Old Heath
Old Heath is a parish that is south-east of Colchester, Essex, England.
Old Heath has existed since Saxon times and was originally called 'Old Hythe' because it was the first port of Colchester, before Hythe (called Newehethe in 1311) took over: hythe derives from the Old English word for 'landing place'.
Church
Old Heath has a parish church (CofE) called St Barnabas's and also a small Congregational chapel known as the 'tin tabernacle'.[1] The original church of St Barnabas was demolished in 1949 after being declared unsafe.
The church is a Forward in Faith church, having passed Resolutions (A), (B) and (C). This means that the church as a whole is unable in conscience to accept the legitimacy of a woman priest.
The church has regular services, a typical week is set out as follows:
- SUNDAY
- 8am - Mass
- 10am - Sung Parish Mass and Baptisms
- 6.30pm - Evening Service (usually Evensong however occasionally there is a service of Veneration, Healing or Benediction)
- MONDAY
- 6pm - Mass (taken from the Book of Common Prayer)
- TUESDAY
- 10am - Mass (followed by coffee)
- THURSDAY
- 7pm - Mass
- Morning Prayer is said daily at 9am (except Fridays).
- Evening Prayer is said daily at 6pm (except Monday nights when there is Mass and on Friday evenings. It is also said at 5pm on Saturdays).
Both, Morning and Evening Prayer are taken from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer
Chronology
1950 - Rev. George Cooper becomes the vicar of Old Heath after it was granted full Parish status.
1955 - (10 August) - The new church was dedicated after the old church was declared unsafe in 1949.
1957 - Rev. Timothy House becomes the new vicar.
1959 - St. Barnabas gets consecrated.
1971 - Rev. Edward Stevart becomes the new vicar.
1976 - Rev. John McCulloch becomes the new vicar.
1978 - Rev. John Scott becomes the new vicar.
1982 - Father. Brian Lewis becomes the new vicar.
1984 - All rights and privileges of a Parish granted, the Clergy are granted a ‘living’ and the Priest in charge becomes Vicar.
1988 - Father. Peter Walker becomes the new vicar.
1990 - Old Heath celebrates 40 years of being a Parish.
1994 - Rev. Dr. Robert Beaken becomes the new vicar.
2000 - To tie in with the millennium, Old Heath has a celebration of '50 Years of being a Parish and 2000 years of Christianity.
2003 - Father. Richard Tillbrook becomes the new vicar (incumbent).
2004 - St. Barnabas church gets a new icon installed.
2006 - Old Heath gets a clear identity by the erection of ‘Welcome signs’ incorporating the coat of arms for the parish.[2]
2007 - Church hall refurbished and dedicated by the Bishop of Richborough.
2007 - New Community hall opened by the Bishop of Colchester. The refurbishment brings the piece of land and the hall on the site back into community use after many years of dereliction.
2013 - Father. Richard celebrates 10 years of being Parish Priest, the first Priest to do so.
Logo
The logo depicts a ship sailing upon the waves and bears two sails each with a coat of arms. Old Heath is derived from the original Old Hythe or the first Port of Colchester which was located within the parish boundaries of Old Heath. The Port on this location can be traced back to Saxon times. The ship, therefore, represents the fact that Old Heath was the port and still has an active Quayside at King Edward and Haven Quays, both located in the parish. More modern political boundaries have tended to count this part of Old Heath with the part generally known as ‘The Hythe’ in the Parish of New Town as if they were all part of the same community (which politicians call Harbour) but this is not so and the parish boundaries are clearly marked by our ‘Welcome to Old Heath’ signs. Old Heath developed as a separate village beyond the boundaries of Colchester. The two sails of the ship carry the Arms of Colchester and St.Barnabas. Colchester’s Arms represent the ‘True Cross’ of Jesus because it is believed that St.Helena (Patron Saint of Colchester) visited Colchester. St.Helena claimed to have discovered the true cross upon which Jesus was crucified when she was visiting the Holy sites in and around Jerusalem. St.Helena was the mother of the Emperor Constantine and Colchester was a Roman City. The forward sail is the Coat of Arms of St.Barnabas who is the Patron Saint of Old Heath. St.Barnabas is known as ‘The Son of Consolation’ and it may be that he became Patron for Old Heath because we were located in the poor part of what was becoming the big and rich Town of Colchester. St.Barnabas is said to bring comfort and hope to the poor.
This sign appears on all buildings for community use in Old Heath, on the signs welcoming you into the parish from every direction and all on correspondence from the Vicarage and from the Community Task group.
Services
Old Heath has four regular bus services to and from Colchester town centre, a post office, a local Co-op.,[3] a butcher, a baker and a greengrocer. It also has a fish and chip shop to the south of the village, and a small garage.
Old Heath's primary school children are served by Old Heath School which was awarded a 'good' status by OFSTED.[4]
Old Heath is also home to a military firing range, that the public are allowed to access when the red flag is not flying
References
- ↑ 'Old Heath Community Centre'
- ↑ 'Old Heath Homepage'
- ↑ 'East of England Co op'
- ↑ 'OFSTED Report - 8 July 2010', http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/oxedu_reports/download/(id)/122759/(as)/114710_347847.pdf
External links
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