www.oxford.anglican.org
October 2016 no 284
Playgrounds for Palestine UK - page seven
thedoor Win a copy of Lighted Windows- page five
God in the Life of Bishop Steven - page 16
The BFG’s hidden home page 11
‘Bridget Jones’ church in the Ride and Stride
DESPITE wind and searing rain hundreds of people turned out for the annual Ride and Stride to raise funds for historic churches in the Diocese. And one of the churches highlighted in national publicity was St Lawrence’s, West Wycombe, where the wedding scene in the new Bridget Jones’s Baby movie was filmed. St Lawrence’s is already on the tourist map as it is on West Wycombe Hill, a National Trust park, which features the stately home of the Dashwood Family. Brian Prosser, the treasurer at St Lawrence’s, had previously worked with film production companies before he retired from his work as an insurance broker. He first heard that the film company were interested in the church when he took a call from West Wycombe Park. “They told me they were interested in using the church for the wedding scene. About 20 people turned up, the full production team for Bridget Jones.” Part of the deal meant someone from the church was present every day during the filming, so Brian, his wife and his daughter-in-law watched the whole process. “They completely stripped the church, they took everything out, even the font, but they took photographs of everything and put it all back. The day after they left you would never have known they had been there,” he said. Joshua Harris, of Cohanim Architecture, poses at St Lawrence’s, West Wycombe. Photo: John McAllister “It was jolly interesting. I had to sign a confidentiality statement saying I The film crew also left the flowers, which services. to publicise the event at St Lawrence’s. wouldn’t discuss what was going on. They Brian says must have cost thousands Brian was speaking just a few days after The trusts across the country aim to filmed a couple of different endings for the of pounds, for the church. Brian said the Ride and Stride, which despite the raise funds for repairs to churches and has scene. there were enough to decorate both St bad weather, saw people riding cycles and helped St Lawrence’s with a donation of Lawrence’s and St Paul’s Church, also in “They came back two weeks later to horses and walking around churches across £5,000 towards a £7,000 repair scheme for West Wycombe. The production company borrow a pew for a day because one of the the UK, to raise money for the Historic dry rot. scenes hadn’t come out very well. They took also delayed the filming so that they Churches Trusts. The National Historic Continued on page two... did not disrupt Remembrance Sunday the pew to the studio to re-film it there.” Churches Trust used the Bridget Jones line