Pirbright Scarecrow Festival

Two years ago there was a Scarecrow Festival in Chandler’s Ford, at St. Boniface church.

I always thought scarecrows only existed in children’s stories or places like Midsomer where DCI Tom Barnaby (or DCI John Barnaby) ran around solving triple murders in the quaint English village. I’m not sure why, but I’m pretty scared of scarecrows.

On the 21st of June, there’ll be a Scarecrow Festival in the village of Pirbright in Surrey, just one hour away from Chandler’s Ford.

Here I’m showing you some scarecrow images I took at the parish church of Chandler’s Ford two years ago:

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Pirbright Scarecrow Festival

My parents-in-law live in Pirbright, a little English village in Surrey with a population of about 2,000.

On Saturday 21st of June, the village will be celebrating the 800th Anniversary of Pirbright Church (St Michael & All Angels, Pirbright), where my son was christened in 2001.

The Scarecrow Festival features Medieval Re-enactment displays.

When I visited my parents-in-law a few weeks ago, I saw a large Henry VIII greeting us on Pirbright Green. On Saturday, Pirbright Green will be taken over by scarecrows.

Pirbright’s name was first recorded in 1166 as Perifrith, a compound of pyrige (pear tree) and fryth (a wood or wooded country). If you would like to find out more about Pirbright, you could download Pirbright Facts (pdf, 94kb).

My mother-in-law is very involved with the village. She puts together Peri News for Pirbright Parish Council for the past 10 years out of love. The job is demanding but also fulfilling. Every family gets to read what she writes about each month.

I think I’ll pay a visit to Pirbright at the weekend to see the scarecrows (and my parents-in-law). I do appreciate the traditional village atmosphere. There will be bowmen showing a medieval re-enactment, archery, birds of prey, traditional games and stocks, tug-of-war, and many stalls. I hope the sun will shine and the scarecrows are not too creepy.