Heritage and Harvest beers.

I was disappointed to hear the St Mary the Virgin Church at Swainswick did not get its recent application for a Heritage Lottery Fund grant approved.

Apparently, the reasons why it didn’t succeed will be given at the church agm which is coming up soon.

The building has two claims to fame. The first – which is more national (if not international) in importance is that it is the last resting place of the father and son architectural team who gave Bath some of its most iconic Georgian developments.

John Wood – senior and junior – were responsible for such gems as Queen Square, the Royal Crescent and The Circus.

The grant would have  helped the church promote its famous long-term residents and attract more visitors.

The other claim to fame is a more local one. The first Friday of every month sees the church nave transformed into a pop-up parochial pub.

The village has never had a public house – well that is – until the church took up the challenge as a way of raising extra cash.

Real ‘village pump’ stuff eh?

Which reminds me – while we are in this slightly unconventional place – the fifth annual Swainswick Harvest Beer Festival will be underway on Saturday, September 7th.

Featuring six local breweries and ten different beers, the event gets underway from 5 pm at St Mary’s House, Swainswick.