PARISHIONERS at Sampford Spiney and many friends came together on October 9 to celebrate the harvest.

The event was also to raise money for repairs to the tower of the Grade 1 Listed church and for the replacement of the electrical and heating systems.

With a full church and after a lively evensong delivered by the Revs Nick Shutt and Gary Shirley, the congregation took aprt in an auction at which 100 lots were sold, all donated by friends of the church and community.

Duck eggs, jams, chutneys, half sides of lamb and pork, home-grown vegetables, loads of logs, bottles of spirits and wine and more came under the hammer.  The star lot was the harvest loaf which raised £500 after being sold three times – once before and twice on the night!  With auctioneer Michael Doidge in full flight, £2,500 was raised. 

This result means the parochial church council is over one third of its way to its fundraising target — parishioners have been generous, as have the Dean and Canons of Windsor, Devon Historic Churches Trust and the Allchurches Trust Limited. 

The opportunity was also taken to exhibit two studies of Sampford Spiney completed by Professor Ken Howard while he was living in the old school house in the 1970s.  Prof Howard, now a world renowned artist (see ), has generously donated the pictures to the fundraising campaign and they will form the centrepiece of an art exhibition next spring.