All eyes were set on Olney in 2023, when the town was at the centre of commemorations to mark the 250th anniversary of one of the world’s most beloved hymns, ‘Amazing Grace’.
Composed by the Reverend John Newton in the weeks leading up to his New Year’s Day service at St Peter & St Paul Church on 1st January 1773, the hymn – in various different musical styles – has gone on to inspire countless people and has even become known in America as the nation’s “spiritual anthem”.
“’Amazing Grace’ is a hymn that means so many things to so many different people, and so we didn’t want to mark its 250th anniversary with just one big official event,” explains Cowper & Newton museum trustee Amanda Molcher.
Other plans included the setting up of an Amazing Grace Community Quilt Project which has lead to the creation of a large quilt dedicated to the hymn that will then tour venues around Olney and beyond. The Olney Allotment Association has used the anniversary to establish a new community orchard, while the Cowper & Newton Museum has a ‘Sharing Heritage’ project, that will tell the stories of the people and places of Olney through new information boards and heritage trails.
If you would like to offer support for the anniversary preparations, please email the event team at olneyag250@yahoo.co.uk