The Holy Guild of St Joseph and St Hedda was founded in 1839 in Egton Bridge (St Hedda was seen as a local saint because he was a monk of Whitby Abbey before he went on to be Bishop of the West Saxons). It was a mutual aid society aiming to cater for the spiritual as well as the corporal needs of its members. From its beginning, for the rest of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries it always had a sizeable membership incorporating a large proportion of the parishioners of St Hedda’s, Egton Bridge and St Anne’s, Ugthorpe.

In recent years, the number of members has become much reduced as have the activities of the Guild. Accordingly, an Extraordinary General Meeting was held on Thursday 28th May to consider future prospects and at this meeting, it was unanimously decided to disband the Guild. The meeting also decided to disburse the remaining assets of over £5,500 as follows: £2,000 to be expended on Mass stipends for living and deceased members; the remainder to be divided equally between the Daughters of Charity Mission in Ethiopia, Teesside Catholic Handicapped Fellowship and the Salvation Army (the minutes of this meeting can be viewed on the St Hedda’s website: eskvalley-rc.com).

Sometime in the near future, it is hoped to hold a Service of Celebration and Thanksgiving in St Hedda’s, Egton Bridge, for the work of the Guild over 170 years.

David Smallwood