Chris Hearn, co-owner of The Loddon Brewery, today presented a cheque for £460 to All Saints Church in Dunsden. The Money was raised through sales of their Monthly special for May, Wilfred's Mild, named after the famous WWI poet Wilfred Owen. Mr Owen worked as Lay Assistant to the vicar of All Saints Church (found in the field behind the brewery) from 1911-1913, shortly before he went to war. His parents, Mary and Tom and his sister are buried in the church yard.
Luke Hearn, Sales Manager at The Loddon Brewery, contacted the Wilfred Owen Association who then put him in touch with Peter Owen, Wilfed's nephew who gave him permission to use his uncle's name for one of their beers. Due to Wilfred Owen's close link with All Saints Church, Chris and Vanessa Hearn, owners of The Loddon Brewery decided to donate 10p of every pint sold to the church to help with the up-keep of this beautiful 19th century church.
Peter Owen has since been to visit the Brewery and enjoyed one or two pints of Wilfred's Mild!
Chris Hearn of the Loddon Brewery said,
"As a company we are always looking to support the local community and therefore we are delighted to be able to donate this sum of money to All Saints Church, which will help them keep this lovely church looking so beautiful. We'd like to say and big thank you to everybody who has helped make Wilfred's Mild such a success, and in particular the Owen family. We've really enjoyed learning so much about this incredibly talented poet and look forward to a great relationship with the Church for many years to come"
Christine Bland, Warden of All Saints Church said,
"We are really pleased that The Loddon Brewery has been so generous and decided to donate this money to our Church; it will go a long way to help us with our on-going maintenance costs."
