02 September 2022

Three former colleagues in Wexford
die within a few months of each other

With Wexford historians and journalists Hilary Murphy (left) and Nicky Furlong (right) at a dinner in the Ferrycarrig Hotel on the banks of the River Slaney in Wexford

Patrick Comerford

Three friends and former colleagues in Wexford have died recently. I first got to know Hilary Murphy, Nicky Furlong and Gerry Breen 50 years ago, when I worked with them in the Wexford Peoplemonths. I also worked closely with all three of them on many local history projects.

Hilary Murphy, who died last week, was a former assistant editor of the Wexford People, a journalist, author, genealogist and historian.

Hilary Murphy, who lived at Parklands, Wexford, was originally from Tilladavins, Tomhaggard, with deep family roots in the Screen-Curracloe area. He began working as a journalist with the Free Press before joining The People Newspapers in 1965. He initially worked in Arklow, Co Wicklow, with the Wicklow People, before moving to New Ross.

He returned to Wexford town around 1971 to the People Newspapers head office to work as a sub-editor. Later he became the assistant editor.

For some years, Hilary edited the Journal of the Wexford Historical Society, to which I was a regular contributor. He was a founding editor of the Kilmore Parish Journal. He contributed annually to the journal for over 40 years before retiring in 2012.

Hilary had a keen interest in local history and family history, and took over from me in writing the popular family history column in Ireland’s Own in 1976. His interests in local and family history lead to the publication of The Kynoch Era in Arklow (1976) and Families of Co Wexford (Geography Publications, 1986).

Hilary died in the care of the staff at Knockeen Nursing Home last week. He was predeceased by his wife Bernadette, and is survived by a large family, as well his former colleagues at The People Newspapers.

With Peter Prendergast, Hilary Murphy and Celestine Murphy at the launch of the ‘Journal of the Wexford Historical Society 2014-2015’

Nicky Furlong, who died earlier this year (21 March 2022), was a farmer, journalist, author, historian and playwright and Vice-President of the Wexford Historical Society.

For many years he wrote a satirical column for the People Group under the pen name ‘Pat O’Leary,’ and was a columnist with Echo Group Newspapers in Co Wexford – the Wexford Echo, the Enniscorthy Echo and the New Ross Echo.

Some years ago, he managed to make me the victim of his April Fool’s prank in the Echo newspapers in 2009. On their front pages, the Echo newspapers carried reports and photographs of sharks spotted variously in Wexford Harbour, in the Slaney at Enniscorthy and in the Barrow near New Ross. The sightings were confirmed by no less an expert in large fish than one Mr Ray Whiting.

Inside, the 1 April editions carried a report by Nicky that the Pugin churches of Co Wexford were suffering a unique infestation that threatened the demolition of the Pugin churches – and only the Pugin churches.

Beneath the dateline on the page, Nicky also carried a preposterous report with the headline, ‘Wexford man’s church promotion,’ welcoming the news that claiming I, as his ‘colleague journalist in Wexford is to become Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.’

His prank news item mixed fact and fantasy. I had ‘spent [my] holidays in Greece, Armenia, Ethiopia and even Soviet Russia when religion of any kind was forbidden.’ And, he added, my ‘colleagues in these parts, being of an excitable nature, have already focussed eyes on a mitre. In any event, we are pleased.’

It was hard to know who was more upset that April Fool’s Day – the then Dean of Saint Patrick’s, or those who had ambitions to succeed him.

I was one of the contributors to The Wexford Man, a collection of 22 essays addressed to Nicky Furlong by distinguished scholars, colleagues and friends, all focussing on matters relating to Co Wexford. It was a long-standing tribute to Nicky Furlong for outstanding service to his native county.

It was edited by Bernard Browne and other contributors included John Banville, Billy Colfer, Monsignor Patrick Corish, Daniel Gahan, Diarmaid Ó Muirithe, Celestine Rafferty, Billy Roche, Eithne Scallan, Colm Tóibín, Dermot Walsh and Kevin Whelan.

