STOKE POGES CHURCH FUND.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] have been surprised that the Spectator, of all papers, has not published any appeal so far on behalf of Stoke Pages Church. As a lover of that ancient church and its literary and historical associations, I hope that you will grant me a few lines to tell you the facts of the case. With the £2,000 which was collected last autumn the Committee have repaired the Norman tower and bought four acres of the Church Meadow. These four acres will be added to the three acres already given by two residents to the National Trust. The church spire, which was in danger of collapsing, is being taken down. That was inevitable. A new one cannot be erected until the necessary funds have been obtained. More- over, if the churchyard is not to be pressed in upon by new buildings, the remaining six acres of the Church Meadow must be purchased. Altogether nearly £4,000 is still required. The inhabitants of Stoke Poges have done their best, but they not unnaturally feel that the " Country Churchyard " of Gray's Elegy, and the place where several generations of the Penn family are buried, is in a real sense the property of all English people. The Honorary Treasurer of the fund is Mr. H. Howard-Vyse, Stoke Place, Stoke Poges.—I am, Sir, &c;, A.
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