Weston on Avon is a small hamlet four miles south-west of Stratford upon Avon and a mile southeast of Welford on Avon. The seat of the powerful Greville family, ancestors of the Earls of Warwick, the riverside hamlet of Weston was once a place of prime importance in the area with the Tudor mansion of the Grevilles dominating the countryside. The earliest record of Westons Juxta Avenam is the Saxon Charter of 716 AD.
Today, together with a smaller hamlet of Milcote, Weston on Avon has a population of approximately 140, ten of which are under 18. It is primarily a farming community but recently more people are travelling to nearby towns and cities to work.
All Saints is a Grade I listed building having been built following the death of Sir John Greville in 1480. Whether it was an entirely new building, an enlargement of a small chapel already on the site or partly built from stone from a demolished building is not known. Except for St Anne’s, a Chantry Chapel demolished on the suppression of Chantry chapels in 1545/1547, and the addition of a porch, the church is as originally built.
The work required by the Quinquennial Inspection of 2012 is well underway as money is available. The church is left unlocked to welcome sightseers, many walkers and those who wish to enjoy the peace for prayer. The churchyard is well kept and still in use for interments and burials of ashes.
We believe All Saints is a very welcoming rural church. We are traditionally Anglican- low Church of England. The profile of the parish, its size and characteristics, to some extent dictates the type of services on which we can focus; for example we have insufficient children for a Sunday school or Youth Group which are provided in Welford. We do, however, provide baptisms, weddings and funeral services.
The average weekly attendance for Sunday services is 10 per week in 2014. But the attendance on Easter Sunday was 22, Harvest Festival 24 and 26 for the Christmas Day service and 50 for the candle lit Carol Service. The BCP brings regular attendees from outside the parish from Welford, Bidford on Avon, Clifford Chambers, Stratford and even Wooton Wawen and Coventry.
In 2014 one child was baptised in All Saints, one couple married and four funeral services took place.
An annual, social BBQ is held on a Sunday afternoon in August, which is very well supported by many local people from both Weston and Welford. The PCC is very grateful for all the help they receive from the Weston community. It is a way of integrating the church community with the local neighbourhood.
During 2014 we were able to send donations to the Myton Hospice, to the Shakespeare Hospice and to Mind.