An updated village Handbook for residents in Wreningham, Top Row and Penny’s Green has been published online by the Parish Council, providing useful information and a warm welcome to village life for newcomers.
Written by parish councillor Keith Morris, the updated village Handbook contains information about village history, local government, faith, village hall, regular events, clubs and societies, facilities, education, media, public transport, health and useful contacts.
Printed copies of the Handbooks were delivered to all homes in the parish area at the end of July. If you did not receive one, or are a new resident and want one, please contact Keith by email.
The first Wreningham Open Gardens event for 20 years was a roaring success last Sunday (June 16) when the sun shone, over 350 people flocked in and over £3,000 was raised for All Saints church in the village.
Some 14 beautiful gardens in Wreningham, Top Row and High Common were open for visitors who braved an early shower and then sunshine for the rest of the day. Visitors came from as far afield as Lincolnshire, Essex and Yorkshire, as well as from all over Norfolk.
Organiser Karen Nunn said: “Well the sun was an hour or so late to the party but everyone had a fabulous time regardless. It was great to see so many people from across the community supporting this event. We have had lovely feedback from many of our visitors and some are already looking forward to their next visit! The fantastic sum raised for the church has made all the hard work worthwhile.”
Fellow organiser, Janet Richardson, said: “A big thank you to all our garden hosts, our Open Gardens event was a fantastic success, due to all the beautiful gardens that were on show on the day!
“The event raised over £3,000, a truly fantastic sum of money, for the church. Ticket sales, advertising space in the gardens booklet, refreshments, plant sale and contributions from the art sales are all included in this amount.
“We had over 350 visitors to the village on the day and great feedback from visitors.”
Comments included: “I really enjoyed the open garden event and very much look forward to it happening again. There are a lot of talented and enthusiastic gardeners in your wonderfully sociable village.”
“An extremely well organised event, an excellent, easy to read map and very friendly people all over the village.”
Pictured above are a few of the many visitors in one of the Wreningham gardens.
Excitement is mounting in Wreningham and Top Row as the charity Open Gardens event approaches this Sunday (June 16), being held for the first time in 20 years, and a free booklet and map are now available online.
The open gardens, ranging from small cottage plots to larger landscaped gardens and woodlands, will be open to visitors on Sunday, June 16, Fathers’ Day, from 10am until 4pm.
The event will be raising funds for the historic All Saints Church in the village.
One of the organisers, Karen Nunn, said: “It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 20 years since the last Open Gardens event was held in the village. There will be a broad range of gardens open to visitors from new gardens that are still in the early stages of development to mature gardens large and small. There will be woodland walks, ponds galore, vegetable gardens and plenty of early summer flowering plants in their full glory. So whether you are looking for some garden inspiration to take home or just to enjoy a lovely day out in the village there will be something here for you.
“Our Open Gardens event is being organised by a group of volunteers and, as well as raising funds for good causes in the village, we hope that it will also bring the community together in a celebration of summer.
“In addition to the Open Gardens we are planning a range of other attractions for visitors, including lots of dads we hope. These will includes games such as welly throwing, bug hunting and giant Jenga for children and their dads in each garden and a gnome hunt. There will also be art displays and sales from talented artists within the village and a plant sale at the church.
“For those who work up an appetite while wandering around we will have tea and cakes at the church, a South African barbecue in one garden and light lunches, cakes and a bar at the village hall.”
Entry is £5 per person with accompanied under 12s free of charge and includes a free printed programme. Please note that this is a cash only event.
Even if you use the online booklet and map, you will need to pay £5 per person to go around the gardens. Payment can be taken at any of the car parks for the event dotted around the village.
Pictured are many of the Wreningham and Top Row gardeners that will be opening their gardens to the public on June 16. Picture by Keith Morris.
There will be a splash of colour in Wreningham in mid-June when village gardens open their gates to visitors for the first time in 20 years, following a charity colour run at the village school, to make up a fun-packed community weekend.
The open gardens, ranging from small cottage plots to larger landscaped gardens and woodlands, will be open to visitors on Sunday, June 16, Fathers’ Day, from 10am until 4pm.
The event will be raising funds for the historic All Saints Church in the village.
One of the organisers, Karen Nunn, said: “It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 20 years since the last Open Gardens event was held in the village. There will be a broad range of gardens open to visitors from new gardens that are still in the early stages of development to mature gardens large and small. There will be woodland walks, ponds galore, vegetable gardens and plenty of early summer flowering plants in their full glory. So whether you are looking for some garden inspiration to take home or just to enjoy a lovely day out in the village there will be something here for you.
“Our Open Gardens event is being organised by a group of volunteers and, as well as raising funds for good causes in the village, we hope that it will also bring the community together in a celebration of summer.
“In addition to the Open Gardens we are planning a range of other attractions for visitors, including lots of dads we hope. These will includes games such as welly throwing, bug hunting and giant Jenga for children and their dads in each garden and a gnome hunt. There will also be art displays and sales from talented artists within the village and a plant sale at the church.
“For those who work up an appetite while wandering around we will have tea and cakes at the church, a South African barbecue in one garden and light lunches, cakes and a bar at the village hall.”
