There are occasions – even for a generally unholy lot like us – when it seems that only a church will do. For those times, our venerable institution of choice is the Parish Church of St Peter in Coughton, Warwickshire.
St Peter’s was where Roy’s sister Lyndsay wedded John Clemmow more than 30 years ago – both Lyndsay and her sister Cheryll had sung in its church choir – and it was there that our daughter, Wendy, was christened in 1980.
The base of this odd-looking font, which took its present form in the 13th century, is thought to be an 8th-century font turned upside-down; it also survived Wendys christening at the end of 1979
St Peter’s hosted Roy’s and my wedding blessing on a clear, cold winter’s day in 1996 (20 years ago next month!), and son Carl in turn married Carrie Grey at the same altar in July, 2009.
Hello’s – Round One
Roy’s baby sister Lyndsay Titchmarsh (almost Clemmow) entering St Peter’s with their dad, Ken Titchmarsh
Lyndsay and John Clemmow signing the registry at St Peter’s in Coughton
Round Two
Roy and I received our marriage blessing in St Peter’s, Coughton, on 21 December 1996, after first tying the knot on 12 December at Gretna Green, over the Scottish border. That’s son Carl doing the reading, and daughter Wendy on the leftA better photo of that stained-glass window – one of several provided for in the will of Sir Robert Throckmorton (1468-1518), the builder of St Peters in Coughton, Warwickshire
Round Three
One gorgeous summer’s day in July 2009, Carl and his best man Mike McClure..
Carrie Titchmarsh (née Grey), navigating the mid-aisle tomb with her dad Colin (off-camera)
Carrie Titchmarsh, bride
Goodbyes
When Roy’s dad, Ken Titchmarsh, left this world in 1999, his funeral service was held at St Peter’s. And now, most sadly, we have just been back to celebrate the long, full and happy life of Roy’s mother, Leila, the much-loved matriarch of the Titchmarsh family who passed away peacefully on 11 November at the grand old age of 93.
Gatecrashers?
When the day after Leila’s funeral turned bright and beautiful, Roy and I headed back to take a few photos. St Peter’s is in the grounds of Coughton Court, a National Trust property that was closed that day – something special about Fridays? – so, undeterred, we climbed over the gate.
St Peter’s is next to the splendid Coughton Court, a National Trust property
Twenty years after my wedding blessing, at the portico of St Peter’s, Coughton
Thinks: wouldn’t want to be saddled with the heating bill for this place
And, finally, a pastoral flock of agni dei – lambs of God
Born and raised in Durban, South African Verne is a writer and editor. She and Roy met in Durban in 1992, got married four years later, and moved briefly to London in 2000 and then to Singapore a year later. After their 15 or 16 years on that amazing island, Roy retired in May 2016 from a long career in shipping.
That's when I started Travels with Verne and Roy (travelswithverneandroy.com). For several summers, we explored the waterways of France on our beautiful new Piper Boats barge, Karanja. The rest of the year was shared between Singapore, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and other wonderful places.
After covid restrictions locked us down with family in Perth, Western Australia, we sold our Karanja. That was a bit of a wrench, but it did free us up for different adventures - road trips, ocean cruises and more all over the world.
Now based in the lovely new home that we built here in Burns Beach, WA, we continue to address the joint bucket list while also revisiting our favourite destinations. Do come along for the ride!
Read articles by Verne Maree
Beautifully said! Love to you all and we’ll be in touch very soon! Xx