One of the fund raising activities was Tea at the Tower. This proved to be one of the most successful and popular events of the summer and it continued to be held annually long after funds were raised sufficient to secure the safety of the Tower.

The event took place in the gardens of Old Church Cottage and Old Church Farm. It extended along the road between the two houses and also the churchyard within which the tower stood.

Games and activities for children were set up at Old Church Farm. A helpful potter gave hands on demonstrations making all sorts of vases and pots. Children were encouraged to try their hand at it and were able to take away their personal creations. Other craft attractions included spinning and basket making.

Alongside the road, beekeepers put up a large bee tent and gave demonstrations on how the hive functioned all dressed up in their white protection gear looking like space men. Naturally there was honey for tea.

Butterfly Conservation always attended promoting their activities with lots of information on how to attract butterflies to gardens and highlighting our local butterfly reserve at Millhoppers.

An important feature of our local landscape is the Black Poplar Tree. We have in this area one of the largest concentrations of this rare tree and they are under threat. A lot of information was available on work carried out to safeguard these trees and copies of the local Black Poplar Walk were distributed.

Perhaps the most eye catching stall was the fruit and vegetable display and sale. We were very fortunate to get a substantial discount from a local Pick Your Own farm as they were very sympathetic towards what we were trying to achieve. Tea at the Tower was held on a Saturday and on the day before a team of pickers set off early to dig potatoes, carrots and pick peas, broad beans, onions and many other vegetables.

On the Saturday, the day of the event, another picking party set off to gather many types of soft fruit. This party had to set off even earlier in order to get the fruit as fresh as possible. On return all the fruit and vegetables had to weighed, packed and priced. The prices were adjusted to local supermarket prices in order to make a reasonable profit. Under the gazebos the stall looked like a mini Covent Garden and it was always a sell out.

The most important feature of course was Tea; in fact tea, scones and cakes with fruit drinks for the children. All this was provided by local residents and many hours were spent making 

scones to be stored in home freezers up and down Chapel Lane. Tables were set up in the churchyard and garden of Old Church Cottage and of course we always had good weather.

This all took a lot of organising and hard work but it was a lot of fun. It produced a great sense of camaraderie and what is more it was highly popular and raised a lot of money. So popular did the event become that it continued for a number of years following completion of the Tower restoration. As the money was no longer required to fund the restoration we had to find other projects that could benefit from this largesse. It was decided to split the money three ways. A third was donated to Long Marston Church, another supported the Village News, then its early days and the final third was retained to manage the trees in the churchyard and to carry out any further maintenance on the Tower.

All such events require an enthusiastic and active team. Unfortunately many of the organising team were clocking up years and running out of energy. Furthermore there were no takers to replace us so the event fell off the village calendar. This is very sad as it was a well attended event, a highlight of the summer and it raised money for good causes.

Could it be resurrected? Are there any takers? It’s hard work but a lot of fun.

Article by John Noakes.

The history of the church tower and its lost church is worthy of a whole article in itself but as this is the tenth anniversary of the restoration, newcomers to the villages may like to know how we approached the task and in a later article, some background about the lost church itself.

Up until 2001 the old tower was disintegrating; pieces of masonry were falling down, the glass in the windows was smashed. The small churchyard was being used as a dumping ground for people’s rubbish. The structure was infested with ivy and the roof leaked as some of the lead had been stripped. The building had been taken over by jackdaws and feral pigeons. It was a sad sight, abandoned, neglected and unloved! Equally important, it was dangerous. Some action was needed urgently.

A small group of locals came together to form a task force to seek advice, help and funding. The Parochial Church Council had no funds for such a large task but the Diocese of St Albans needed to be approached in order for us to take on this project. This they agreed. Several grant giving organisations were then approached but whilst sympathetic, the message from them all was the same- we had to demonstrate that we could raise funds ourselves, so called pump priming funds, before they would consider any requests.

Through a series of events including dinners, concerts and notably Tea at the Tower we raised sufficient funds to go back to the organisations to review their attitude to our request. Incidentally Tea at the Tower became such a popular event that it continued annually long after the Tower had been restored; some of us would dearly like to resurrect this. Any offers; most of us getting old we need younger input?

 Dacorum, Hertfordshire Landfill Partnership and English Heritage all then agreed to help us.  We were able to engage an architect to carry out a feasibility study and then organise the work to be done.

The work included building a new parapet with water chutes and a new lead roof. An internal ladder had to be constructed to get access to the roof and old belfry. Festoons of ivy had to be removed from the walls and lintels replaced and the windows meshed over to prevent birds getting access. Before any of this could be done years of pigeon poo had to be dug out and removed. This was almost four foot deep and was considered toxic and had to be carried out by a team wearing protective clothing.

With a final six coats of limewash the work was completed all for a sum of £47,000! If we had known this figure at the outset I doubt if any of us would have contemplated the idea of taking on this project. However although a lot of hard work it generated a lot of fun and great camaraderie. The final result is that the Old Tower is secure for centuries to come.

Article by John Noakes.

Hidden by the yew trees is an old church tower dating back to about the 15th century. It is a remnant of the 12th century Chapel of All Saints, Long Marston. In fact it was a Chapel of Ease; providing a local place of worship, easing the burden for local people who would normally have to make the long walk to the parish church at Tring. It is possible that it also served the needs of the inhabitants of the Manor of Long Marston nearby.

Up until 2001 the old tower was disintegrating; pieces of masonry were falling down. The glass in the windows was completely smashed. The structure was infested with ivy and the roof leaking as some of the lead had been stripped. The tower had been taken over by Jackdaws and feral pigeons. The structure was clearly dangerous and in danger of collapse.

