April 2025

Your official monthly newsletter for the Pendle villages of Barley, Newchurch, Roughlee, Sabden Fold & Spenbrook.

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Notes from St Mary’s Church

A Weekend that Changed the World Forever...

Firstly, let me thank you for the warm welcome Joy and I have had since moving here only four months ago. It’s been a really busy few months, but we are slowly finding our feet even if I still need my sat-nav to find most of the places I need to go. It doesn’t seem very long since Christmas, but Easter is almost upon us.

Easter is much more than chocolate eggs, lambs running in fields and daffodils flowering. We can talk about all these things as signs of life, or even signs of new life, yet that’s a pale reflection to the message Easter really …

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Barley Chapel

Barley Parish Council

Barley Chapel, Barley Lane, Business Directory...

Many will recall that the Chapel held an emergency meeting back in August to discuss the difficult situation it was in. Over 40+ residents attended and there was much discussion regarding what could be done to save the chapel from being closed and sold for development.

The first target was to get thirteen full members of the Chapel to reduce the risk of closure by the Methodist Circuit – this has been achieved and there are now seventeen members. The next step has been to look at ways of solving the problems that have been identified within, and outside the building including the assessment of the …

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Goldshaw Booth Parish Council

Gardening, Parking and Next Meeting...

I am sure you will have noticed how much nicer the villages are looking due to the efforts of our volunteers. In addition, after a number of years absence, we have rejoined the lengthsman scheme, which should both reduce our gardening costs while at the same time helping to ensure that we keep the villages neat and tidy.

We should have some news following our next Council meeting on how we intend to address mowing of the playground and lower field.

The overgrowth at the top of the steps on footpath 46 (1313046), down the side of the toilet, has been cut back, and we are addressing …

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Roughlee Parish Council

Oak tree, Litter picks, FORA leadership, BKV, Parish Gathering (12 May)...

I hope that many of you have noticed the newly planted Oak Tree near to the white railings and adjacent to the river. This is to celebrate the Forest of Bowland National Landscape Diamond Jubilee and has been grant funded, thanks must go to the land owners for allowing this to take place and the team that facilitated its planting. We just now need to look after it and keep it watered during this current dryish spell.

We have had a couple of ‘litter picks’ in the village during March to coincide with the Great British Spring Clean, thanks must go to the volunteers for doing …

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Roughlee Music, Beer and Gin festival 2025

Roughlee Village Centre

Beer, Music & Gin Festival (30 May - 1 June)...

Although April is a quiet month at the village centre, a concerted effort is under way to freshen up the interior and the outside area for this year’s events and the Best Kept Village. All volunteers are welcome with open arms, contact me or the FoRA team for details.

Our next big event is the annual Beer, Music and Gin Festival which starts on Friday 30th May till Sunday 1st June. We the have 3 live acts on Friday, 5 acts on Saturday, plus open mike on Sunday. There are 18 hand/taste selected top quality real ales, craft lager & ciders, and Alice’s Gin Bar also …

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Barley Chapel

Join us for two village community gatherings

Thursday 8 May, 18:30-20:00
VE Day 80th Anniversary
Picnic on the Village Green

Free tea, coffee and cakes, with BYO picnic and drinks. Fun games for all the family! Dress up in 1940’s attire if you so wish. (If bad weather, the event will be at the Chapel).

Saturday 17 May, 19:00-late
Party at the Pendle
Live Music – The Piano Man & Buffet at the Pendle Inn

£15 a ticket which includes the buffet. Under 13’s £5 a ticket until 9pm.
Tombola and Silent Auction with some great prizes and auction items already donated!
Get your tickets from Angela Hargreaves (07967 121031) or Lorraine Goldsbrough (07966 261520)

Funds raised will help with the restoration of the roof at Barley Chapel.

St Mary’s CE Primary School

Aspirations Day, World Book Day, Sports, Tales...

The first week back after half term we enjoyed our second Aspirations Day. All of the children came to school dressed in their ‘dream job’ outfits – we had a wide selection of career choices e.g. beauticians, travel agents, farmers, archaeologists, engineers, the list goes on! During the morning of Aspirations Day we invited professionals from our community to come into school to talk to the children about their chosen careers. The children learned so much about the working world from asking questions and listening to our guests passionately describe their jobs. Thank you to everyone who participated.

Stuart Reid, an accomplished author with over …

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Friends of Newchurch School

100 club draw

The Friends of Newchurch School 100 Club draw has taken place for March. The winners are:

  • 1st Prize £25 – No. 5, Michael Eardley
  • 2nd Prize £20 – No. 45, Helen Norris
  • 3rd Prize £15 – No. 36, Sam Hooper

Thank you to everyone who takes part.

