From Norman stone to village green: meeting St George in Dorset
St George’s Church, Fordington, sits on a rise above a village green in Dorchester. From the outside it looks like many English parish churches. Step closer, though, and you notice something unexpected. Above a Norman doorway is a carved tympanum showing St George on horseback, charging into battle.
“It’s right there as you come in,” says the Rev Cora Yarrien, who has been vicar of St George’s for five and a half years. “You can walk straight past it and ignore it - or you can be challenged or inspired by it.”
The carving is thought to depict St George’s miraculous intervention at the Battle of Antioch: not the familiar dragon-slayer, but a saint imagined as a heavenly protector, riding to the aid of the faithful. It’s an unusually early image in England, and a reminder that the story of St George has always been complex.
“But that’s one of the wonderful and weird things about the Church of England,” she says. “We worship in buildings that people have been worshipping in for centuries. We live alongside history. And those stories can still inspire us, if we allow them to.”
If the tympanum roots St George’s in the 11th Century, St George’s Day itself is very much in the present. Each year, the parish marks the saint’s day with a fair on the green: cream teas, books, music, jam, cakes.
“It’s probably one of our biggest community events,” Cora says. “When I talk to families at weddings, funerals, christenings, they’ll say, ‘Oh yes, I know your church. I come to the fair. Or I come on Christmas Eve for the crib service.’ In lots of ways, it’s community outreach.”
The fair, held on the Saturday closest to 23 April, is opened by a town crier and sometimes the mayor - a civic as well as church celebration. For many, it will be their only encounter with St George’s all year. And that matters.
“It’s wholesome, family fun,” Cora says. “But it’s also about connection. People seeing the church as part of their lives.”
On the Sunday in church, which is the Patronal Festival (where churches celebrate their own saint), children are “knighted” at the patronal service, choosing their own chivalric names - “Sir Reads‑a‑Lot”, “Lady Kind‑Hearted.”
“Lots of what we think we know about St George is fantastical,” says Cora. So I wouldn’t recommend anyone goes off to slay literal dragons, but we do keep it light!”
In linking the day to what we can reflect on spiritually, Cora points to the Church of England’s collect for St George, with its emphasis on recognising the risen Christ.
“I love those moments of confusion and recognition in the resurrection appearances,” she says. “And that reference in the collect brings St George into that space. It’s not about heroics so much as understanding who Christ is and how we serve others.”
“Sometimes our national symbols can be used in ways that are unhealthy or unhelpful,” Cora says. “But we don’t know much about George beyond his love of God and his service. For Christians, that’s what matters.”
St George’s is a thriving church which serves its worshipping and wider community.
Community comes together to celebrate shared values in revival of St George's Day tradition
St Mary’s Church in Gillingham, Dorset, will welcome around 200 Beavers, Cubs and Scouts from across seven North Dorset groups, for a service where they will renew their promises and present their flags before the altar.
The service, on Sunday 26 April, will take place following a parade through the High Street of the town, marking a revival of a St George’s Day tradition in the area following the Covid lockdowns.
The Rev Becca McDonnell, appointed Rector in January, will speak on the subject of the interdependence of the community, exemplified by the celebration of shared values of helping others that is part of the scouting tradition.
"This is a good opportunity for the children, and the community, to reflect on how when we face our challenges in life, it is better to do so together, regardless of our differences," she said.
"We all have our own ‘dragons’ – the problems that we face, but in the beavers, cubs and scouts they learn to tackle these as a team. As they learn new skills and problem solving to earn badges, they learn to work together, and to put others first.
"The scouting tradition exemplifies this through the scouting promises to help others, while in turn being supported by the wider community, in particular all the volunteers who make these opportunities possible. It will be a joy to welcome all these young people and their supporters to the church to renew their scouting promises."
With thanks to Revd Cora Yarrien, Revd Becca McDonnell and the Church of England Communications team for the above stories.