enable Remembrance Wreaths to continue to be left at the War Memorial, as is the custom at St. Mary’s, whilst not leaving them on the conserved stonework.  Leaving Wreaths on memorials marks and damages the old stonework (c.f. War Memorials Trust recommendations).  

The Wreath Holders will mark the Centenary of WWI on behalf of the village.

Recommendation

A Faculty Petition (church planning request) was submitted in January to the Lichfield Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) for the installation of two Wreath Holders.  

The DAC accepted the idea of the Wreath Holders and the proposed location.  However, they did not like the proposed design.  

This led to an onsite meeting with representatives of the DAC – the Ven Matthew Parker, Archdeacon of Stoke-on-Trent, and Kristina Williamson, secretary to the DAC.  This meeting resulted in a more functional design which they believed would be acceptable to the wider DAC.

The result was that in April 2016 the DAC agreed to recommend the revised design to the Chancellor of the Consistory Court, paving the way for the Faculty Petition to be approved.

Next Steps

We now enter a period of public consultation, a 28-day period where any member of the public can comment on the proposals to the Consistory Court (see the Church notice board for details).

At the end of that period, the Chancellor will consider the DAC’s recommendation and any public comment and decide whether to approve the Petition.  Assuming a positive response, we can then proceed with fabrication by Dragon Forge Artistic ironworksand then installation, possibly in August 2016.

Thank You

We would like to thank the following for their help and support in this project

• British Gypsum for their funding and encouragement
• Dragon Forge Artistic Ironworks for their help in design and enthusiasm for the project
• St. Mary’s Parochial Church Council for passing the resolution and their continuing support
• Ven Matthew Parker, Archdeacon of Stoke-on-Trent, and Kristina Williamson, Secretary to the Diocesan Advisory Committee, for their guidance in the redesign
• The congregation of St. Mary’s for their input and interest in the project
• The general public who unfailing approved the ideas when explained

We have appreciated the widespread support and look forward to a successful conclusion to the project.

Issued by the Tutbury War Memorials Preservation Committee

Patron – the Bishop of Stafford

19th April 2016 – contact info@twmpc.org.uk