Disintegration through neglect and abandonment seems to have been the fate of this chapel. Neglect has been the feature over the last 120years but abandonment came about before this, when in 1883 the main body of the chapel was pulled down. The building was considered to be unsafe owing to insecure foundations, compounded by damp. Furthermore it was thought to be too small for needs of the community. However it could well be that the vicar felt the chapel was not of sufficient size to reflect his status in the Church. The decision taken was to build a larger church in the village also to be named the Church of All Saints. It was thought to be a grander building than the old chapel but had no tower; indeed it is thought now by some to be of little architectural merit?

It was as though unstoppable forces had conspired to “see off” this chapel.

The tower remains but stands alone so these forces have not completely removed all traces of the old chapel. The foundation stone was taken from the chapel and laid in the northeast buttress of the new church, probably as a symbolic gesture. Furthermore, in a strange way, the chapel still lives on through a donor transplant. The old chapel itself had been rejuvenated many years ago, as an organ purchased from Tring church for £50, had been installed there. It then gave the instrument, in what was literally an organ transplant, to the new church when it was built. In medical parlance this could have been complicated by rejection. However, after over 100years this has not been a problem!

Although the main body of the church has been removed it has not been officially declared redundant so theoretically services could still be held there. The last recorded event was a wedding, which took place on 27th April 1882 when only the contracting parties were allowed inside owing to the dangerous state of the building.

The churchyard has few graves and only served as a burial ground for 34years. The first burial was that of an infant in 1832. This was then followed by seven more infants before the first adult was buried. The last burial took place in 1866, this being yet another young person; a 14year old boy. Clearly the churchyard, although having a short life itself, received many young people whose own lives were tragically cut short.

Fortunately it will now be difficult to completely “see off” this old building as the tower has been given Grade 11* status as a national monument and thus there is a duty to maintain it and ensure its safety.

There have been many attempts to renovate the tower over the years; all have foundered owing to lack of finance. Not to be deterred, a small group in the village came together to explore what urgent action could be taken to restore the tower as a fragment of local history. The Parochial Church Council had no funds but gave the group, now known as the Tower Conservation Group, a mandate to attempt to raise funds, engage an architect and take on the task. This was in early 1999.

Having engaged an architect, complicated negotiations started with local planners, the Church and English Heritage. The local planners at Dacorum were very helpful and offered us a grant as they felt it essential that this ancient yet dangerous structure should be preserved and made safe. Rather protracted negotiations took place with the Diocese as we had to obtain a “Faculty” to undertake the work. After a somewhat labyrinthine process this was eventually achieved. However the real problem came with English Heritage, who somehow became not only a grant giver but also an agenda setter for what work should be done and to what standard. Their original grant seemed generous enough but as time progressed the specifications they set increased but the percentage level of their grant remained the same, resulting in us chasing an increasing financial target.

While this process unfolded we did obtain a generous grant from HELP (Hertfordshire Landfill Partnership) This latter organization distributes funds for environmental projects gleaned from local landfill taxes; a source of help which was unknown to us until embarking on this project. In fact we all learnt an incredible number of lessons on this restoration journey.

We certainly did not rely on grants alone. Many fundraising events were organized including musical events and cream teas and stalls in the old churchyard. Four of these were organized and have become increasingly popular; to such an extent that “Tea at the Tower” is now firmly fixed in the village calendar.

Of course, in addition to all these endeavours, we had a number of very generous donations.

Towards 2001 it was clear that we had a large financial gap to bridge. We were getting desperate! In one of our more manic moods on 1st April we suggested negotiating with SKY to put a large satellite dish on the tower to beam sport to the two local pubs and from which local residents could have the option to “plug in”.Surprisingly this did not go down too well. Neither did the idea of working with BT to have a transmitter on the tower to allow locals to get celestially connected.

So we had to go back to the conventional drawing board and renegotiate with English Heritage on VAT reimbursement and grant percentage enhancement. Finally we had breakthrough; the grant was enhanced and work thereby commenced.

A new parapet had to be constructed with a new lead roof and waterchutes. Festoons of ivy had to be prized out of the masonry and the flint and stonework made good. Many of the window lintels had to be replaced, as they were split and dangerous.

Inside the tower was an amazing accumulation of pigeon guano. It was almost four foot deep and represented the output of the best or worst part of a century. It required a gang of men in protective suits, goggles and masks to remove it.

An internal access ladder was constructed to access the belfry and roof. To prevent reinvasion from the pigeons all windows had to be wired up and the final work consisted of six applications of lime wash. All for the price of approx. £47000! If we had known this figure at the onset I don’t think any of us would have entertained the idea of starting a fundraising process. It was a lot of hard work but it generated fun and good camaraderie. The final result is that the Old Tower is now secure for centuries to come.

The churchyard and tower are at the confluence of two footpaths converging on Long Marston. One is from Wilstone, the other from Puttenham both crossing a ridged and furrowed field. It is an interesting corner of Long Marston with a number of sensitively converted barns and two old farmhouses; the 16 century thatched cottage has a Victorian addition. It was originally probably just a farm workers home that has survived the changes of time. It was for a number of years, the home of Mary Grieve. She was editor, for nearly a quarter of a century, of Woman magazine, which in her time claimed to be read by half of British women between the ages of 16 and 65!

Why not come and visit this interesting spot? There are some information boards we have erected in the churchyard. Long Marston’s village green is thought to be the site of the pond where Ruth Osborne, the last women in England accused of being a witch, was ducked and drowned. If you don’t believe that, you can drown your disbelief in The Boot or The Queens Head.

John Noakes

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