Newnham With Awre & Blakeney

Edmund Hammond, Freeman 1598, by his will of 1638 gave the Company a sum to purchase Church livings:
 
Newnham with Awre & Blakeney, Gloucestershire
 
Incumbent: The Revd Juliet Stephenson
Telephone: 01594 516648
 
The two livings purchased were Awre and Blakeney which were later combined under the title of "The United Benefice of Newnham with Awre and Blakeney", although the two parishes continue in all respects to be distinct.
 
Awre is a small rural community. It has no main road passing through it and has a population of around 160. It has a very high percentage of regular worshippers. The church is interesting, ancient and quite large, with a peal of 6 bells. The main road down the River Severn valley used to pass through the village and so in previous centuries it was somewhat more important than now.
 
Blakeney, by contrast, is a large geographical parish with a population of around 1500. It has a very small but highly committed congregation.

Revd Stephenson, who previusly served at the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham, is 39 with two teenage children. She is keen to see the congregation grow, and hopes to establish mid-week informal gatherings, with an emphasis on nurture and hospitality. There are good links with the Primary Schools and children's work is developing well.