From small but useful improvements like the new teacup shelf to big projects like the windows, it’s been a year of big and small changes inside and outside the building.

Report on the Fabric, Goods and Ornaments of the Church

Major building improvements

Window restoration: The major improvement of the past year was work on the windows. Five windows were identified as fragile and needing priority work. Each of the five windows were removed, taken to a specialist glazier’s workshop, painstakingly re-leaded and the glass cleaned professionally, and returned to its original position. The difference is plain to see – windows that were previously clouded now provide a clear view out onto the churchyard, and the church has also felt warmer over the winter due to the broken panes and gaps being fixed. The window restoration work was paid in part from funds raised by the late Dr Colin Bibby, and we are hugely grateful to him and to his family for all their support, as we are to Roger Sylvester-Bradley and the Friends of Caldecote Church, who raised the remaining funds for this project. See our news post for photos and more information

New stained glass window: A new stained glass window design was created in his memory and in thanksgiving for the life and work of Dr Bibby, and installed in the one of the south-facing chancel windows during its restoration. A service of dedication was held in July, led by the Archdeacon of Cambridge and featuring the Cambridge choir Vox Cantab. The church was packed and it was a moving occasion. We are grateful also to the Barker family at the Old Rectory for providing hospitality after the service in their garden. See the Evensong and Reception photo gallery

Smaller improvements

We are very grateful indeed to Brain Drayton, who has been working quietly behind the scenes to introduce small improvements that make our life in the church building more comfortable, and more convenient. Among the many improvements initiated and implemented by him over the past year are:

• Providing a shelf for crockery (and supplying the crockery)
• Supplying a remote switch for the kettle
• Tidying up communion alcove with new tiling made to fit the space
• Providing traffic cones for a minister’s reserved parking space
• Straightening the hymn board
• Supplying a new mat in the South porch

Churchyard

Mary Scholefield, John Barker and Catherine Hubbard liaised with Andy O’Mullane to implement a plan to manage the churchyard to make it more friendly to flora and fauna. We are grateful to them all, and particularly to Andy, who has volunteered substantial time over the past years to cut and strim the grass, and who has maintained the mower largely at his own cost. We recognise the job is too large for one person, and that Andy has increasing personal commitments, and so we are looking for other volunteers to help share the task this spring and summer. Contact the churchwarden Dona McCullagh for more information.