A packed congregation filled St Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Farnham last week for a stirring concert by the Hart Male Voice Choir, marking the 95th anniversary of the church’s opening and launching a major fundraising appeal for urgent roof repairs.

The evening of music took place at the Tilford Road church, which requires between £250,000 and £300,000 to carry out essential restoration work. The event raised over £3,000 and was the first in a series of planned initiatives to support the appeal.

Directed by Kevin Jacot and accompanied by Judith Morgan, the choir delivered a powerful and emotive programme spanning classical, contemporary and traditional genres. Highlights included stirring renditions of Bridge Over Troubled Water, The Holy City, and folk favourites such as Wild Mountain Thyme and The Parting Glass.

Audience participation reached a joyful peak with This Little Light of Mine, while the evening closed with a poignant performance of Speed Your Journey from Verdi’s Nabucco, as the choir encircled the audience from the church’s side aisles.

In his closing remarks, Parish Priest Father Simon Dray thanked the choir for “a truly wonderful and uplifting evening,” calling it a fitting tribute to the church’s milestone and an inspiring start to the fundraising campaign.

St Joan of Arc Church opened on May 30, 1930. It was established by Fr Etienne Robo, then parish priest, who recognised that the existing St Polycarp’s Church in Bear Lane could no longer serve the town’s growing Catholic population.

He purchased the site of a former gravel pit between Tilford Road and Waverley Lane, and the new church was dedicated to St Joan, canonised a decade earlier in 1920.

Fr Robo’s choice reflected both his French heritage and a desire for reparation: St Joan had been condemned by Cardinal Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, who resided at Farnham Castle and played a key role in her trial and execution in 1431.

Today, St Joan’s is a thriving parish with a weekend mass attendance of about 600 worshippers. It offers sacramental preparation programmes and a range of social, prayer and formation groups.

For more information or to support the roof appeal, visit www.stjoanofarc.co.uk

The Hart Male Voice Choir, founded in 1975, is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. Earlier this year, the choir performed at seven events as part of the Cork International Choral Festival.

To learn more, visit www.hmvbc.org.uk