Hucknall Today.co.uk
03 February 2005

Hucknall Parish Church is jewel in town’s tourism crown

HUCKNALL
people should celebrate the fact that the poet Lord Byron is buried in the
Parish Church, claims Brian Hinsley, chairman of a newly-formed Friends Of
St Mary Magdalene group.

“A lot of people don’t like Byron because of his reputation,” said Mr
Hinsley, speaking at a cheese-and-wine evening held last Saturday to launch
the group.
“But I’m sure Westminster Abbey would love to have him. However it has not
got him ~V he is here.”
“In any case, it is not a Christian attitude to cast people out for
imperfections. Let’s celebrate having Byron at this church and the fact that
people come from all over the world to visit his tomb.”
Mr Hinsley said former rector, the late Canon Fred Green, had ‘kicked
around’ the idea of the Friends group and it had since grown bit by bit.
He stressed that the church building itself was important to people, perhaps
because they wanted to be married there or have their child baptised there.
“If you look at the visitors’ book, it shows that people are visiting the
church from the four corners of the world ~V and not only because of the
Byron connection,” said Mr Hinsley. “Perhaps they are people who emigrated
from Hucknall and have returned to find their roots.”
An international dimension had been added because of Hucknall links with
Armenia and Greece, he pointed out.
Art historian Neil Marchant described the church as a ‘jewel’ that reflected
not just local history but also national history and national art history.
He went on “The first time I came into the church a couple of years ago, I
was struck by how beautiful it is. The Kempe stained-glass windows and other
historical decorations are particularly important because there is now a
return to the medieval idea of using pictures, signs and symbols to
encourage worship of God.”
Group vice-chairman Lawrence Church said its aim was to promote the church’s
historical and educational opportunities, encourage community involvement
and foster friendships.
He added: “The church has influenced the lives of so many people over the
years, while they in turn have influenced the life of this building.”
Special displays in the church included memorabilia of the Rev John Edward
Phillips, who was vicar at the Parish Church from 1879 until his death in
1904.
Sent by a grandson, now living in Norfolk, the items included sympathy
cards, some bearing seals, which were received by Mr Phillips’s widow.
Senders of the cards included Winifred, Duchess of Portland, John Henry
Beardsmore, who wrote a definitive history of Hucknall, and church stalwart
the Rev John Godber.
03 February 2005