The former editor of the Wexford People Gerry Breen died earlier this year at the age of 88 in January.

Gerry grew up in Davitt Road, Wexford, and later in Swan View, and left school at the age of 13. His , first job was ‘licking stamps and delivering parcels around the town’ with Huggard Brennan. He attend evening classes and night classes in Wexford Tech. Gerry and Marie were both singers in the Wexford Festival Opera chorus and they sang together on stage in 1952.

He joined the Wexford People as a young reporter in the mid-1950s, when it was a privately owned firm. He later became a sub-editor and then assistant editor to the late Tom Fane, before taking on the role of editor before Independent Newspapers bought the company in the early 1970s.

Gerry offered me my first job with the Wexford People as a subeditor 50 years ago, after only the briefest of interviews on a Sunday afternoon in the Talbot Hotel in 1972. I worked with him and Hilary and a team of wonderful colleagues and friends for almost three years before leaving for The Irish Times.

Hilary and Gerry worked closely together. During his years at the Wexford People, Gerry saw the transformation of the newspaper and print industry from the time of hot metal to computerisation, the switch from broadsheet to tabloid, and the then revolutionary replacement of advertising on the front page by news headlines around 1970.

In all, he worked for 46 years with the Wexford People. Later, he spent many years as editor of Ireland’s Own, and he continued writing articles for the magazine until late last year, only retiring only in December. He also edited the journal of Rosslare Historical Society.

He was a driver and volunteer for the oncology outpatients at Wexford General Hospital, was involved in fundraising for the scouts, the Faythe school board of management, and was a walking tour guide at Wexford Festival Opera. He is survived by his Marie and a large family, as well his former colleagues at the People Newspapers.

Hilary Murphy and Nicky Furlong were two among a group of Wexford historians who travelled to Dublin, along with King Milne and Rory Murphy, for my ordination in Christ Church Cathedral.

Over the years, I continued to keep in touch with Hilary and Nicky, meeting at book launches, lunches and a recent memorable dinner by the banks of the River Slaney in Ferrycarrig, where we regretted not being joined by Gerry Breen.

We have all contributed, in our own ways, to Wexford journalism and to telling the history of Wexford. Time moves on – in history, in life and on river – and each passing phase brings new opportunities and new blessings.

At the launch of the ‘Journal of the Wexford Historical Society’ in 2015 (right, back row) with Hilary Murphy (left back row), Jarlath Glynn, John Patterson and Tom Ryan; and (front): Celestine Raferty, Peter Prendergast, Nicholas Furlong and Brian Matthews

Praying with USPG and the music of
Vaughan Williams: Friday 2 September 2022

Lucian Tapiedi (second from right) among the ten martyrs of the 20th century above the West Door of Westminster Abbey … he is commemorated today with the Martyrs of Papua New Guinea (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

The Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today [2 September] remembers the Martyrs of Papua New Guinea (1901 and 1942) with a commemoration.

Before today gets busy, I am taking some time this morning for reading, prayer and reflection.

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, whose music is celebrated throughout this year’s Proms season. In my prayer diary for these weeks I am reflecting in these ways:

1, One of the readings for the morning;

2, Reflecting on a hymn or another piece of music by Vaughan Williams, often drawing, admittedly, on previous postings on the composer;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary, ‘Pray with the World Church.’

‘I sometimes think about the cross,/ and shut my eyes, and try to see’ … the Lichfield Cross by Ian Knowles in Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The church in Papua New Guinea has been enriched by martyrdom twice in the 20th century. James Chalmers, Oliver Tomkins and some companions were sent to New Guinea by the London Missionary Society. They met their death by martyrdom in 1901. Forty years later, during World War II, New Guinea was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army and Christians were severely persecuted.

Among those who died for the faith were two English priests, Vivian Redlich and John Barge, who remained with their people after the invasion of 1942 but were betrayed and beheaded, together with seven Australians and two Papuan evangelists, Leslie Gariadi and Lucian Tapiedi.

