All Saints, Vange

I intended spending several hours enjoying the seaside at Southend before going on to the open day at All Saints Church in Vange.   But when I got to Southend, it was definitely not seaside weather, so after a brief look around the shops, I caught the bus into Basildon, where I had lunch before catching the bus to Vange.   Or at least part of the way to Vange.

Vange has two Anglican churches; the old one, surrounded by fields, which has been there for  centuries, and the new one, at least a mile away, which was built when the new housing estates were put up.  The bus driver had no idea where All Saints was, but knew he passed a church in Vange, which had some bunting up, so I got off there, even though it definitely didn't look old.   Asking at the cafe outside the church resulted in my being pointed in the right direction, although they had no idea where it really was, but thought it was probably on the housing estate..   Obviously Vange people don't travel far, or don't look around them if they do.   I blame mobile phones!

Anway, after a long walk, I finally got there,   The church is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust, and was re-opening after a lengthy leriod of being neglected and vandalised; the congregation had dwindled, and it had been closed for years.   Now it is open again for the public to visit, looked after by a team of local volunteers who have raised money to carry out repairs.

I arrived just in time to listen to a very interesting lecture being given to a coach party of enthusiats, mostly older people who asked a lot of questions.   Listening to them, it seemed they visited many other ancient and now closed churches.

The church is tiny, and the roof just sits there, not secured in any way.   Much of the fabric is the original, although there have been some replacement beams.   The sanctuary is very small - no room there for a choir or piles of servers.   

But it speaks of times past, when all the local farmers and labourers would have attended it every Sunday, a time when religion was as much a part of people's lives as breathing and sleeping and eating.  

Today it has just one service a year, but is a valuable historical resource for local schools, who are encouraged to take the children there and involve them in looking after it.

Whilst there, I sampled a cup of their tea and a cake - a welcome addition to the visit after the logn walk.

I also contributed to the book sale, coming home with two very heavy volumes, including a history of English kings and queens by Antonia Fraser.