The tenant farmer doing all she can to save village church

FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN FOR REPAIR WORK

- By DEBORAH HALL

THERE is not a lot by way of services taking place these days at a quaint little church tucked away in the heart of rural East Yorkshire, but it is nevertheless of great importance to the local community and one woman in particular.

Diann Atkin is the tenant farmer at Church Farm, Cowlam, northwest of Driffield, appropriately named as it has a church on its land. St Mary's is listed by Historic England as "a small church, incorporating medieval fabric, but restored and rebuilt in 1853, apparently by Miss Sykes of Sledmere House.

"It has an outstanding Norman font. The church is unusually located in a farmyard.

"The roofs are in poor condition and the stonework is deteriorating." With a grade two listing and an overall condition noted as "poor", St Mary's has been assessed as being in "slow decay" with "no solution agreed".

If the Parochial Church Council had had its way, with the blessing of the Diocese of York, St Mary's would have closed in 2016, Diann said. But she was not having any of that.

"I said no. I was married here, had a child christened here, I've lived here for 65 years and have worked on this farm, with its church in the farmyard, for 50 years.