THE only surviving pre-1400 church in Wales has kept the tradition of the weekly newspaper, after a village shop closed on September 6.

When the grade 2 listed building closed in Grosmont, it looked like residents lost not only a place to get their groceries but a place to get their weekly newspaper, but thanks to St Nicholas Church in Grosmont they kept the community tradition alive.

Volunteers at the church greet residents every day from 9.30am until 10.30am to collect their local paper, reassuring that despite in today's modern age where digital technology has become increasingly popular, local news still has a home in the community.

Rev Mary Moore, of St Nicholas Church said: “There is a community organising it, so I was more than happy for the church to be the venue for the papers in the meantime.

“I think it has been important for people to have that continuity and it’s important for me and for the church committee to be able to provide those things as and when we can.

“Chloe and Jim in the Angel pub are looking to take over the business side of the papers but haven’t got there quite yet and will need a venue, so we have stepped in here to provide the venue and continuity for the community.”

Keeping the tradition of local papers alive in the area reinforces how newspapers are still a staple even in an age of instant news and how local institutions like the church are helping to keep the tradition alive.

The church, which dates back to the 13th century, have stepped in to ensure this happens and so people don’t lose access to their local paper. It highlights that although digital platforms are opening new opportunities, not everyone has access to a device where they can receive their local news. The news is a vital source it informs people and amplifies the voices of those who might otherwise go unheard.

For many people the paper is more than the news- it's routine. The church has kept that by showing resilience and adaptation to the needs of the community. It has also always been a hub for locals and now providing a helpful service is another way of supporting everyday lives.

Karen Far, who has taken the lead of distributing the newspapers to people along with other volunteers has grew up with always knowing the shop, due to her family members running the shop.

The shop which used to be a post office was run by Karen’s family for over 57 years until her cousin Richard Brierly retired in January 2022. Since Richard retired, the shop has been run by Karen Fellows from the village on behalf of the owner.

The post office was bought in 1964 by Karen’s aunty Nora and Uncle Roy, but it had been a shop many years before that. When the shop was in business it was open from Monday to Saturday and some Sundays with only two holidays taken in all those years.

Karen’s cousin took over running the shop and post office from an early age, when her uncle became very ill with cancer and ran it for many years with little help.

In 1990 there was an armed raid on the post office during which Karen’s aunt was held at knifepoint and her cousin was injured by one of the perpetrators. They were left tied up in the kitchen and with the threat that the family dog would be killed if they called for help.

For most people the idea of continuing after an event like this would be too difficult to face but it didn’t occur to them to leave this village, they had called home for 26 years, so their work continued.

“This raid brought me back to the village and back to my first boyfriend from teenage years, who became my husband in 1993. To say the post office and shop shaped my life and gave me so much to be grateful for would be an understatement, hence the closing of it was a very emotional event for me, said Karen.

“For many of us in the village the idea of there not being a local shop is unbearable and a number of us are hoping to put together a plan for a community shop.

“We know a lot of work ahead of us, but the determination shown during an open meeting on August 23 shows we have as good a chance as anywhere to achieve our wish.

“The shop has been many things to many people; we are an isolated village with no public transport so, both a meeting place to pop into and bump into other locals as well as a place to buy items needed is vital.

“We will put every effort in to try and re-instate a viable shop to cater for today’s needs.”

Andrew, a volunteer and a past Vicar at St Nicholas Church said: “I retired living in the village, having lived here over 20 years, and it is a wonderful village.

“It is centered very much around the village shop. It was a place where people collected their papers and went shopping and it's very sad that the current owner couldn’t keep the shop running.

“This is the place where people come to collect their papers and most people who collect them are people who can’t get them from outside the village because they have mobility issues.

A local resident in the community said: “Losing the Village shop has been a huge blow, but it is so typical of Grosmont that a group of people have come together to try to resolve the problem as so many in the village relied on that facility.

“Whilst work is continuing in the background to try to bring a shop back to the village, it is wonderful that we have volunteers who are keeping the newspaper delivery going.”

The role of the community shop provided many services but ultimately it united the village.