I was sorry to read in the press today of the forthcoming closure
of Whitsome Parish Church
The present building dates from about 1820 but it is
recorded that there has been a place of worship on the site since at least 1296
when one "Radulphus de Hauden parsona de Whytesum" swore allegiance
to Edward 1 of England.
It is also recorded that in about the year 1700 when Thomas Boston preached in the Church the crush was so great that people climbed on to
the roof and made holes in the thatch to see and hear this renowned preacher.
Changed days regrettable - like so many other Churches
attendances have been falling over the years, not helped by general rural
depopulation and the recent closure of the local primary school.
Members with connections to the Parish will probably be
interested in the Whitsome website which contains among numerous other records
a transcription and photographs of all the stones in the Old Churchyard and a
list of head of households in 1834.
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