Historic Flamstead church celebrates its 800th anniversary with a festival weekend

It kicks off with a free ticket-only reception on Thursday June 6.

The festival also marks the culmination of the five-year Flamstead Heritage Project - facilitated by a £642,500 grant from the National Lottery heritage fund – which started when the church was threatened with closure as the nave roof was in danger of collapse.

The celebrations are also to recognise the significant roles played by many locals in the £1-million project, which involved a long-term plan to develop the church as a community hub. Their hard-work, shared enthusiasm and fundraising activities enabled the restoration of the nave roof and other urgent repairs, as well as saving the priceless medieval wall paintings.

On Friday (June 7) Carole Boyd (Linda Snell of The Archers) will star in a sparkling revue featuring a rural twist - Come Rain, Come Shine – alongside Malcolm McKee.

On Saturday Ben Earle from The Shires will be providing musical entertainment.

Tickets for both evening events cost £20 each and are now available.

The Heritage Craft Fair will be open from 10am to 4pm and promises to be a veritable cornucopia of delight with something to interest everyone.

Visitors will be able to see displays and demonstrations of everything from brick and flint work to hedge laying, stone masonry and hacksaw wood carving.

Milliner Sophie Lambe – who’s designed hats and head dresses for productions such as TV’s Bridgerton – will be demonstrating the ancient art of straw hat making. Flamstead was one of the straw plaiting villages that used to provide material for the Luton hat trade, with children as young as five being paid for their work.

In addition there’ll be pottery, timber framing, tree identification and blacksmithing skills on display.

There’ll be two flights of four birds of prey, provided by the Birds of Prey Academy, and Matthew Champion will give a talk on St Leonard’s Building History.

Food and drink will be available all day with Morris Dancers performing outside various pubs.

Everyone is welcome to a service of celebration in the church on Sunday (June 9), led by the the Dean of St Albans, the Very Rev Jo Kelly-Moore.

This will be followed by a quarter peal on the church bells, music from Katie’s Jumping Fleas Ukelele Band and a barbeque run by Friends of Flamstead School.

On both Saturday and Sunday, there will be an exhibition and sale featuring artists including Linda Brown, Virginia Corbett, Haydn Dickenson and Emily Good.

Visit www.flamsteadheritage.org/flamstead-arts-festival for more information, as well as ticket and parking details.

> Although St Leonard's was dedicated in 1223, parishioners are celebrating its 800th year as part of the 2024 Arts Festival – a major event marking both the culmination of the Heritage Project, which was delayed due to Covid, and this milestone anniversary.

The church is now a community hub and local people are increasingly involved in promoting its shared heritage.