Ah, Miss Moneypenny, Ripon and Knaresborough are expecting you…Harrogate’s international soprano set for Holy Week homecomingPlans approved to bring Knaresborough church ‘more up to date’Knaresborough to hold outdoor nativity and nine lessons and carols today

Knaresborough will hold its traditional outdoor nativity today followed by a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols.

The nativity, which takes place at 6pm in Market Square, brings the Christmas story to life through readings and drama. It is performed by local people and includes a donkey.

The church service will then be held at St John the Baptist Church at 7pm.

It follows a similar format to the famous Service of Nine Lessons and Carols which has been broadcast live annually from the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge on Christmas Eve afternoon since 1928.

The Knaresborough service, which has taken place on Christmas Eve for more than 50 years, will be held amongst the illuminated splendour of the Christmas Tree festival, which includes about 70 trees individually decorated.

There will be a candlelit procession and music from St John’s Choir, directed by Mark Hunter, as well as traditional festive favourites for all to sing.

St John’s Choir, who enjoyed a successful residency at Salisbury Cathedral last summer, were recently the first choir to perform in the newly restored Chapel at Allerton Castle and will also be singing in York Minster over the weekend after Christmas, as well as in Durham Cathedral, St George’s Chapel Windsor and Westminster Abbey in 2024.

Both events are open to everyone.

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GALLERY: Christmas tree festival gets underway in Knaresborough

About 75 Christmas trees decorated by community groups, schools and businesses have gone on display in Knaresborough.

The Knaresborough Christmas Tree festival is believed to be a unique event in the north of England for the way it showcases so many festive trees in a church.

Held at St John the Baptist Church in Knaresborough, which dates back to the Norman period, this is the festival’s 10th year.

It got underway at a preview event last night that included singing by female choir The Songbirds, mulled wine and minced pies.

Each tree is decorated individually, usually reflecting each organisation’s purpose. For instance, running club Knaresborough Striders’ tree is decorated with running shoes.

Brian Robinson, the artistic director of the festival, curates the exhibition by deciding how to display the trees to best effect.

The festival lasts until December 23. Admission is free from 10am to 5pm on Saturdays. noon to 4pm on Sundays and 12 to 5pm on Mondays to Fridays.

The trees will remain in place after December 23 for Christmas services at the church, including the Nine Lessons and Carols Service on Christmas Eve.

The church, whose director of music is town crier Mark Hunter, hosts music throughout the festival, including an Advent carol service tomorrow (Sunday) at 5pm.

The Stray Ferret attended last night’s preview event. Here are some photos.

A previous version of the article incorrectly stated singing was provided by the Northern Songbirds when it was in fact The Songbirds.

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Each tree is individually decorated.

Knaresborough train station’s impressive entry.

Artistic director Brian Robinson

Town crier Mark Hunter, who is also director of music at the church, with his consort.

The festival runs until December 23.

Brian Robinson displays the trees to best effect.

 

Safety urged after Knaresborough wall collapses

Residents in Knaresborough have been urged to be careful after a section of a wall near to the town’s High Street collapsed.

The wall on Vicarage Lane next to Knaresborough House collapsed yesterday and has since been reported to the council.

The road is just off the town’s High Street and serves as a route to St John the Baptist Church.

In a post on its social media, Knaresborough Business Collective urged people to take another route.

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District church could sell its pews in bid to transform building

A village church in the Harrogate district wants to permanently remove all of its pews to create more space for events.

St John the Baptist Church in Bishop Monkton replaced the pews with individual chairs in November as a temporary social distancing measure.

It now wants to make the arrangement permanent so it can hold choir concerts, coffee mornings and fundraising events.

If it succeeds, it would sell all 14 pine pews, which are believed to date back to the church’s consecration in 1879. Each one could fetch a few hundred pounds.

The church has notified Harrogate Borough Council, the Victorian Society and Historic England that it intends to permanently remove the pews in the Grade Two listed building.

The Diocese of Leeds will take into account any comments before deciding whether to proceed.

If the move goes ahead, the church’s seating capacity would remain at 95 — but because individual chairs are easier to move than pews, it would make it easier to stage events.

Sue Short, the church warden, told the Stray Ferret a survey in the village had shown there was widespread support for the idea of turning the church into a “more flexible, usable space”. She added:

“It just seems to me to be incredibly sensible.

“We’ve got to move forward. We have to be innovative and be forward thinking with the use of the church.

“I personally feel a church is there to be used by the community rather than just exist as an icon.”

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The church, which recently underwent repair work to the tower, will require a new roof in the next 10 years and fundraising would be boosted by the potential to host more events.

A Statement of Significance, submitted by the Reverend Robb Wainwright in planning documents to Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“On the whole it would have the desired effect of making the whole nave a much more flexible worshipping and missional space.

“The village is organising a new arts festival, now scheduled to begin in 2022 rather than this year. It is hoped that the church will be one of the main venues.”