Recently, Helen Bilsborough brought us some fascinating reminders of the early (well, sort of) days of the Parish Magazine. The pictures show some examples of receipts for the magazine from the early part of the 20th century
It's a long standing publication whose first edition popped up in January 1887 and was circulated at a halfpenny a month with a copy of the "Dawn of the Day" thrown in for good measure. The local section of the magazine was typed and there was a sketch of the church on the front page. By March 1889, the sketch had faded badly and was replaced by an illustration of wildflowers.
The magazine has always reported more than church news and the June edition of 1896 reported that Frederick Johnstone was run over and killed by a goods train whilst in February, 1901, the magazine was produced with a broad black band in commemoration of the death of Queen Victoria.
The format of the magazine continued on for many years with only changes to the cover until September 1969 when it changed from quarto to A5 format. Around this time it had colour covers printed by Mowbray and Co.
The largest change came in February 1994 when after years of being typed by the vicar and helpers, the move was made to desktop publishing, together with a lot of assembling by yet more volunteers.
The publication continues to carry local and church news, adverts and announcements and gives a great insight into the doings of the parish.
As the Parish Magazine moves into its 134th uninterrupted year, there is still room for more contributors and volunteers. If you don't get the magazine and would like to do so, please contact us here.