CURRENT and past residents of Temple have been celebrating the start of autumn by harvesting memories of what life is and was like in the hamlet.

An enthusiastic group of 40 people gathered at St Catherine’s Church on Saturday, September 10, to share stories, images and recollections of time gone by.

The ‘Homecoming Day’ event was co-ordinated by the Temple Association. On show during the day were displays and memorabilia relating to Temple events over the last 300 years.

The historical theme was supported by Thom Hayes, an archaeologist at the University of Winchester, who has been co-ordinating a number of archaeological digs to try and solve the ‘Templar mystery’.

Along with historical maps and images he also displayed artifacts from surveys – which included a lot of medieval pottery.

There were also modern day members of the order on hand to discuss the forthcoming conclave that will be held at the church.

The afternoon allowed old friends and acquaintances to be re-mad and also served to bring several generations of Templars together for the first time.

Topics, which proved of interest, included stories relating to the old ‘institute’ building as well as previous village gatherings and celebrations.

Amongst those in attendance, with a host of memories, were Geraldine Greenaway, Angela Jones and Margaret and John Bate.

The afternoon included the presentation of a cheque for £2,530 to the Parochial Church Council by John Dickin, a former resident, along with six friends — including Matthew Angwin, Andrew Trevarthen, James Atherton, Joe McGovern, Niall Rousseau.

The team canoed 100 miles of the River Thames to raise funds for the church roof. This donation also included a generous donation from Lapolla as a corporate sponsor.

Graham Montague, chair of the Temple Association, said: “I can’t thank the canoe team enough on the part of the fundraising committee for their efforts.

“It was certainly a challenging event and we are grateful to Lapolla UK for their generous sponsorship of the team.”

A number of past residents and couples, who have been married in the church, were also in attendance. They included Rob and Jo Hicks, who were celebrating their eleventh wedding anniversary on the ‘Homecoming Day’.

Participants travelled from as far as London to participate along with some old faces from the past, including Derek Carrivick, the former incumbent for Blisland and Temple.

Dorothy Selleck, a member of the organising committee, said: “The information gathered as part of the Homecoming will be added to our existing archive and we hope will be used in some information panels in the church once the roof has been replaced.”

If anyone has any memories, stories or images of Temple then the group would be very pleased to hear from them.

Contact can be made through the projects email address [email protected]