Welcome to February’s Newsletter. With Valentine’s Day approaching we gift you this image of the east window from Sustead, St Peter & St Paul, appropriately adorned with a heart.
This month we are launching new exciting events as part of our 50th anniversary celebrations, they are identified on our events page with the logo shown here.
As part of those celebrations, and to highlight the work that keeps Norfolk’s historic churches standing strong, the Trust will be hosting a Heritage Skills & Maintenance Day across seven Norfolk churches. Join us for a fascinating day exploring skills, stories and practical work on Saturday 18th April, from 10am to 2.30pm. Across a series of beautiful churches, experts will be on hand with demonstrations, talks and opportunities to have a go yourself. You can see more information including the churches which are taking part and what is happening where by following this link.
You can also download a flyer here.
The skills covered are numerous and varied, including and not limited to, flint wall repairs, stained glass and tower repairs, historic lettering, church drainage, water ingress, advice on cleaning monuments and ledger stones, timber roof repairs, eco church, churchyard wildlife, bell restoration, setting up Friends Groups. leadwork, grant advice and more.
Do you have primary age children or grandchildren? If so, their school may be interested in our School Art Competition. We are aiming to inspire primary age children to create a drawing or painting of their local church. This is an opportunity for the children to express their creativity, while discovering the rich heritage of Norfolk churches.
There will be three age categories with first and second prizes for both the school and the winning artists.
The Finalists artwork will be judged by a celebrity panel:
Susie Fowler Watt: BBC Look East presenter, Ben Youngs: former England and Leicester Tiger’s rugby player, and Lauren Hemp MBE: WSL Manchester City and England footballer.
Prizes will be awarded by Dame Emma Bridgewater at a special ceremony at Norwich Cathedral on 17th June 2026.
More information and entry forms for schools can be found on here.
For our Secret Artist Auction & Exhibition we are inviting artists to donate an A5 piece of original artwork.
All works, which will be anonymous in the first instance, will be exhibited and auctioned in October to raise funds to protect and conserve Norfolk’s historic churches.
We will update you on the artists involved and how you can bid on one of these unique pieces of art as more information becomes available.
If you would like to be involved please contact Amy on finance@norfolkchurchestrust.org.uk
Download a flyer here.
We are pleased to share that Justin Nolan is hosting one of his engaging and informative tours for us again this year. This tour is exclusively for members of the Norfolk Churches Trust.
Taking place on Saturday 11th April from 2pm to 5pm, Elephants and Squirrels, Arcades and Tracery, will feature two of South Norfolk’s finest churches, namely South Lopham, St Andrew and East Harling, St Peter & St Paul. The tour, priced at £50pp includes afternoon tea at East Harling.
This tour will stretch in time from the Anglo-Saxon period to the dawn of the Reformation looking at churches which share a preoccupation with scale but little else. As ever you will be treated to an informative and enlightening afternoon. Tickets are limited so book early to avoid disappointment,
For the itinerary, and to book follow this link
We are delighted to welcome home one of Norfolk’s finest musical talents, Jacob Harrison to St Peter & Paul Church, Heydon for a Spring Concert on Friday 17th April. La Primavera, inspired by Boticelli’s La Primavera including works by Schubert, Wolf, Donizetti & Verdi, will be performed by Jacob (Bass-Baritone) accompanied by Mark Jones (Piano).
The concert starts at 7.15pm with doors opening at 7pm. Tickets are priced at £25 per person, to include an interval drink. More information and booking details can be found here.
Members of the Norfolk Churches Trust additionally have the opportunity to attend a pre-concert drinks reception at Heydon Hall from 5.45 to 6.45pm. Places, which are limited, are priced at £45 per person, which also includes your concert ticket, can be booked here.
Download a flyer here
Bike Ride, Walk & Drive 2025
The Trust has received a significant legacy donation from one of the Bike Ride’s oldest and most enthusiastic participants.