Entry is £5 per person with accompanied under 12s free of charge and includes a free printed programme. Please note that this is a cash only event.
To start the community weekend in the village, the Friends of Wreningham School will be holding a fete, and colour run on the village playing field on Saturday June 15.
More than a dozen or so enthusiastic volunteer litter pickers helped to tidy-up Wreningham, Top Row and Penny Green as part of the Big South Norfolk Litter Pick on Sunday April 21.
The volunteers spread out from the Village Hall to clean verges, paths, playing fields and other public locations across the Wreningham Parish Council area.
The effort was part of the annual Big South Norfolk Litter Pick, organised by South Norfolk Council, who lent equipment for the event.
Volunteers enjoyed cakes and a free drink courtesy of the Witch & Wren Social Club.
If you would like to litter pick in Wreningham, equipment can be loaned at any time from members of Wreningham Parish Council.
Please help us to tidy up litter in Wreningham, Top Row and Penny’s Green by joining the Big South Norfolk Litter Pick on Sunday April 21, at 2pm.
Volunteers are needed to help us keep our lovely village tidy by taking part in South Norfolk’s Big Litter Pick 2024.
We will provide litter pickers, bags and holders and high-vis jackets (you can bring your own). You just need to bring yourself and, ideally, some gardening gloves or similar.
We will start at 2pm in the Witch & Wren bar at the Village Hall and finish off with a free first drink from the bar and cake in the Social Club from 3.30pm onwards.
If you have any queries, or to confirm you are coming, please email Keith Morris at keith.morris@networknorwich.co.uk, or ring 01508 488318 – but you can just turn up. If you are happy to bring a cake please let Keith know.
There will be a splash of colour in Wreningham in mid June when village gardens open their gates to visitors following a colour run at the village school, to make up a fun-packed community weekend.
The open gardens, ranging from small cottage plots to larger landscaped gardens and woodlands, will be open to visitors on Sunday, June 16, Fathers’ Day, from 10am until 4pm.
The event will be raising funds for the historic All Saints Church in the village.
One of the organisers, Karen Nunn, said: “Our Open Gardens event is being organised by a group of volunteers and, as well as raising funds for good causes in the village, we hope that it will also bring the community together in a celebration of summer.
“In addition to the Open Gardens we are planning a range of other attractions for visitors, including lots of dads we hope. These will includes games such as welly throwing, bug hunting and giant Jenga for children and their dads in each garden and a gnome hunt. There will also be art displays and sales from talented artists within the village and a plant sale at the church.
“For those who work up an appetite while wandering around we will have tea and cakes at the church, a South African barbecue in one garden and light lunches, cakes and a bar at the village hall.”
Entry is £5 per person with accompanied under 12s free of charge. Please note that this is a cash only event.
To start the community weekend in the village, the Friends of Wreningham School will be holding a fete, and colour run on the village playing field on Saturday June 15.
A family in Wreningham suffered their worst nightmare when seven-year-old Nathanael was run over by their own car and suffered catastrophic life-threatening head and brain injuries. Keith Morris reports.
The horrific split-second accident happened in April 2022 and changed the lives of Nathanael and parents Alan and Lindsay Howes for ever.
Despite a devastatingly traumatic past 18 months the couple are praising God and thanking Him for saving their son and for the miraculous healing journey He is taking them on. They, along with Nathanael and their two adult daughters, Gabriella and Leila, are keen to share their story of suffering to offer hope and encourage to others, and have been doing so in churches across the region.
It was the end of just an ordinary Monday back in April 2022. Nathanael was running along a verge of a private road near their home in the South Norfolk village of Wreningham, when he tripped, fell and went under the back wheels of their car which was driving slowly down the driveway. Nathanael sustained critical injuries and was attended to at the scene by East Anglian Air Ambulance and the emergency services.
Nathanael was flown straight to Addenbrookes paediatric intensive care unit and major trauma hospital for the region, where he was put into an induced coma for four weeks and underwent two brain surgeries and many procedures. Nathanael’s traumatic brain injury left him unable to sit, stand, walk, talk, eat or drink.
The family spent three months in Addenbrookes Hospital and were then transferred to The Children’s Trust, specialist neuro rehabilitation centre for children with brain injuries, in Surrey, where they spent a further three months undergoing an intensive 12-week neuro rehabilitation programme.
During this time hundreds of Christians prayed locally, nationally and internationally for Nathanael.
“We are incredibly grateful for all the support of family and friends and many, many, Christians known and unknown to us,” said Alan. “We have seen some miraculous answers to prayer as Nathanael has overcome every prognosis put upon him from quadriplegia to remaining on a ventilator. By God’s miraculous healing and grace, Nathanael has relearned to sit, stand, play, drink, eat and is taking steps with support. In August he said ‘mum’ a first word we pray of many more to come.”
In October, thanks to the overwhelming generosity of many friends and supporters, the couple were able to buy a powerchair for Nathanael, giving him some freedom and independence.
Back in July, after almost a year back at home and reconnecting with their family and church friends at Servant’s Church, Alan and Lindsay began to feel that their story of suffering should be one to share with others to offer hope and encouragement.