Matthew 10: 16-22 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said,] 16 ‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.’



Today’s reflection: ‘It is a thing most wonderful’

For my reflections and devotions each day these few weeks, I am reflecting on and invite you to listen to a piece of music or a hymn set to a tune by the great English composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958).

Yesterday, I was listening to the hymn ‘For All the Saints,’ which was written by Bishop William Walsham How and was set by Vaughan Williams to his tune Sine Nomine.

This morning [2 September 2022], I invite you to continue in this mode, listening to another hymn by Bishop How, ‘It is a thing most wonderful’ (Irish Church Hymnal, 226; New English Hymnal, 84), which Vaughan Williams set to the tune ‘Herongate.’

The tune ‘Herongate’ is one of several folksong melodies collected by Vaughan Williams. He transcribed the tune of ‘In Jesse’s City’ in 1903 when he heard a maid singing that song in Ingrave Rectory near Brentwood, about three miles from Herongate in Essex. It was first used with this hymn in 1906 in the first edition of the English Hymnal, which Vaughan Williams edited with Canon Percy Dearmer.

Herongate is near Ingrave, Essex, and both the Boar’s Head pub and the pond at Herongate are named after the crest of the Tyrell family: a boar’s head with a peacock feather in its jaws. The inn has legendary connections with Dick Turpin, with stories of him leaping from upstairs windows.

Whether or not Vaughan Williams ever visited the Boar’s Head, the tune ‘Herongate’ is based on the tune he had heard with ‘In Jesse’s City’ in Ingrave Rectory. But, because he had already used ‘Ingrave’ as the name for a different tune, set to ‘There’s a Friend for Little Children,’ he named this morning’s tune ‘Herongate.’

The song is one of the ‘Died For Love’ / ‘Tavern in the Town’ family, also known as ‘In London City’ or ‘The Butcher Boy’ – although here it is a postman boy who is the unfaithful lover.

‘It is a thing most wonderful’ was written by How, while he was Rector of Whittington in Shropshire – then in the Diocese of St Asaph but now in the Diocese of Lichfield – but it was not published until 1872.

The first version was five verses in length, but within 15 years he had added two more verses to the original. Through this hymn, How is trying to reveal the love of God by looking at the Cross through the eyes of a child. In the 1872 draft, he placed the text I John 4: 10 above the hymn: ‘Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.’

It is a thing most wonderful,
almost too wonderful to be,
that God’s own Son should come from heaven,
and die to save a child like me.

And yet I know that it is true:
he chose a poor and humble lot,
and wept and toiled, and mourned and died,
for love of those who loved him not.

I cannot tell how he would love
a child so weak and full of sin;
his love must be most wonderful,
if he could die my love to win.

I sometimes think about the cross,
and shut my eyes, and try to see
the cruel nails and crown of thorns,
and Jesus crucified for me.

But even could I see him die,
I could but see a little part
of that great love which, like a fire,
is always burning in his heart.

It is most wonderful to know
his love for me so free and sure;
but ’tis more wonderful to see
my love for him so faint and poor.

And yet I want to love thee, Lord,
O light the flame within my heart,
and I will love thee more and more,
until I see thee as thou art.

All Saints’ Church, one of the two Anglican churches in Rome … William Walsham How was chaplain here from 1865 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayer, Friday 2 September 2022 (The Martyrs of Papua New Guinea):

The Collect:

Almighty God,
by whose grace and power the holy martyrs of Papua New Guinea
triumphed over suffering and were faithful unto death:
strengthen us with your grace,
that we may endure reproach and persecution
and faithfully bear witness to the name
of Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post Communion Prayer:

Eternal God,
who gave us this holy meal
in which we have celebrated the glory of the cross
and the victory of the Martyrs of Papua New Guinea:
by our communion with Christ
in his saving death and resurrection,
give us with all your saints the courage to conquer evil
and so to share the fruit of the tree of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The theme in the USPG prayer diary all this week is ‘A New Province,’ inspired by the work of the Igreja Anglicana de Mocambique e Angola (IAMA), made up of dioceses in Mozambique and Angola, the second and third largest Portuguese-speaking countries in the world.