The 96-year-old’s family have donated a £1 to £1 match of the £115,527.99 raised from the 2025 Bike Ride to help support The Trust’s general Grant Fund. Her family told The Trust:
“She really enjoyed and supported the annual church bike ride for many decades and even aged 96½she still managed to cycle to more than a dozen churches in the 2024 bike ride, which was an amazing achievement. She never learned to drive, so her bicycle was one of her most prized and used possessions. She loved to travel around Norfolk’s churches whether by bike, train or bus and the words of poet John Betjeman were often quoted as she visited some of the county’s more remote landmarks – ‘What would you be, you wide East Anglian sky, without church towers to recognise you by?’ We hope the legacy donation in her memory will help The Trust’s important work to preserve Norfolk’s churches for current and future generations to cherish and enjoy.” The Trust would like to express its gratitude to the family for this wonderful gift.
If you would like to find out more about leaving a legacy follow this link or contact our office either by email at secretary@norfolkchurchestrust.org.uk or by phone 01379 677272.
Edward Rawlings, topped the Wall of Fame for 2025 by visiting an impressive 57 churches by bike on 13th September last year, his efforts to benefit Beeston Regis, All Saints. You can see how others fared here. Will you top of Wall of Fame this year?
We will be announcing the recipient of the Lord Lieutenant’s Certificate and the Most Improved church shortly.
The first of our Winter Lecture Series of 2026 took place on Friday 30th January. Dr John Maddison, front right in the image, was our speaker for William Morris, ‘Kelmscott Manor and the Idea of the Beautiful House. The lecture explored Morris’s developing sensitivity to historic domestic architecture through his own homes, from the romantic Gothic medievalism of Red House to a profound understanding of the beauty and simplicity of traditional vernacular architecture at Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire. John, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, was one of the authors of the conservation plan for Kelmscott Manor which was restored by the Society between 2018 and 2022. Therefore he was able to give the assembled a very informed, interesting and amusing talk on the restoration of Kelmscott, as well as an insight into the life of Morris, including his relationship with his wife Jane, and former friend Rossetti. Thank you to all those who attended.
The first of our Coffee, Clean & Chat sessions of 2026 took place on Tuesday 3rd February, at West Rudham, St Peter. On a very cold and blustery February morning, what better incentive to warm up and get the blood flowing than cleaning a Norfolk church?
So a big thank you to our willing group of volunteers from the locality and beyond who swept, dusted, polished and washed the interior of this Grade I listed, historic church which has been in the care of the Norfolk Churches Trust since October 1979.
You can see more images from the day here.
Our next Coffee, Clean & Chat will be taking place at Cockthorpe, All Saints NR23 1QS, on Tuesday 3rd March 10am to 12.30pm.
All are welcome, we would love to see you there. No experience needed, coffee and cake supplied!
On 22 January 2026, the UK Government confirmed that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS), which allows listed places of worship to reclaim VAT on eligible repair and maintenance works will permanently close on 31 March 2026, or earlier if the remaining annual budget is fully allocated. The Government has announced that the scheme will be replaced by a new £92 million, four-year capital programme, known as the Places of Worship Renewal Fund. This new fund will be delivered by Historic England, apply to England only, and will focus on repair and conservation work to help safeguard historic places of worship for future generations. You can read the full report here.
We will update you as more information becomes available.
The Emma Bridgewater designed Norfolk Churches Trust 50th anniversary mugs have arrived!
The wonderful Emma Bridgewater team have created two very special commemorative mugs for us to mark our anniversary year.
The designs include a variation of our much-loved classic style, stamped 50 years alongside a bold and celebratory design featuring a striking, oversized “50”. Both designs have our traditional church logo on the other side.
The larger “50” design was personally created by Dame Emma Bridgewater at last year’s Stately Car Boot Sale, appropriately over a cup of tea with ex-Trust Chairman Lady Caroline Egerton.
Only 100 mugs of each design have been produced, making these truly limited edition keepsakes. Each mug is priced at £30 (plus £5 p&p), and is stamped on the base with the Norfolk Churches Trust mark of authenticity.
Order yours here.
You can download a condensed version of this newsletter here to pin on your church noticeboard.
As ever, thank you for your support.
