Lockerley: St John

The Parish of Lockerley has a population of about 1000. The village is centred on the two communities around Butts Green and Lockerley Green and has several outlying hamlets; St John’s church lies between these two main communities. The housing in Lockerley is mixed with both low-cost rented accommodation and more expensive dwellings.  The modern vicarage, in this geographically central parish, is situated in the heart of the Butts Green community. Lockerley Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, the Village Hall and garage are on Butts Green while the shop, Baptist Chapel and Greenview Rest Home are on Lockerley Green.

Lockerley is an active and friendly village with many organisations including Scouts, Guides, a Lunch Club, a preschool playgroup, a gardening club and a Silver Band that supports the Remembrance and Harvest services with their music. The village hall is very well used – and not long ago the Church led in establishing a twice-weekly Coffee Shop to coincide with the new Outreach Post Office in the same building).  Lockerley plays an active part in the Thorngate Villages Care Group, which covers the Thorngate parishes.

Lockerley has a good mixture of services – a Midweek Communion and a service every Sunday at 1030am. Half of these services are Eucharists with a robed choir and half are Services of the Word – led by members of the Benefice Ministry Team along with an acoustic ‘Band’ once a month. Lockerley (CofE) Primary School use the church for termly services (which the children lead) and consider it ‘their church’. St John’s Church is late Victorian and has enough space to cater for the most popular services.  It is well maintained and there is an enthusiastic (and good!) band of bell ringers who ring before the main Sunday services. The church’s finances are sound with many of the congregation paying through planned giving. The CMF/Parish Share has consistently been paid in full.

At the end of 2021 Lockerley PCC recombined with East Dean PCC.