The Right Revd Vicente Msosa, Bishop of the Diocese of Niassa in the Igreja Anglicana de Mocambique e Angola, shares his prayer requests in the USPG Prayer Diary throughout this week.

The USPG Prayer Diary invites us to pray today in these words:

Let us pray for the Diocese of Zambezia. We pray especially that they continue to serve those displaced by terrorism and cyclones.

Yesterday’s reflection

Continued tomorrow

‘I sometimes think about the cross,/ and shut my eyes, and try to see’ … walking along Cross in Hand Lane in Lichfield Cross (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Saint Chad’s Church in
Lichfield has a history that
goes back over 1,350 years

Saint Chad’s Church, Lichfield … on the site of Saint Chad’s seventh century church (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

During my visit to Lichfield last week, I returned to Saint Chad’s Church for the beginning of the Lichfield Peace Walk.

Saint Chad’s Church is in the Stowe area immediately north of the centre of Lichfield. It is a Grade II* listed building on the north side of Stowe Pool on Saint Chad’s Road.

This church dates from the 12th century, although extensive restorations and additions have been made in the centuries since.

Saint Chad came to Lichfield in 669 as the first Bishop of Lichfield. He settled in a wood and lived as a hermit in a cell by the side of a spring. From there he was known to preach and baptise his converts in the spring. Saint Chad died 1,350 years ago in 672, and he was buried near his church. His bones were moved to the new Lichfield Cathedral in the year 700.

The spring and churchyard are said to be the location of Saint Chad’s cell and spring. The original Saxon church may have been a small building built of stone or wood with a thatched roof and small windows. However, nothing of the Saxon church or monastery remains on the site.

Inside Saint Chad’s Church, Lichfield, facing east (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

The monastery church was rebuilt in the 12th century as a stone church with a nave, two side aisles and a chancel. The west door of the church stood where the tower now stands. The windows were set in gables and the lines of these gables and the rounded arches of the Norman windows in the south aisle are some of the oldest features still visible in the church today.

The trefoil-headed south door in the porch was built in the early 13th century and is thought to be the earliest part of the present structure. The roof was replaced in the 13th century, the gables were dispensed with and the walls built up to the level of the window heads. The Norman windows were replaced with the Early English pointed windows seen today.

Inside Saint Chad’s Church, Lichfield, facing west (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The south arcade of five bays with octagonal pillars is also Early English, as are the chancel and the west doorway.

The Tower at the west end was built in the 14th century to house the bells. The five-light chancel east window with cusped intersecting tracery was also built at this time and the font also dates from the 14th century.

The Irish pilgrim Symon Semeonis visited the church in 1323 on his way to the Holy Land. He described it as ‘a most beautiful church in honour of Saint Chad, with most lofty stone towers, and splendidly adorned with pictures, sculptures, and other ecclesiastical ornaments.’

The Tower at the west end was built in the 14th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Many of the church’s assets were confiscated at the Reformation. The Reformation also saw the suppression of the chantry chapel endowed in 1257 by Agnes, daughter of Hugh Robus, an eminent citizen of Lichfield, in which masses were to be said for the souls of Roger de Wesenham, Bishop of Lichfield and his predecessors.

During the English Civil War in the mid 17th century, the church was occupied by Parliamentarian troops who besieged the Cathedral Close in Lichfield; the church was damaged considerably and the roof had to be rebuilt.

At this time, the red brick clerestory was added and the single overall roof was replaced by three separate roofs, including a grained roof over the nave and panelled roof in the south aisle.

A carved statue of Saint Chad above the screen at the west end (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

It is said Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) frequently attended Saint Chad’s Church in the 18th century. Catherine Chambers, his mother’s maid-servant, and Lucy Porter, his step-daughter are both buried in Saint Chad’s, with commemorative tablets on the south wall of the choir.

