Morning service with the very good people of All Saints, Purleigh, a small village with a long history.

Lawrence Washington, the great-great-grandfather of the first US president, George Washington, was rector in the village from 1632 until 1643.

The Purleigh Colony, established in 1896, was a Tolstoyan anarchist colony that grew out of the Croydon Brotherhood Church.

Purleigh Manor, was acquired by Hugh Denys, Groom of the Stool to King Henry VII. Now there's a job!

A later owner of the manor, Sarah Bonnell, left at her death £3,500 in public funds for the endowment of a charity school for girls in West Ham, still surviving as the Sarah Bonnell School, the oldest girls' school in England.

This morning's service was led by a delightful Salford-born woman, and myself, the Salford-educated preacher ..... so lots of northern influences today. And we got to talk about shared origins, which was great.

And there's also the vineyard & winery.