Conference and Meeting Rooms
We at Edenham Vicarage welcome individuals and groups from any Christian tradition or from none; for quiet days, retreats, study, workshops, meetings, training events, individually guided retreats, cell groups, Alpha away days and team meetings of all kinds including school governers and staff. We also welcome groups with children and young people for fun and learning.
We as a retreat house can offer conference equipment and overnight accomodationg if needed for small and large groups with or without catering for around half the price of similar retreat houses. We are the ideal place to host meetings and group get togethers in the heart of the lincolnshire countryside. We are easily accessed from either main roads A15 or A1.
The Vicarage - A short history
Edenham was a very early Saxon settlement founded on an earlier Roman site. Nestling as it does in the bend in a river, in a sheltered valley, close to major Roman roads, the site was certainly settled by the Romans, possibly by a Villa. The Saxons renamed the settlement Edenham (Aidan’s homestead) and cleared areas for farming along the river at various points. The Danes settled these in the ninth and tenth centuries and they were called after their new occupiers – Els, Grim and Sout.
The Augustinian Canons were the religious community responsible for developing Edenham Church into the Holy Place we know. The Augustians would have lived where the Vicarage now stands. The part of the house which runs south to north is most likely part of the original Canonry. They would have entered into their choir by what is now the small vestry door on the South Side of the Chapel and their offices (or the work of prayer) would be sung in the lofty Early English Choir, during the day their books would have been lit by the large windows whose shape can be discerned beneath the plaster. How much light there must have been – especially in the morning!
The Summer House
The summer house seats 10 in a circle but you can use it as a 'base' and expand into the garden (providing the wonderful British weather co-operates)!
The summer house is situated in a quiet spot surrounded by trees and greenery in our peaceful gardens. It was built by Jack Hawes (Fr Andy's Dad) and was dedicated on 8th October 1995.
The Stable Chapel
Located in a small courtyard area at the side of the vicarage is the Stable Chapel; it is a flexible space that seats a maximum of 35 in a theatre style set up and 25 in a circle. The Chapel is always open for individaul and group prayer and for use by groups visiting the house.
The small but cosy room dates from the 1800's when it was orginally used as a stable, by the time we moved it it was a garage. It was then converted to a chapel and dedicated on 15th June 1990 by The Right Reverend Robert M. Hardy, then the Bishop of Lincoln.