| Where: | Siddington, Cheshire at All Saints Church |
| When: | From 2nd weekend in October |
| Time: | All day |
Every October the pretty timbered church at Siddington is decorated with fruit, vegetables, flowers and literally hundreds (maybe even thousands) of corn dollies made by local man Raymond Rush. Their Harvest Festival Service is held on the second Sunday in the month and the dollies usually remain in place for about four weeks; the church is kept open so that visitors can admire the justly famous display but check with the church for opening hours if you’re planning to attend outside service times.
Helpful Hints
Mr Rush the corn dolly maker lives at the farm near the church and he sometimes sells dollies from his workshop. The dollies are displayed in church for the Harvest Festival and the days following.
In 2024 the Harvest Festival was on Sunday 13th October, with service at 10am- 2025 date is yet to be confirmed but likely to be Sunday 12th.
Click here for church contacts & information & the festival usually appears here in Services and Events: http://www.achurchnearyou.com/siddington/
well worth a visit,mr rush is a character and is very knowledgeable and also has his own books for sale as wel as corn dollies.visit 20.10.11
.This is a small church but quite stunning having been painted black and white to match the original timber frame.
The church doors are also decorated to have a smiling face of sunflower eyes and runnerbean lips and “welcome” picked out in veg. The porch is also full of fruit and veg.
inside is smothered in corn dollies, around the font, stained glass windows, walls,pew ends,chandeliers and up the nave. the organ pipes have corn dolly musical notes which I recognised as “Come ye thankful people come”. I spent a good hour looking at the corn dollies and chatting to Mr.Rush. There was a steady stream of people coming in to see the display.
Mr Rush has a workshop next door where he makes and sells corn dollies (so I bought several). Well worth a visit and I would recommend this to all .The church is just off the A34 south of Alderley Edge has a wide drive and plenty of parking space as well as a toilet.
Hi, I am a teacher at a local school and would like to learn more about making corn dollies so that I could teach my children. Are there any courses that you would recommend?
Hi Elanor,
Here at calendarcustoms we have no connection with the organisation of any of the events on the site – you’d need to contact the church at Siddington, who should be able to pass on details for Mr Rush the corn dolly maker. If you follow this link it takes you to the church contact page: http://www.achurchnearyou.com/siddington/
Hope you get it sorted – it would be great to pass the skills on to another generation!
Best Wishes,
Averil
Hi Elanor, l’m sure many children would be really excited to learn some basic straw work skills….& it’s not difficult. A child could come up with a satisfying result quite easily. Have a look at ‘The guild of straw craftsmen’ website, which gives details of some courses & opportunities to learn ( depends where you live really). There are also instructions for some basic projects, & details of where to get hold of straw from…..you can also use manmade straws, but don’t quite have the ‘soul’ of corn ( in my opinion!). You may well find someone linked to the guild lives near you & might be willing to share some skills directly. Best of luck with your project. Xandra
Artificial straw okay for ornaments but doesnt have the magic of keeping the spirits of the Corn safe for the winter
A friend told me about the corn dolly display at the church. So pleased we visited. What a beautiful building and so pretty with all the corn dollies. What a skilled gentleman. Well worth a visit.