A half-century of ordination to the priesthood was celebrated by Father Philip Gray at the weekend. The vicar of St Mary’s, Mendlesham, for 45 years, he also serves as honorary chaplain to three church heritage charities. Father Philip, who was ordained priest at Chelmsford Cathedral on September 21, 1969, is an honorary chaplain to the […]

A 10% membership increase has enabled the Norfolk Churches Trust to help safeguard places of worship across the county. A total of more than £182,000 has been pledged to 48 churches for repairs and restoration work, said the Trust’s chairman Peter Sheppard. As the trust holds one of its biggest events, the annual Bike Ride […]

Thefts of lead from Norfolk’s churches have halved in the past two years – thanks to the roof alarm scheme. A £250,000 fund has actually enabled 70 of the most vulnerable churches to be protected by the Roof Alarm Scheme. Initially, it was planned to install 50 alarms when the scheme was launched two years […]

An outstanding fundraiser has been royally recognised for their support of the Norfolk Churches Trust for the second year running. The High Sheriff of Norfolk, Lady Agnew presents top fundraiser, Paul Nicholls, with The Prince of Wales’s Certificate supported by members of the Burgh Castle congregation at Burgh Castle Church. Paul Nicholls received a signed […]

A service of re-dedication of All Saints, Waterden, was attended by two council members of the Norfolk Churches Trust. A most moving service of Evensong was conducted by the Bishop of Lynn, the Rt Rev Jonathan Meyrick. Fiona Fraser, on behalf of the trust, which also contributed towards the £272,000 cost of restoration, read the […]

The highly successful Stately Car Boot Sale event will be back in May 2020 at the splendid Sennowe Park.  More details will be published as soon as they are available.  

An enthusiastic walker has just completed the remarkable challenge of visiting all 900 churches in Norfolk. Retired Aylsham accountant Graeme Johnston, who is a member of the Norfolk Churches Trust, covered more than 3,500 miles on his marathon tours of the county’s churches, including redundant ones and ruins. There were some challenges – for example, visiting the […]

A celebration of major repair projects at a Norfolk parish church included a surprise announcement by the Bishop of Lynn. The Rt Rev Jonathan Meyrick told the 70-strong congregation at St Agnes, Cawston, that he would be preaching from the top of Norwich Cathedral’s helter skelter. He would deliver his sermon on Sunday, August 18 […]

A record number of members have joined the Norfolk Churches Trust, it was reported at the latest quarterly council meeting. Since March, a total of 43 new Friends of the Norfolk Churches Trust have joined – bringing the total to 564. There was also an increase of 21 parochial church councils becoming “Friends” in the […]

A special cake was cut to mark the golden jubilee of Norfolk Church Tours. It was 50 years ago when Mid-Norfolk farmer Richard Butler-Stoney and a group of like-minded enthusiasts started the first tours. And over the past half century, hundreds of churches across the county have been visited as the full summer programme of […]