A decision was taken in 1840 to rebuild the north aisle in a Victorian Gothic style, which makes an interesting contrast with the mediaeval Gothic of the south aisle.

However, it was not until the Revd John Graham’s time (1854-1893) that major work was undertaken to restore the building to a sound condition.

Starting in 1862, the chancel and the chancel arch were thoroughly restored, the brick clerestory was removed and extended over the chancel, a vestry was added to the north side and the porch was added to the south side, a new roof was built, and the churchyard was enclosed with a wall and railings.

Graham’s next project was to build a rectory and so make the parish independent of Saint Mary’s, with its own rector.

The west window was restored in 1875 and central heating was installed. The box pews were gradually phased out, although a few remained until 1905 and the double-decker pulpit was replaced.

Saint Chad’s Church developed slowly in the 20th century, continuing to make changes to ensure the comfort of its worshippers.

The east end of the south aisle was formed into a Lady Chapel in 1952 as a memorial to the dead of World War II. Z new roof and ceiling were put over the nave that year, and gas was replaced with electric lighting.

The Baptismal font, dating from about 1450, was moved to the Lady Chapel in the late 1990s (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The old crumbling buttresses were replaced in 1956 at the south-west corner of the tower and the chancel was restored. This involved new stone for the walls, cills and mullions of the windows. The east window was removed, re-leaded, cleaned and replaced. The present choir stalls also date from this time.

The tower timbers were replaced in 1957, a new floor was installed in the belfry in 1982 and finally, in 1996, the font was moved to the Lady Chapel. The pews were removed from the back of the nave and the north aisle, and a new inner porch and welcome area were built.

Further restoration work took place on the windows and the stained glass in the chancel. The east end of the south aisle seen today dates from that period.

Saint Aidan (left), depicted with Saint Oswald (centre) and Saint Chad (right) on the altar in Saint Chad’s Church, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Three panels on the front of the high altar depict Saint Aidan, Saint Oswald and Saint Chad.

Saint Aidan, who died in 651, was an Irish Bishop who went from lona to Lindisfarne at the request of King Oswald to help him convert his people to Christianity. Aidan promoted new monasteries and schools, travelled far as he preached and ministered to the sick and needy.

Saint Chad was one of the twelve pupils in the first school he set up in Lindisfarne.

Saint Oswald , was brought up in Saint Columba’s monastery at Iona and became King of Northumbria. He looked to the monks to help him establish Christianity in his kingdom, and Saint Aidan was chosen to assist him. Saint Oswald was slain in 642 in a battle with the King Penda of Mercia.

The altar rail is a good example of 17th century woodwork.

The north aisle window depicting Christ among the Elders in the Temple, by John Hardman (1896) in memory of Grace Brown and Patience Brown (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The windows in the chancel illustrate the changing styles of church architecture. The middle lancet window from the 13th century is flanked on one side by a 14th century widow in the decorated style and on the other by a 15th century perpendicular style window.

The east window is a fine example of the decorated or geometrical style constructed about 1300. The stained glass was designed by Richard T Bayne and manufactured by Heaton, Butler & Bayne, probably in the early 20th century.

The window at the east end of the south aisle was made by William Wailes of Newcastle in memory of Anne Wright Gresley. It was installed in 1864 and provides the background to the Lady Chapel altar.

Two windows in the Lady Chapel by Christopher Whall date from 1905. They are in memory of Thomas and Mary Haywood and illustrate the teachings of Jesus. One of the windows depicts the parable of the talents.

The window at the west end of the south aisle shows Christ blessing the children. It was made in 1916 by Curtis, Ward and Hughes in memory of John Chappell and George and Eliza Cartmale.

Two memorial windows are attributed to Morris and Co date from 1922. One depicts Saint George and Saint Alban and commemorates members of the parish who died in World War I. The second depicts Saint Elizabeth of Hungary and Saint Christopher. They are in memory of Nelly Thorpe, died 7 July 1919 and her grandson Christopher Godfrey Asquith Benson, died 23 April 1919, and were donated by their family.

