The Annual Harvest Tea is our oldest event and our friendliest. Sponsored by the Estate Charity of Sir Christopher Nevile and co-hosted with St Peter's parish church and the Aubourn Village Hall Committee, it has been held — on and off — since 1972, originally in the church, then in the hall after the new hall opened in 1979. The trustees brought it back as a fundraiser in 2018, and it has been our biggest evening of the year ever since.
It is a tea, in the proper sense: tea, sandwiches, scones, fruit cake, lemon drizzle, ginger parkin, savoury bites. Most of the food is brought by parishioners; everything goes onto the trestle tables and is laid out by Lynne Rocks and a small team. The urn is new this year — the old one, which retired at last in 2025, has been kept in the back room as a kind of charitable mascot.
What happens on the evening
- 16.00 · Doors open. Tea begins. The tables are open seating; do please sit anywhere.
- 16.45 · A short reading from the Chair. Jill Hughes will read a paragraph from the trustees' autumn note, which usually includes a quiet thank-you to the donors of the year.
- 17.30 · The Summers Bursaries autumn shortlist is unveiled. Julie Plackett-Smith reads the shortlist (with the applicants' permission). Decisions are made at the December meeting; the autumn unveiling is purely a moment of recognition.
- 18.00 · Cake table is restocked. A second round of tea begins.
- 19.00 · End. A collection plate at the door, gratefully received toward the Winter Fund.
What to bring
- Yourself.
- Cake or a savoury, if you would like to contribute. There is a small table by the kitchen for offerings.
- A coat. The village hall is well-heated, but the walk back from the parking field can be cold in October.
- A small donation, if you would like to give one. The collection plate is at the door on the way out.
Accessibility
- The village hall is on a single ground floor. There is a level entrance from Royal Oak Lane.
- An accessible WC is available off the main hall.
- A portable hearing loop will be in use during the short reading from the Chair and the bursary shortlist. The loop is funded by the Parish Wellbeing Fund.
- Parking is in the field opposite (signed). Two spaces nearest the door are reserved for parishioners with mobility needs; please ask at the door if you would like one of these and we will arrange it.
- Assistance dogs welcome. Please let us know in advance if you are planning to bring one so we can make space at a quiet table.
Bring children
The harvest tea is a family event. Children under twelve are welcome and there is a small books-and-crayons corner at the back of the hall. We do not provide formal childcare. Please supervise children at the kitchen area, where there is a tea urn at adult height.
The harvest tea is not where we raise our money. It is where we say thank-you and where we remind ourselves that the work is local. Jill Hughes, Chair · from the 2024–25 annual report
Register your place
The hall holds around eighty seated and a hundred standing. We ask for an informal booking — it helps us know how many cakes to chase from parishioners. Booking is free and not binding. If you decide on the day not to come, no problem at all.