A Christian brother and friend offered to design and build them a website which launched back in July. Now they are writing weekly blogs on various topics, reaching out to others with their testimony and sharing questions and insights about suffering. They are beginning to speak and share their story together as a family in churches across Norfolk and beyond and are working on publishing a book to offer hope and encourage others who are in the midst of suffering.
“Our suffering journey is ongoing as we come to terms with the effects of Nathanael’s traumatic brain injury, but God is with us every step of the way, His strength and mercy keep us moving forward and we pray and believe that Nathanael will continue to heal,” said Alan.
“We are Jesus followers and suffering survivors, we want to share the hope, encouragement and strength we have personally experienced with others in need.
“Life isn’t actually free from pain and suffering for the majority of us, and yet it is through these very experiences that we can find hope, encouragement and even joy from God who promises to carry us, sustain us and give us strength in suffering.”
A bird’s-eye video view of the Wreningham Village commemorative photo has been published.
The Parish Council collaborated with the Village Hall Committee, All Saints Church and the Wreningham Heritage Group to stage the group photograph on the village playing field on Sunday June 11, following a shared lunch in the village hall.
A video of the occasion has now been published online, taken by photographer and drone operator Graeme Taplin.
The people in the picture were (in no particular order):
Val Keel, Hilary Tinner, Jean & Peter Levis, Anne & David Osborn, Hilary & David Gauthier, Graeme & Helen McAndrew, Christine Minns, Pat and David Tinsley, Michael Hill, Steven, Alison, Elsie, Austin, Sandra, Raymond Turner, Andrew, Elizabeth, Harriet, Ottilie Groat, Ben, Sarah, Connie, Erin Liddiard, Ian Macrae, Sue & Mick Ryder, Keith & Helen O’Neill, Sue & Chris Brighton, Kym, George, Farah, Austin Tufnell, Oliver & Sarah Holgate, Annelies & Barry Hall, Emma Lindop, Lewis & Oakley Knight, John & Jenny Bligh, Lloyd, Katherine, Florence Baxter, Paul Askham, Christine Moss, Alex, Alice, Ophelia Hunton-Wood, Tim & Leesa Groucott, Keith & Nicky Morris, Jill Maidment, Jim Cooper, Dave & Mary Loader, Bill & Masha Smith, Lydia, Leo, Alexander, Peter Grant, Ian & Kim Priestley, Nick & Sue Pink, John & Sue Knight, Cathy & Mason Paul, Allan & Heather Bond, Lis & Mike Whalley, Janet & Stephen Richardson, Karen Nunn, Brenda & Stuart Merchant, Sue & Tony Wright, Claire, Talula, Hermione & Willow Rennie, Katie, Florence & Beatrice Burrell, Valerie Banham, Jean Lambourne, John & Ann McIlwham, Malcolm & Lynda Craig.
More than 100 Wreningham residents gathered for a commemorative village photograph on a sunny Sunday afternoon on June 11.
The Parish Council collaborated with the Village Hall Committee, All Saints Church and the Wreningham Heritage Group to stage the group photograph on the village playing field in brilliant sunshine, following a shared lunch in the village hall. The photos have now been published online and are available to download for free.
Organiser Keith Morris said: “The last time a village photograph took place was back in 2012 for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee and we wanted to mark a decade since then, and King Charles’ Coronation, with an updated picture.
“This time we were able to get some aerial pictures from photographer and drone operator Graeme Taplin, and a video as well. I hope everyone likes them.”
The people in the picture were (in no particular order):
Val Keel, Hilary Tinner, Jean & Peter Levis, Anne & David Osborn, Hilary & David Gauthier, Graeme & Helen McAndrew, Christine Minns, Pat and David Tinsley, Michael Hill, Steven, Alison, Elsie, Austin, Sandra, Raymond Turner, Andrew, Elizabeth, Harriet, Ottilie Groat, Ben, Sarah, Connie, Erin Liddiard, Ian Macrae, Sue & Mick Ryder, Keith & Helen O’Neill, Sue & Chris Brighton, Kym, George, Farah, Austin Tufnell, Oliver & Sarah Holgate, Annelies & Barry Hall, Emma Lindop, Lewis & Oakley Knight, John & Jenny Bligh, Lloyd, Katherine, Florence Baxter, Paul Askham, Christine Moss, Alex, Alice, Ophelia Hunton-Wood, Tim & Leesa Groucott, Keith & Nicky Morris, Jill Maidment, Jim Cooper, Dave & Mary Loader, Bill & Masha Smith, Lydia, Leo, Alexander, Peter Grant, Ian & Kim Priestley, Nick & Sue Pink, John & Sue Knight, Cathy & Mason Paul, Allan & Heather Bond, Lis & Mike Whalley, Janet & Stephen Richardson, Karen Nunn, Brenda & Stuart Merchant, Sue & Tony Wright, Claire, Talula, Hermione & Willow Rennie, Katie, Florence & Beatrice Burrell, Valerie Banham, Jean Lambourne, John & Ann McIlwham, Malcolm & Lynda Craig.
