Farming village at centre of festival for Chelmorton St Johns Harvest festival
Local produce in the hands of the congregation of Chelmorton for the walk up main street to St Johns in the sunshine of the first Sunday of October. White limestone walls, Illy Willy water, the troughs and new village seat all splendid in the morning sunshine as folk passed the pound and walked up the Main Street Hill.
All the more excitement to combine harvest festival at the church with the children's service, little ones adorned the front pews, young Lilly played violin for the hymns, a poem by late village author Harry Swindle. Church warden Irene Ottey focused on communion while Vicar John Fountain had personally baked sweet bread for the congregation to share. There was both formal communion and then bread of harvest in the pews. Congregation then came to the altar to have local produced blessed in what has been a strong year of balanced sunshine and rain driving strength into the fields of the linear single street village of Chelmorton in the heart of the Peak District.