As we move forward celebrating our 50th year, we have a wonderful opportunity not only to look ahead, but to reflect on the people and achievements that continue to shape the work of the Norfolk Churches Trust.
This anniversary year is already proving to be a memorable one. We have enjoyed some truly special events, from our first Heritage Skills & Maintenance Day bringing together expertise, enthusiasm, and practical care for our wonderful churches to the beautiful and uplifting opera at Heydon. These occasions remind us how our churches can be both cherished heritage and vibrant, living spaces.
At the heart of all this are our members and, most especially, our volunteers. Your generosity of time, knowledge and energy is what makes our work possible. It is through your continued support that we are able to fund vital grants, helping to preserve and protect Norfolk’s churches for future generations.
Thank you to all who have helped to make this happen.
Our main image this month is of works taking place on the tower and porch roof at Great Cressingham, St Michael. This, one of seven churches that were venues for our Heritage Skills & Maintenance Day on Saturday 18th April. We were delighted to welcome so many people who were able to see first-hand the many diverse range of maintenance skills involved to keep our churches safe and watertight. Repairs took place at each church with the contractors on site displaying their skills and answering questions on the tasks taking place on the day.
There were even opportunities to ‘have a go yourself,’ such as the flint wall workshop at Foulden, All Saints.
The skills covered on the day were numerous and varied, including flint wall, stained glass, timber roof and tower repairs, historic lettering, church drainage, water ingress, advice on cleaning monuments and ledger stones, eco church, churchyard wildlife, bell restoration, setting up Friends Groups, leadwork, grant advice, sustainable flower arranging, and promotion of our Classic Car Road Trip an exciting new element to this year’s Bike Ride, Walk & Drive fundraising event in September.
Representatives from the Trust were on hand to talk about the work that we do and we were incredibly grateful for the enthusiastic response we received.
Overall, an extraordinarily successful day, thank you to everyone who supported this event, particularly architect Ruth Blackman and the contractors who were working onsite. Also, members of the respective PCCs who ‘manned’ the churches and supplied delicious cakes and refreshments that kept us all going throughout the day.
Handouts from the experts with useful contact details and notes will be available to download from our website shortly, along with more photographs of the day.
We had a wonderful evening with Justine Picardie at the beautiful Wolterton Hall on 27th March. Pictured here waiting for our guests beneath the exquisite tapestries in the Saloon at the hall, Justine gave us a fascinating, illustrated talk on her new book Fashioning the Crown: A Story of Power, Conflict and Couture, which she signed for our guests at the end of the evening. We do have a limited number of signed copies of Justine’s book in our shop. You can also read more about the evening here.
On Saturday 11th April a group of members of the Norfolk Churches Trust attended Justin Nolan’s extremely interesting and informative Elephants and Squirrels, Arcades and Tracery Tour. Taking in two distinctive, but quite different Grade I listed churches in South Norfolk namely St Andrew, South Lopham and St Peter and St Paul, East Harling.
The tour took us from the Anglo-Saxon period to the dawn of the Reformation, looking at why these churches were located where they were, and who were the people who funded them.
The afternoon was rounded off by a delicious afternoon tea provided by members of East Harling church. You can read more about the tour here.
Our April Coffee, Clean & Chat, saw us moving south in the county to Snetterton, All Saints. Here we welcomed a group of willing volunteers who dusted, polished, swept, vacuumed, and washed the floors. Chair of the Grants Committee, Dr John Maddison gave a talk on the history of the building whilst we took a break for coffee and cake.
The transformation was incredible, so a big thank you to those who helped.
That freshly washed ledger stone reflects the east window beautifully!
The following churches will be getting the Coffee, Clean & Chat treatment over the coming months, all taking place on Tuesdays from 10am to 12.30pm.
12th May – Illington, St Andrew
2nd June – Barmer, All Saints
7th July – Lynford, Our Lady of Consolation and St Stephen
On Friday evening, 17th April in a candlelit, and atmospheric Heydon, St Peter & Paul, the assembled were treated to a wonderful evening of opera from Norfolk’s very own Jacob Harrison, accompanied on the piano by Mark Jones.
The performance of La Primavera, inspired by Boticelli’s La Primavera included works by Schubert, Wolf, Donizetti & Verdi, was captivating. The feedback we have received has said that this was one of the best events that the Trust has ever arranged. So, a special thanks to Jacob for this magnificent evening.