County Council Elections: 1 May 2025

Register to vote by 11 April 2025

Lancashire County Council elections will be held on Thursday 1 May, with all 84 county council seats being contested.

If you are eligible to vote and want to participate, but are not registered, you must register by 11:59pm on 11 April 2025. You can register online here.

Farming in Protected Landscapes

Programme Funding Extension to March 2026

The Forest of Bowland National Landscape Partnership is excited to announce the extension of the Defra-funded Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) programme for an additional year, now running until the end of March 2026.

Since its launch in July 2021, this national initiative has involved over 7,000 farmers and land managers, supporting more than 4,600 projects in its first three years.

Grant funding is available for projects that align with Defra’s four themes: climate, nature, people and place, as well as the objectives outlined in the Forest of Bowland National Landscape Management Plan. The FiPL programme is delivered by Protected Landscapes across the country, including the dedicated …

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Events in Barley: April 2025

Dates for your diary...

  • Pendle Forest History Group – Wed 16th April, 7.30pm at Barley Village Hall – Business meeting and items of interest. Members £2.00, Visitors £3.00 – Email →
  • Pendleside Gardeners Club – Tues 15th April, 7pm at Barley Village Hall – ‘Garden Dreams & Schemes using Hardy Plants’ with Chris Mortimer from the Hardy Plant Society. Any questions please Email →
  • Pendle Patchers – Tues 8th and 22nd April, from 1pm at Barley Village Hall – Pendle Patchers had a departure from their usual sewing and knitting crafts recently and had a workshop on making small gift boxes. Despite our skills with measuring and cutting material, it transpired that these skills were not necessarily transferable but eventually the end results were quite successful. Anyone is welcome to join us to see what we do in addition to patchwork. For any more information, just call in or contact Gil Beeke on 01282 602449 / Email →
  • Barley WI – 1st Wed of the month, 7.30pm at Barley Village Hall – New members are always welcome, first three meetings are free so you can make sure you like it! The WI isn’t just a monthly meeting – we have sub groups which include Walking, Crafting, Dining Club (The Sticky Toffee Pudding Club!) along with two book clubs.
  • FOG Club – Thurs evenings, 6.30pm-7.45pm at Barley Chapel – For children aged 6-11 years. Contact Angie on 07967 121031 or just come along
  • Card making class – 1st and 3rd Mon of each month, 1-3pm at Barley Village Hall – for details contact Valerie on 01282 691850
  • Coffee and Chat – 2nd Wed of each month, 10am-12pm at Barley Village Hall – All welcome, not just the old folk – £2 gets coffee (or tea) and cake!

Have you got a new neighbour?

Please mention Parish News to them!

If you have any neighbours or friends that have just moved to the area, or who might not be aware of this newsletter, please can you mention Parish News to them. We’re now on 800+ email subscribers across Barley, Goldshaw Booth and Roughlee so are definitely reaching the majority of households, but it’s an ongoing job to let people know when there’s no longer a physical copy being delivered and not everyone will see the adverts on noticeboards. Thanks for your help!

Print a note to post through their letterbox here →

They can enter their email address to receive an email on the first of each month online at www.parishnews.org – their data is managed/protected by Roughlee Parish Council on behalf of the other parish councils.

St. Mary's Church

April 2025 Services

April Services at St Mary’s Church (unless otherwise stated).

  • 6th April 9:30 Holy Communion for Passiontide
  • 13th April 9:30 Palm Sunday Service – followed by Benefice lunch at St Thomas Church Barrowford from 12:15
  • 15th and 17th April 9:15 Morning Prayer in Holy Week – a short service of prayer and reflection
  • 17th April 7pm St Thomas Church Maundy Thursday ‘A Meal, A Prayer and A Betrayal’ We meet as a united benefice to eat together and remember the events leading up to Jesus arrest
  • 18th April 12pm Good Friday Reflections ‘Footprints to the Cross’ As we walk around the village we reflect on the events of that first Good Friday starting at church at 12. Why not come for a coffee and hot cross bun from 11:15
  • 19th April 2-4pm Holy Saturday Pop-up Tea and Cakes in the Narthex. Space for personal reflection and prayer in church
  • 20th April 7am ‘Sunrise’ Service – The empty tomb. Join us at 6:45 at church for a short walk and an opportunity to remember the empty tomb
    8am Bacon sandwiches and coffee for the early risers!
    9am Easter Day Service of Holy Communion
  • 27th April Holy Communion 9:30

For more information please contact our Vicar Nick Murray on 01282 613206 or email.

Or contact our church wardens: Doug Bull (07907 458894 / email) or Gin Crewe on 07887 844025 / email).