Harvington, and Local Villages
St Peters - Rous Lench Church
St Peter's is an unusually designed church (see photographs elsewhere on the website to see what I mean) and has two pulpits. There are no pews in the church, which offers the advantage of the space being flexibly used. The congregation reflects the local community and are a group of believers who are keen to involve others in their journey with Christ.
There is a vibrant family service run by a local team that meets monthly and involves the young folk in imaginative ways in worship and reflection.
When?
Sundays with the following pattern:
First Sunday: 8.30 am Book of Common Prayer Holy Communion
Second Sunday: 9.30 am Celtic Morning Worship
Third Sunday: 10.30 am Family Service
Fourth Sunday (not every month): 6.30 pm Evening Service or Songs of Praise
Does the worship leader do it all?
Tries not to. There is a rota, and the family service team are very good at involving lots of people in the services.
Disability access
It is easy to enter the church as there are no steps into the building and a smooth tarmac path up to the door. Inside there are a number of steps to the altar and chancel area. There is no PA or loop system installed.
Toilets are yet to be installed, but for large groups, we have access to the toilets in the nearby village hall. Kind neighbours have been known to help out in an emergency.
Seating Capacity: 130
Parking
In the village along the main road and around the Green. There isn't usually a problem except at the largest functions when one must park along the road a little further from the church. The main road running through the village is best as some of the side roads are narrow.
HISTORY OF ROUS LENCH CHURCH
The parish of Rous Lench (or Rouse Lench), comprising the village of Rous Lench and the hamlet of Radford, is a rural parish of just over 100 homes situated to the north-west of Church Lench.
14th century: the Rous family
The manor of Rous Lench, together with land in the surrounding villages of Church Lench and Radford, was owned by the Rous family or their distant relatives, the Boughton (later Rouse Boughton) family, from the late 14th century. The medieval moat that used to surround the manor house can still be seen in the grounds of Rous Lench Court. No trace of the house now remains, but the moat is classified as an ancient monument.
During the Civil War, the Rous family were strong Parliamentarians. Oliver Cromwell is reputed to have dined at Rous Lench Court in 1651 on the eve of the Battle of Worcester, the final conflict of the Civil War. Richard Baxter, a 17th-century writer and puritan minister who served as chaplain to a Parliamentary regiment, stayed at Rous Lench Court during the Civil War while recuperating from illness.
19th century: the Chafy family
By the early 19th century, the family estates included not only land in Rous Lench, Radford and Church Lench, but also at Ab Lench (described as "Abbots Lench or Hob Lench"). In 1876 Charles Henry Rouse Boughton sold Rous Lench Court and the estate to the Revd W.K.W. Chafy. Mr Chafy (later Dr. Chafy, after being awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity) had already inherited land at Sheriffs Lench from his grandfather. Mr Chafy's surname is variously spelt as "Chafy" and "Chafy Chafy": the latter form arises because he "assumed the additional name of Chafy in pursuance of a too loosely worded claim in the will of his grandfather". The tenure of the Chafy family came to an end in 1926 when the estate was sold by Dr Chafy's son.