Chichester Procession and Plough Blessing to mark NFU centenary

Driving two working Clydesdale horses and a farm wagon on February 3 will be heavy horse enthusiast Clive Kennet of Steep Marsh, near Petersfield.
Working horses and vintage tractors will form an eye-catching procession through Chichester to mark the centenary of the NFU.

The procession will draw up beside Chichester Cathedral and deliver an antique plough for blessing at a Plough Sunday service inside the cathedral on February 3 (Sunday) from 3.30pm. All are welcome.

The event, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the leading trade association for farmers and growers, has been organised by the West Sussex branches of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution and the NFU.

Agricultural vehicles, from the ten decades between 1908 and 2008, will be driven from Chichester college at 2.35pm along Avenue de Chartres to arrive outside the cathedral before 3pm.

One of the organisers is farmer David Burden, from Foxhill, near Petworth, a former chairman of West Sussex NFU. He says: “For the National Farmers’ Union this is a watershed moment - rapid changes have taken place in farming in the past century. Change will no doubt continue apace, but society will always need farmers and growers to provide its daily bread.

“Plough Sunday will be a time to remember the past, assess the present and look to a future full of promise and hope. Everyone who values the rich heritage of our productive countryside, and who has at some time been employed on the land, is invited to share in this celebration.”

Representatives of The Women‘s Land Army, colloquially known as ‘the Land Girls’, will be present at the service. They worked on farms to feed the nation, as male workers had gone off to fight during the Second World War. By 1943 there were some 80,000 women working on the land. With their uniform of green ties, jumpers and brown felt hats, land girls worked from dawn to dusk, milking cows, thatching hay-ricks, digging ditches, sowing seeds and harvesting crops.

Proceeds from a collection at the service will go to RABI and Chichester cathedral. Details of disabled access provision within the cathedral appear on the cathedral website and are available from the cathedral office tel: 01243 782595 or by email.

Fellow event organiser, Amanda Harman, NFU group secretary based at Pulborough, says: “This is a unique opportunity for us to celebrate Britain’s farming heritage. The NFU will be spelling out why farming matters during its centenary year. We shall also be explaining why the key to the future will be to ensure that farming has the capacity to produce the food and the fuel that the nation needs. The NFU is proud to represent British farmers and it will continue to do so, keeping abreast of change and helping its members to adapt over the next 100 years.”

Driving two working Clydesdale horses and a farm wagon on February 3 will be heavy horse enthusiast Clive Kennet of Steep Marsh, near Petersfield. Tractors will be supplied by Lou Hazell of Chichester Tractors Ltd, Vinnetrow Road, Chichester. A display of fresh produce inside the cathedral, near the west door, is being provided by Simon Kendall of Runcton Farm Shop, Pagham Road, Runcton.

*Procession route and timings: starting at front car park of Chichester College no later than 2.30 pm, it will head north on Avenue de Chartres to the West Street roundabout. Proceeding east along West Street and following the one-way system up Tower Street, along The Woolstaplers and down Chapel Street. West along West Street where it will briefly break for the plough to be taken from the cart. Following this, the procession will continue down West Street, south on Avenue de Chartres to Rue de Ravenna roundabout, returning to the College.