Community Information | The Kings Arms | History Society

Welcome to Farthingstone

Farthingstone is a delightful small village in the heart of the Northamptonshire countryside. Situated half way between Towcester and Daventry, the village has 79 houses, St Mary’s Church, the Baptist Chapel, The Kings Arms pub and a Village Hall which used to be the school. We also have the Joy Mead Memorial Garden and Cloister as a wonderful amenity for use by the Villagers.

News item: If you want to receive up-to-date news on village events and activities by Email, please mail Farthingstone Village News at farthingstonenews@gmail.com

Parish Councillor vacancy: Interested in having a voice on the PC? Please see the attached nomination form (click here) or contact the Chair, Peter Stanton, for further information.

Events coming up:

Thursday 7 February - Ladies Night in the Kings Arms: Our monthly chat and a drink in the inviting atmosphere of the Kings Arms. Any time from 8pm. Do come and join us.

Saturday 8 June - Farthingstone Foot Fest: Get ready for our annual walk/run through the beautiful rolling Northamptonshire countryside. Based around Farthingstone Village Hall, you can choose from two contrasting loops - or do both to complete a marathon. There are regular checkpoints with refreshments and lots of encouragement from everyone along the way. More details will be available shortly.

Sunday 16 June - Farthingstone Open Gardens: Yes, we will be opening our gardens for the very first time! There will be a varied set of gardens to visit - plus scrumptious homemade cakes and tea in the Joy Mead garden. Save the date and watch here for further details.

Regular Events

• Every Monday:Hatha yoga classes for all at Farthingstone Village Hall 11.45 - 1.00pm. We have spaces for newcomers, all welcome from Farthingstone and neighbouring villages. Contact Lizzy via www.yogawalks.co.uk or on 07950 573719 to book a space or for more information.
• Every Wednesday: Tai Chi in the Village Hall - 10.00-11.00 am. Tai Chi is a gentle form of exercise which can improve balance, posture, mobility and flexibility. Contact Sian Gaskins on 01327 340885 or come along any Wednesday for a taster session.
• First Thursday every month: Ladies Night in the Kings Arms - from 8.00 pm (NB next gathering is Thursday May 3.) An informal chance for a chat in the inviting atmosphere of the Kings Arms.
• Bimonthly from January, 3rd Monday: Parish Council meetings in the Village Hall - 8.00 pm
• July every year: The Village Tea in the Joy Mead
• October every year: Harvest Supper in the Village Hall

Recent events

‘Christmas in the Cloisters 2018’ – thanks! So many people turned out to make ‘Christmas in the Cloisters’ a lovely social occasion and thankfully the rain and wind held off!

The Cloisters and Santa’s Grotto looked truly amazing and Santa came as promised. We enjoyed the biggest band ever, thanks to members of the Roade Community Orchestra, and our singing was further enhanced by members of the Benefice Choir. Not only was it great fun but we also managed to raise £920 for the Joy Mead - a fantastic achievement!

Thank you so much to everyone who came and supported us and to those who very kindly made donations.

A lot of hard work goes into 'making it happen' and it wouldn’t be possible without a large team who cheerfully tackle everything from puzzling over how to create 'Santa’s Grotto', to how much mulled wine to make...not forgetting all the 'grunt work' involved in moving tables and benches and the post event clear up!

A very big Thank you to everyone and...

A very Merry Christmas to all!

Joy Mead Tidy-up (Sunday 18 November): A big thank you to the 15 folk who turned out to help at the Tidy-up. It was a lovely morning, we got a lot of very useful jobs done - and it was great to see everyone.
Thank you very much.

'Fashion and Fizz' (Tuesday 6 November): The Village Hall was packed with vilagers and friends all keen to see the lovely outfits shown by Molly and Co. (and modelled by some very brave customers). A grand social event as well as an excellent opportunity to upgrade one's wardrobe. Thanks to everyone who contributed. All funds raised were in aid of the Church.

Harvest Celebration (Sunday 7 October): With a bright and sunny autumn afternoon in the beautiful garden and yard of Church Farm, the event proved a great success. Special thanks to our hosts and family. The vintage tractors and vehicles proudly lined up in the yard, burgers and hotdogs were consumed all afternoon together with tea, coffee and cakes. Villagers and visitors generously bought cakes and produce and the tombola ran out of both tickets and prizes!
A huge 'thank you' to everyone who helped. The afternoon concluded with a Harvest service in our beautiful Church - and a tremendous total of £1300 was raised towards Church funds.

Joy Mead Tea (Saturday 14th July): A goodly crowd of 50 turned up to enjoy a perfect evening in the Cloisters. There was good chat, good food - and good games on the grass.
Thank you to everyone who came and especially to all those who help make it happen.

Joy Mead Garden Party: What a lovely afternoon in the Joy Mead (Sunday June 17). So nice to see it buzzing with friends and families enjoying themselves. And the tug-of-war rounded it off magnificently!

Thank you everyone for coming and making the afternoon a great success. A massive thanks too to the many people who worked very hard to make it happen – and to the many individuals and local businesses who provided generous support and donations. We have raised around £1400 to maintain our beautiful Joy Mead – well done and thanks everyone!

Debbie, Laura and the Garden Party Team

Farthingstone Foot Fest: On Saturday 9 June, Farthingstone played host to 150 walkers and runners who had travelled from all over the country to take part in this year's Farthingstone Foot Fest (FFF). Started in 2009, this is an annual event organised by the FFF Committee and run with help from the local community and friends to raise money for the village and also, this year, for Alzheimer's.
Participants could choose the full marathon course or shorter vatiants, based on a challenging figure of eight course from the Village Hall through the rolling Northamptonshire countryside with lots of stiles and other obstacles..
The weather on the day was almost perfect and fast times were expected and achieved. A FFF record was made with the fastest marathon cross country being 4 hours 34 mins. Truly outstanding!
However the event was most definitely not a race and for each entrant simply an opportunity for them to enjoy the day in the way and distance for which they wanted to be involved. If there was one overriding comment from the participants, it is that they are amazed at just how beautiful Northamptonshire is.
Though the figures have yet to be finalised, over £2500 has so far been confirmed as raised and the Committee wishes to thank everyone who took part, both the entrants and the many volunteers who manned the checkpoints, served the food and generally gave their time to make the day such a success.
We are looking forward to holding the event again next year on Saturday 8 June 2019 and hope to see you there.

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Contact Debbie Mason (debbie.mason "at" talk21.com)
Site Last Updated 14 January 2019