TRIBUTES have been paid to the wife of a former Bishop of Hereford whose sense of family extended deep into the Church.

Bridget Eastaugh, who died aged 89 on Christmas Eve, had been involved in other organisations such as Barrs Court School and St Michael’s Hospice, her daughter Katie Eastaugh said.

Born in Worcestershire to Sir Hugh and Lady Chance and educated at Michael Hall, a Rudolf Steiner School, many would remember her from village life in Kingsland, as well as the Church.

Bridget, who was married to the late Bishop of Hereford The Rt. Reverend John Eastaugh, helped to organise a goose fair in 1982, incorporating each parish in the diocese.

Katie said: “Bridget’s sense of family extended deep into the family of the Church. She bought people and communities together with common purpose.

“This was exemplified in 1982 when she gathered a team to organise and stage a Goose Fair. Every parish in the Hereford Diocese took part – no mean feat as the Diocese covers all of Herefordshire, much of Shropshire and a part of Wales.”

The event, which included a parade from High Town to Cathedral Close led by a Hereford Bull and a goose on a cart, raised more than £10,000 for the Church.

Bridget’s husband died in office, leaving her a widow at 58, and in 1991, she moved to Kingsland.

“Bridget’s faith sustained her throughout her life,” Katie Eastaugh added.

On the night she died, she listened to Hereford Cathedral’s Christmas carol service, where her grandson Arthur is a chorister, with her family by her side.

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