Yorkshire Vet star Peter Wright has warned that the village church which played a major part in his childhood “cannot be allowed to close” as it faces an uncertain future.
The TV vet returned to Thirkleby, near Thirsk, as All Saints’ Church celebrated its 175th anniversary with a weekend of community events.
But amid the celebrations, attention was also drawn to the challenges facing the church, with rising repair bills and small congregations threatening its future.
Peter, who was raised in Thirkleby and later trained with James Herriot author Alf Wight, spoke to a capacity crowd about his childhood and the role the village played in developing his lifelong love of animals.
He said: “Being born in Thirkleby and spending the first 14 years of my life growing up there, I look back at an idyllic childhood.
“It was a time of enjoying childhood friendships, learning and understanding nature and developing a love of all animals which, as a veterinary surgeon, has stayed with me, enriching and dominating my life.”
Peter also has strong family connections to All Saints’. His parents were married there, he and his brother were christened at the church and his grandfather served as churchwarden for 32 years.
Recalling playing hide and seek inside the building as a youngster and watching his grandmother polish its stone floor, Peter issued a plea for its future.
“This church is in peril,” he said. “It cannot be allowed to close.”
He also entertained the audience with stories about characters from his childhood and recalled how the surrounding fields and beck provided all the entertainment local youngsters needed.
“Boredom wasn’t a thing. It wasn’t in our vocabulary,” he said.
“We didn’t have a lot of money, but we had a richness of time and place that money couldn’t buy.”
The September 19 and 20 celebrations also featured Victorian songs from a community choir and a performance by local school choir The Sessay Songbirds.
A church service on the Sunday was followed by a free Victorian afternoon tea.
Organiser Ann Stoney said the weekend had demonstrated the strength of feeling towards All Saints’.
She added: “Like many rural churches, All Saints’ is facing an uncertain future. The repair bills are vast and our congregations are small.
“We have certainly not given up hope though and this shows how very loved it is.”
Anyone wanting to learn more about the church or future events can contact gillwalmsley@tiscali.co.uk
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