Coleshill Gazette, Issue 343 (March 1998)
St. Bartholomew's Church at Little Packington could soon be filled with music for the first time in years. The church is in the process of being converted into a home for the Shepherd family, who moved in last September.
Musician Sue Shepherd, who plays piano and harpsichord and sings (as well as teaching music in South Warwickshire Schools) is keen to hear from local musicians, with a view to performing choral and chamber pieces in the family music room - previously the chancel of the church. Sue, (who also points out she's available to give piano and harpsichord lessons), would like to make contact with other singers, and string and wind players. She can be contacted at Bartholomews, Little Packington, Coventry, CV7 7HN (telephone 01675 - 443071) (now: 12 Broadway, Coventry CV5 6NT, tel 024 7671 4837 -webmaster).
About St. Bartholomew's Church
St. Bartholomew's held its last service in 1967, and the Queen's Order in Council of 1981 declared the building redundant. It fell into disrepair and now the Shepherd family have decided to live there.
There was probably a wooden church on the site in Saxon times, but the oldest parts of the present building date from about 1125. Until about the late 1500s, it was St. Nicholas' Church. It has been suggested that St. Bartholomew was chosen to commemorate the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Protestants in France. (St. Bartholomew, incidentally, was one of the twelve apostles, also referred to as Nathaniel, the 'Israelite without guile'! Tradition says he evangelised in Armenia and India).
There is a graveyard and the Shepherd's say they find it 'very calming.' Covenants oblige the family to keep the stones in place, but rabbit burrows had led to some falling over.
Faced with many questions about living in an old church, the Shepherds have produced an information sheet about the history of the building. It reveals that the rector Richard Mudge published a set of concertos in 1749, and all being well, they could be performed at St. Bartholomew's in the very near future.
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