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Page 2 of 4 While speaking to Ms Pengelly, the church’s tower captain, she explains that the church community is much larger than many may think as it includes much of Falmouth. “The ecclesiastical parish has a population of about 7,000,” she said. “Whereas the civil parish of Budock has a population of only about 2,000.” There is a real community feel surrounding the church; in recent years the churchyard has been expanded by the buying of a plot of land through combined contributions, enabling those who so wish to be buried in the shadow of the church tower. From the unchanging and stable nature of the village church, we head into Budock Water itself, which seems to be experiencing a period of change. Talking to Rob Gibson in the village store and post office, I learn that they have, this morning, discovered that their post office is to be lost in the recent cull. .jpg) The village store and post office, run by Rob and Jan Gibson. “Obviously this will be a big blow to the village”, Rob says. “We’ve had magnificent support from the people here, but nobody was listening.” Sadly, this seems to be becoming an all-too familiar story. Unfortunately, the criteria for closing a post office seems to be mostly based on distance, and as there are two post offices within the specified distance of Budock Water, it became one of the prime candidates for closure. A loss of sense of community is one of the main concerns surrounding the post office closures, and as Rob said: “They don’t seem to be taking any notice of that at all. They’re just ripping the heart out of our community.” It is unclear whether the shop side of the business can survive without the post office, but Rob and his wife Jan are keen to try and remain open. With their friendly natures and central village appeal, I hope so. It would seem a terrible blow to lose the village’s focal point as well as one of its facilities. “Without that focal point”, Rob says, “it ceases to be a village to me – it’s just a group of houses.” |
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