A 15th Century barn at Old Alresford will provide the venue next week for an autumn fair in aid of the Rainbow Trust, a charity which supports families caring for a child with a life threatening or terminal illness.

Visitors to the event on Friday, September 22, held by kind permission of Lord and Lady Wakeham, will be able to browse beautiful clothing for all ages, including silk and cashmere jackets, textiles, leather-bound books, jewellery and accessories, ceramic kitchen ware, and hand-blown Christmas baubles from Jerusalem.

Artwork from Hampshire Originals and treats from Mrs Richardson’s renowned pantry will be available and many local businesses will be represented in this magnificent setting.

Sarah Vey, a patron of the Rainbow Trust for many years, said: “The charity provides 24/7 support to families with life-threatened and terminally-ill children, and felt that a fair would be an excellent way to support both church and charity. However, none of this would be possible without Lady Wakeham who has been so supportive.

“We are also indebted to several local individuals and companies such as Boxit, Hellards and Busby’s Builders, whose kind sponsorship has helped make the fair possible. We have a dedicated, hardworking committee and I am delighted that we have managed to pull together such diverse, quality stalls from Hampshire and across the country.”

St Mary’s Church treasurer Roger Parsons said: “The church council is extremely grateful that Sarah Vey and her autumn fair committee chose to support the church together with Rainbow Trust children’s charity.”

Rainbow Trust has nine care teams of family support workers across England, including Hampshire, making life a little easier for families at home, in hospital and in the community.

In Hampshire, family support worker Claire has been providing emotional and practical support to the Watts family from Charminster, Dorset, for a year and a half. Hannah and Larry’s nine-year-old son, Sam, was diagnosed with Sanfilippo Syndrome when he was four.

Claire supports the whole family and picks up Sam’s five-year-old sister, Georgia, from school and takes her on fun excursions to the beach or soft play.

Hannah said: “They have a really good relationship. Claire takes me for a coffee if I’m feeling a bit down and looks after Sam. She is part of the family. Rainbow Trust supports the whole family so they give something that no one else can offer. Rainbow Trust gives us the help we did not know we needed. It helps us enormously and I cannot speak highly enough of them.”

The Rainbow Trust is a national charity which offers emotional and practical support for the whole family; from their child’s diagnosis, during treatment and, if needed, through bereavement and beyond. It relies almost entirely on voluntary donations and thanks to its generous supporters helps over 2,000 families in England.

The autumn fair will open from 9.30am to 4.30pm in the barn at Pinglestone Farm. Entry is £5 on the door, with the proceeds, plus 10 per cent of all sales being evenly split between Rainbow Trust and St Mary’s Church.