The north aisle window depicts Christ among the Elders in the Temple. It was made by John Hardman in 1896 and is in memory of Grace Brown (1876) and Patience Brown (1886).

The monument to Catherine Allden (1615-1695) and her husband Zachary Babington (1611-1685) in Saint Chad’s Church (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

There is a monument to Catherine Allden (1615-1695) and her husband Zachary Babington (1611-1685) of Whittington and Curborough, who were married in Saint Chad’s when she was 20 in 1636. His father, Canon William Babington (1582-1625), was Precentor of Lichfield, and his grandfather, Canon Zachary Babington (1549-1613).

Canon Zachary Babington was Prebendary of Curborough (1584), Master of Saint John’s Hospital, Lichfield (1587), and Precentor of Lichfield and Prebendary of Bishop’s Itchington (1589), two positions held earlier, in 1555-1559, by his aunt’s brother-in-law, Canon Henry Comberford (1499-1586). He was also Chancellor of the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry from 1598.

Zachary Babington, who is commemorated in Saint Chad’s, was a brother of Canon Matthew Babington, a chaplain to Charles I, while his sisters included Margaret, who married John Birch, one of the trustees of the Comberford estates in the 1650s and 1660s, and Mary who married Matthew Dyott of Stychbrook and Lichfield.

This Zachary Babingnton, who died in 1688, was the grandfather of Zachary Babington (1690-1745) of Curborough Hall and Whittington Old Hall, was a barrister and High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1713 and 1724. Zachary Babington’s daughter Mary married Theophilus Levett (1693-1746), steward or town clerk of Lichfield (1721-1746) and a friend of Samuel Johnson’s family as well as part of the intellectual circle in Lichfield that included Erasmus Darwin, Anna Seward, David Garrick and Matthew Boulton.

Two monuments on the south wall of the chancel have links with Samuel Johnson: one commemorates his step-daughter, Lucy Porter, who died in 1786, and another is a memorial to his mother’s maid-servant, Catherine Chambers, who died in 1767.

The altar and the chest in the Lady Chapel date from 1658 and 1669. The Perpendicular style Baptismal font dates from about 1450. It was moved to the Lady Chapel in the late 1990s to make way for the carpeted welcome area at the west end of the church.

The pulpit dates from about 1900 but the recess in the floor was made in 1916 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The pulpit dates from about 1900 but the recess in the floor was made in 1916.

The Deacon Memorial screen was built across the tower arch in 1949. It is in the form of a parclose screen, intended to portray the life of Alderman JR Deacon JP with the themes of ‘work , worship and citizenship’.

Above is a statue of Saint Chad holding a model of Lichfield Cathedral and a bishop’s crozier.

The interior of the church was redecorated at that time.

The statue of Saint Chad over the south porch … a gift from Lady Blomefield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The statue of Saint Chad over the south porch was a gift from Lady Blomefield (Lilias Napier) in 1930 in memory of her husband, Sir Thomas Blomefield (1848-1928), Assistant Secretary of the Board of Trade (1901-1908).

There are four bells in the tower: three date from the 17th century and the fourth is dated 1255.

Saint Chad’s Well in the churchyard, to the north-west of the church (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Saint Chad’s Well, where we gathered last week at the beginning of Lichfield Peace Walk, is in the churchyard, to the north-west of the church. It was built over a spring where Saint Chad is said to have prayed, baptised people, and healed peoples’ ailments. It was once a popular place of pilgrimage.

When the well dried up by the early 1920s, it was lined with brick and a pump was fitted to the spring.

The stone structure was demolished in the 1950s and replaced with a simple timber structure and tiled canopy.

• The Rector of Saint Chad’s is the Revd Rod Clark. Sunday services are at 8 am (Traditional Communion with the Book of Common Prayer) and 10 am, Family Eucharist with Hymns and Sermon.

Saint Chad’s Church is on the north side of Stowe Pool in Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)