The Monday Photo

Churches are often the oldest building in a village by several hundred years. This makes them important.

As well as the dated monuments which tell of who lived and died, churches hold a record of the fortunes of the village in how and when they’ve been altered over the centuries.

That’s why, every time I visit a church, I’ll give a donation. This donations box, at St. Augustine’s, Westbury, sits on one of the octagonal columns inserted when the North aisle was added in the 14th Century.

At that time the congregation must have increased and there was also enough money to extend the church. There’s also a South aisle, thought to be earlier than the North one but still 14th Century.

If you don’t know, most donation boxes are inserted into the wall by the entrance, or occasionally into a nearby column. It’ll be a locked steel plate about the size of a small letterbox, with a money slot.

Churches are an important part of our heritage so please, give them what you can.