A TINY iron church will provide the venue next month for ‘Carols in the Wood’ – the annual service held at the gypsy church on Bramdean Common, near Alresford.

And this year the service, on Sunday, December 4, will have a special significance as it will remember a friend who was instrumental in saving the church for posterity.

Reputed to have been built in just five weeks in 1883, by and for the gypsy communities and charcoal makers who lived on the common, the small green building, trimmed in white and with a bell tower, stands as a virtually unknown gem in the Upper Itchen benefice, part of the Winchester Diocese.

As readers of the Alton Herald may know, Jim Lovelock, the former police officer of the Bramdean district, died in April.

Jim was the chairman of trustees of the Church in the Wood for 28 years and instrumental in saving it in 1986 when its demolition was mooted by the then vicar of Bramdean.

It was his hope that some people who attended his funeral might make a donation for the benefit of the little woodland church that he loved so much.

A number of people did this and have made it possible to give the roof, the bell tower and the weathercock a much-needed rub down and coat of paint.

A spokesman for the trustees said: “The marvellous thing is that no hint of rust was found in the roof cladding despite being 133 years old, a tribute indeed to the quality of Victorian steel and red oxide paint!

“Jim would be so pleased but sorry to be missing the mulled wine and mince pies after Carols in the Wood this year.”

This year’s service starts at 3pm. The church can only seat 50 people, so visitors must be prepared, if necessary, to stand outside. To find your way, listen for the bell.