Looking forward – A special musical evening to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Norfolk Churches Trust is being held at St Mary Magdalene, Warham, NR23 1NH, on Saturday 30th May from 5.30pm. The concert, featuring works by Handel and Telemann amongst others, will be performed by the internationally acclaimed Brook Street Band, (pictured), and award-winning tenor David de Winter. Tickets are priced at £50pp to include champagne and canapes following the concert at The Rectory, Warham. Book your place here.
Ecclesiastical Historian John Vigar will be our guide for two unique church tours this summer taking in the Leased Churches in the Care of the Norfolk Churches Trust. Discover their history, architecture, and the stories they hold as John brings each building to life with expert insight and engaging commentary.
A fascinating day for anyone interested in local heritage, churches, and their history.
The tours are priced at £20 for members and £30 for non-members
Tour 1 – 8th July 11am to 4pm Starting at Bagthorpe, St Mary, the tour will take in Barmer, All Saints, Dunton, St Peter and, West Rudham, St Peter. Book your place here.
There will be approximately 20 minutes of driving between the churches, with a suggested lunch stop in Fakenham.
Tour 2 – 22nd July 10.30am to 4pm Commencing at Hargham, All Saints and moving onto Snetterton All Saints, Illington, St Andrew and Lynford, Our Lady of Consolation & St Stephen. Book your place here.
This self-drive tour requires approximately 40 minutes of driving between churches and allows time for a local lunch.
Light refreshments will be served at the final church of the day on both tours.
Incredible music in the most classic setting!
Diva Opera, Britain’s foremost chamber opera company was founded by Anne Marabini Young and Bryan Evans thirty years ago, to take opera out of the confines of traditional theatre and bring it to unique settings. Since its inception, the company has earned an unrivalled reputation within the operatic world and beyond. Giving around 40 performances of full operas and concerts annually, they are now ambassadors for chamber opera internationally.
We are pleased to say that they are returning to the Marble Hall at Holkham again this summer where they will be performing La Bohéme (more information here) on Friday 24th July and La Cenerentola (pictured – more information here) on Saturday 25th July.
These two unique summer evenings are in support of the Trust, for which we extend our gratitude for Holkham’s continued support and to Sarah, Countess of Leicester for her tireless efforts to obtain sponsorship.
If you are visiting Holkham, Leo Schmidt, author of Holkham, An English Treasure House and its Landscape, has very generously offered to donate £25 for each copy of his book sold in the Holkham Shop to the Norfolk Churches Trust.
The book, richly illustrated and with far-reaching essays invites the reader on a tour through this well-preserved house with its splendidly furnished interiors and amazing collection of artworks.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Mr Schmidt for this very significant donation.
Here Comes the Sun – Music for a Summer’s Evening
On Thursday 30th July, from 7pm the Saltmarsh Strings comprising Freya Goldmark (violin), Sara Longe (violin), Jim O’Toole (viola), and Ivan McCready (cello) will be our musical accompaniment for the evening at Corpusty, St Peter.
The evening will take us on a musical journey from Dvorak to the Beatles.
The ticket price of £25 will include a drink reception at this historic church with its views over the surrounding countryside where St Peter’s stands proudly on a hill above the villages of Corpusty and Saxthorpe.
For more information and to book, follow this link.
This church is one of thirteen in the direct care of the Norfolk Churches Trust. The annual insurance premium and basic maintenance for these churches cost approximately £20,000 per annum. The proceeds from this event will help us maintain these buildings for the benefit of all. So, do not miss this opportunity to celebrate summer in style with this wonderful musical ensemble.
The Trust has taken delivery of new ‘blank for your own message’ greetings cards. Coming as a mixed collection featuring interiors of Norfolk churches, this image of the cloisters at Norwich Cathedral is included in the set.
You can see the other images included and buy yours here, they are priced at £8 for a pack of ten.
See our shop for other cards and all our branded merchandise.
The proceeds from our events and merchandise sales go toward the funding of the Grants that we award at our thrice yearly Grant Committee Meetings.
In the last financial year our Christmas card sales were £2,553 and a further £4851 was generated by other merchandise.
As an example of how these sales help: all the windows at Gissing, St Mary have buckled and require repair. If left this would cause further problems to the integrity of the building. The Trust awarded a grant of £8,000, to the church towards these repairs in November 2025. The PCC are now working through the church a window at a time as funds become available.
We are pleased to report that the first stage has been completed, already making an enormous difference to the light coming into the church.
We wish them well with the rest of their repairs.
So, thank you to all our members and supporters, you really are making a difference.
