Revelations from old Parish Magazines
Available direct from this website or from any good bookshop
Rev.elations from old Parish Magazines. Compiled and edited by Rosemary and Tony Jewers. Foreword by H.R.H.The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
This 150 page A5 book
is based on articles written by parsons. It gives a good insight into
the life style and conditions between 1908 to 1933. A good read for
everyone, and an ideal Christmas or Birthday present.
When Rosemary Jewers
inherited a collection of old parish magazines from her parents, she had
no idea that she was about to be unearth a treasure-trove of fascinating
reading.
Her great-great-grandfather, Charles Brereton, became Rector of the
parish of Little Massingham, Norfolk in 1820 and subsequent Breretons
followed in his ecclesiastical footsteps in the same village for many
years. It is because of this continuous line of parsons that the copies
of the magazines and their extraordinary content remained intact.
The purpose of this book is to reveal an authentic slice of social
history between 1908-1933, quoting from articles written by parsons at
the time, when reporting on social events, activities, village spirit,
gossip and news, with tales of joy and sorrow, the curious and the
incredible thrown in.
Some wrote with great wit and humour, some with charisma, while others
did not disguise their strong views and wrote in an outspoken manner,
that the clergy today would not dare even to contemplate. Fortunately
for us, many of them wrote with such passion and in such detail at a
time when the parson was effectively the head of social services and the
Chief Executive Officer.
If there was a shortage of parish news, parsons wrote about interesting
national and local historical matters, some dating back hundreds of
years. Several are included in the book.
Rosemary’s husband Tony, who has worked most of his life on news
production for BBC TV, ITV and Sky News, helped with the selection and
editing of the articles. This involved ploughing through over 3,000
articles written by rectors of over twenty Norfolk parishes, to select
an interesting mix of everyday life and national crises, good and bad
news and intentional and unintentional humour.
The 1908 to 1914 magazines, reflected the quiet easy-going tenor of
village life. This was shattered by the outbreak of war in 1914 and the
cruel loss of life that ensued. In the aftermath, high prices,
unemployment and industrial strikes caused many problems, but community
spirit and an appetite for enjoyment lived on. Later magazines reflect
how villagers adapted to change and eventually resumed their normal
lifestyle, but with significant differences, not least being the advent
of the motor car.
All this was not confined to Norfolk; the whole nation was affected by
great change. So, readers from any part of the country, can enjoy a trip
through this book to a bygone era and sample a flavour of Norfolk life
and humour.
Several villages featured are within the Sandringham estate and royal
involvement with the residents was an important part of life. Some
articles provide an intriguing insight into this relationship.
Quotes from a few articles:
‘Burial of...she was a
great sufferer and we earnestly hope full of repentance.’
‘758 eggs for the
wounded soldiers, a total of 3,745 during the past 3 years.’
‘...the names on our ‘Roll of Honour’ is more than one-fifth of our
population.’
‘I have been notified the office of Parish Constable will cease to
exist... who are next on the list to be abolished - let us hope it will
be Tax Inspectors and Collectors.’
‘It was easier for me to do a twenty-four hours guard on Buckingham
Palace with a picket thrown in, than it is to prepare two sermons for an
ordinary Sunday’s Duty.’
