The Friends of St James was formed in 1983 with the aim of supporting the Rector and Parochial Church Council in the maintenance of the Church and Churchyard. At the instigation of the then Rector, Alan Cole, a small Committee was formed under the Chairmanship of Compton Whitworth, with Ann Cottee, John Fuller, David Philpott, Daphne Ruddock and Jim Simpson being the other founding Committee members. They met for the first time on 21 February 1983 and adopted a constitution that had been drawn up by Alan, based on that of the Friends of St Michael's, Bishop's Stortford. At the second Committee meeting, on 18 April 1983, they set as their initial aim the raising of £10,000 to undertake repairs to the Church and Churchyard wall. Letters were sent out to potential members and an open meeting held at the Church on Sunday 15 May 1983 to publicise the aims of the newly formed Association. By the time of the first Annual General Meeting on 18 March 1984, the Chairman was able to report the successful registration of the Friends as a charity. At that meeting a minor modification was made to the constitution, as had been requested by the Charity Commissioners, resulting in the document the Committee and members have worked to ever since. The Committee had by this time initiated a programme of fund raising events. Income from such events, together with membership subscriptions, remains the primary source of funds to this day.
The first major project undertaken with funding from the Friends was the construction of a new north wall for the Churchyard. The Herts and Essex Observer of 24 July 1986 pictures Alan Cole placing a time capsule in this wall. This capsule contains a record of how the wall was built, some coins and a copy of the then Parish Magazine.
The next landmark in the history of the Friends was the August Bank Holiday weekend of 1987. This saw the Friends launch an Appeal to fund the renovation of our 12th century font, repairs to Church masonry and the restoration of the stained glass windows and tower. The Church was decorated with flowers for this occasion. Just over £2000 was raised and it became, by popular demand, the first in an annual series of Festivals of Flowers and Music.
Within a year the first of the Appeal objectives had been accomplished with the return to the Church, on 18 August 1988, of our font , fully restored and with much having been learnt about its fabrication and turbulent history.
Since its formation the Friends of St James has raised some £125,000, thereby enabling numerous projects to be undertaken. In addition to the construction of a new north wall for the Churchyard and the restoration of our font, these have included the provision of a new kissing gate, the restoration of stained glass windows, the installation of lightning protection and a new weather vane, and the restoration of our picturesque Lych Gate. In 2001 the Friends made a grant of £25,000 to the Parochial Church Council, followed by a further grant of £30,000 earlier this year, to enable restoration work on the tower, the second phase of which was completed just before Easter. We are now are seeking to raise funds to replace our organ. Whilst still operational, its chequered history means that there are serious shortcomings in both its functionality and its ability to cope with the tonal and dynamic variation so much associated with even a relatively ‘basic’ organ.
The provision of Sunday afternoon teas during the summer months, the Festival of Flowers and Music over the August Bank Holiday Weekend and the Quiz Evening in the autumn are currently the key events in the Friends' calendar. These events, as well as being important from the point of view of fund raising, also offer significant outreach opportunities. The warm welcome visitors receive often results in appreciative comments.
I am the current Committee Chairman and also act as Secretary. Margaret Morley is the Vice Chairman and Rosemary Jones the Treasurer. Joan Abbotson, Margot Cage, Bill Hardy, Lina Loadman and Sue Russell, together with Lesley Parker and Christine Tew who provide the link to the Parochial Church Council, complete the Committee.
Philip Hargrave
October 2007