Sunday 24th June: what a day! The sun shone, England beat Panama 6-1 and Preston Village Day 2018 proved to be very popular. St Peter’s Preston Park took part in the fourth Preston Village Day and during the day over 350 people came through the church to try out some family craft activities , watch our film on the history of St Peter’s and Preston Village, have a tour of the graveyard, try out bell-ringing and join in our Midsummer Tea Party. At 4pm the event was brought to a close with very active dancing outside the church from Brighton Morris Men (http://brightonmorris.co.uk/).
Our fellow village organisations were also running activities, with tours of Preston Manor, food and plant stalls in the walled garden and the opportunity to see ‘behind the scenes’ in the part of the gardens that are usually locked.
We were particularly pleased to welcome Stephen and Angela Owen who 40 years ago to the day were married at St Peter’s; they decided to celebrate their Ruby Wedding by returning to the church. As a ‘redundant church’, it is no longer used for weddings, but it is lovely to know that people still return to mark their special days.
Preston Village celebrates the distinctive history of Preston, once a downland village of a few hundred people, of greater significance that the tiny fishing village of Brighthelmstone, but now part of the City of Brighton and Hove.