2025 marks the 900th anniversary of the Melbourne Parish Church and they’ve planned a year of events in celebration of their heritage!
Listed below will be the current provisional calendar of events – but please do check the Parish Church website linked directly below for any possible alterations and cancellations.
Melbourne 900 Programme
January 12th – Service of Thanksgiving for Nine Centuries
March 22nd – Acts of Devotion, performed by the Derwent Singers, 7.30pm in the church. Tickets £15 via the website (www.derwentsingers.org.uk) & on the door by cash or card
April TBC – A Timeline – Displaying historical events, locally and nationally since the year 1125AD
April 3rd – Talk by Historian Philip Heath, 7.30pm: “A chequered history of Melbourne Parish Church over 900 years”
May 15th – Talk by Margaret Gildea, 7.30pm: “Who murdered the Princes in the Tower – A Whodunnit”
May 17th – Vintage & Handmade Fayre, 11am – 3pm
May 24th-26th – Community Flower Festival – Melbourne: Past, Present & Future
June 5th – Talk by William Bates, 7.30pm: The Contentious Restoration of the Parish Church, 1820-1870
June 14th – Historical Re-enactment by ‘Chevaliers du Leon’ – Medieval Fayre and Hog Roast, 10am – 5pm
July 4th – Evening Medieval Banquet, 7.30pm
July 19th – A Choir’d Taste Morning Coffee Concert, 10am – 12pm
July 19th – An architectural and historical tour of the church and surroundings with Historian Philip Heath, 2pm
August 16th – An architectural and historical tour of the church and surroundings with Historian Philip Heath, 2pm
August 24th – September 2nd – Artistic Exhibition “Wild Saints” by local Artist Michael Cook and fellow artists.
September 6th – Melbourne Allotment Produce Show, 10am-3pm
September 20th/21st – Melbourne Festival Art and Architecture Trail
September 25th – Graham Oppenheimer and Friends Chamber Music, 7.30pm (A Friends’ event)
September 28th – Patronal Festival – Eucharist: 10.30am, Choral Evensong: 6.30pm
October 2nd – Talk by Historian Philip Heath, 7.30pm: “A chequered history of Melbourne Parish Church over 900 years”
October 17th/18th – St Michael’s Players – a humorous review of the last 900 years in Melbourne – 7-9.30pm at Melbourne Assembly Rooms
November 6th – Phantom of the Opera silent film with music by Minima, 7.30pm (A Friends’ event)
November 29th – Christmas Fayre, 10.30am – 2.30pm
December 5th – Jazz night: A Christmas Carol with Alan Barnes, 7.30pm (A Friends’ event)
December 14th – Celebration Service and Launch of Christmas Tree Festival
December 14th-21st – Christmas Tree Festival
Dates not yet fixed:
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Joint Performance by the various music groups in Melbourne
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Talk by Rachel Askew about the years leading up to 1125 and the religious milieu in which the Church was conceived – probably early September
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Talk by William Kerr on the Church’s early history
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Melbourne Town band Summer and Christmas Concerts
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Fun quiz in and about Melbourne Parish Church
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Organ recital
