The Church of St John the Baptist, East Farndon has served our village since the year 1233 when the first rector was appointed and has always been open to the whole community. It is a lovely Grade 1 listed building, and throughout the years, has been kept in reasonable condition through the goodwill of churchgoers and village supporters. Many people are unaware that the maintenance of the building and the general running expenses falls entirely on the shoulders of church members and well-wishers with no financial assistance from the Church of England Diocese. Thus, when urgent repairs are needed to the structure of the building as recently, the Parochial Church Council (PCC) has looked to the village as a whole to help, as in past times.
Latest News Update – April 2026
The interior of the building has been suffering from dampness problems due to faulty rain goods / gutters and bad drainage outside. The cost of these repairs amounted to £5,108. However whilst waiting for the necessary permissions for this work, the prolonged drought conditions caused severe cracking to some stonework and to the church porch. A further sum of £4,200 was thus needed to complete this work.
The PCC was most grateful to those who ran a wonderful Flower Festival in September 2025 when £3,000 was raised. Please click this link to visit the Village Past Events Page to view photos. A further amount of £1,500 in the form of a grant from Northampton Historic Churches Trust is on the way. The works totaling £9,308 were completed in April 2026, the contractor being paid using the funds raised and general purpose church funds. You can see some photos of the these works in the gallery below.
We have now been advised that adjustments to the existing soak away system, which is continually blocked, would help prevent some of the problems encountered in the past. The cost of this new work is £ 2,016, so more fundraising becomes necessary! A “Play Your Cards Right” games evening at the Village Hall is planned for Friday 12th June 2026. Please click this link to visit the Village New Events Page to read more.
Hopefully, once all this present work is completed there will be a lull before this wonderful ancient building reveals more challenges for the future. Thank you to all who care about preserving our church for future generations.
Sonya Fraser (Church Warden)
