The Trust’s 50th AGM took place on Thursday 17th September at St Peter’s Church Corpusty. Trust President, General the Lord Dannatt commenced proceedings welcoming Trustees, Advisory Council, Staff, Volunteers and Members of the Trust to the meeting. He thanked Chairman Rosabelle Batt and the team from the office, for all the hard work that had gone into the 50th Anniversary year celebrations.
Rosabelle gave the Chairman’s Report, which you can read in full at the bottom of this report, in which she noted how fitting it was that St Peter’s Corpusty should be the venue for our AGM in our anniversary year as this very church was the impetus for Billa Harrod and friends to form the Norfolk Churches Trust back in 1976.
At this AGM we also said goodbye to two of our Trustees who have chalked up 50 years between them. Firstly, Ian Lonsdale who has served the Trust for 30 years, including a term as Chairman, as a member of the Bike Ride Committee and helping to organise the SCBS with military precision, Ian, to coin an ecclesiastical term has been a font of knowledge and wisdom over the years.
Secondly, Amelia Courtauld, who has been with the Trust for 20 years and has been a real driving force behind our Bike Ride, Walk & Drive event. Along with her hard work for the Trust she brought with her a sense of fun, enthusiasm. determination, and empathy, which we will all miss.
David Missen presented the Honorary Treasurer’s Report. The highlight of 2025/2026 financial year was the Stately Car Boot Sale which raised over £100,000 with the added benefit that events such as these attract new members to the Trust, resulting in an increase in our subscription income, for which we are most grateful. He reported that £137k was spent during the year on the Churches in our Care, you can read more about the work that has taken place in these churches in our Annual Report, as well as further financial information.
Following the rest of the official business of the meeting the AGM closed at 5.30pm and was followed by a talk by our guest speaker, Rachel Morley the Director of the Friends of Friendless Churches.
Rachel’s talk, began with the history of Corpusty Church, and the origins of Norfolk’s church conservation movement. The Friends of Friendless Churches, founded in 1957 by Ivor Bulmer‑Thomas, was followed almost 20 years later in 1976 by the Norfolk Churches Trust, with Billa Harrod at its helm. Both charities have their links to St Peter’s the venue for this evening. The church had not been viewed as a candidate for inclusion in the Redundant Churches Fund (now the Churches Conservation Trust) and there was a real fear that the church could be demolished. In 1982 St Peter’s was taken on by The Friends of Friendless Churches who carried out substantial work to the tower. Through them and the efforts of a few locals the building was stabilised to stop it deteriorating further. The roof was repaired and the windows glazed to keep out the worst of the weather. In 2009 the church passed into the care of the Norfolk Churches Trust.
Rachel highlighted problems of the past are still with us today. The threat of redundancy remains. The Friends of Friendless Churches are being approached to take on more churches than ever. The recent closure of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (that enabled VAT to be reclaimed on eligible repair and maintenance works) has not helped. Its replacement, the Places of Worship Renewal Fund (PWRF) will provide £23 million a year over 4 years, a considerable reduction on the previous scheme, and is only available within England. Rachel highlighted that the previous scheme enabled any church to claim VAT on repairs, whilst the new scheme’s criteria emphasises the areas with the most social and community need. There are currently 976 places of worship on Historic England’s Heritage as Risk Register. In the past approximately 100 buildings would be removed from the list annually, the figure now is around 30 per year. She also highlighted the dwindling number of priests, which are at an historic low, added to that approximately a quarter of churches do not have a Churchwarden. Rachel advised us to make as much noise as possible about this issue, including getting in touch with our local MPs.
On a positive note, Rachel stated that churches do survive, because people care. Volunteers and charitable trusts step in where others do not. The current climate, with its emphasis on social inclusion and well-being can be a positive with the role of heritage being a power for good. Our churches do have a social value, although sometimes this can be hard to demonstrate.
So, why do churches matter? Placemaking is a current buzzword and the Government has its Pride in Place Strategy. Rachel stated that churches were in fact our original placemakers, they are the very essence of place, they tell you how people lived and thrum with the drama of human life.
Following our speaker we had the opportunity to mingle over refreshments before a service of Praise and Thanksgiving taken by Reverend Canon David Longe and the Reverend Richard Turk. During which a musical interlude was provided by violinist Sara Longe, one quarter of the Saltmarsh Strings, as the sun set over Corpusty.
Thank you to all who attended.
Chairman’s Report Norfolk Churches Trust AGM 2026
Thank you all so much for being here this evening, at what is a particularly special AGM as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Norfolk Churches Trust. And I really cannot think of a more fitting place for us to be than here, at St Peter’s, Corpusty. Because in so many ways, this church represents exactly what the Norfolk Churches Trust is all about.
St Peter’s was closed in the 1960s and then suffered terribly from vandalism, theft, and neglect. What happened to St Peter’s was one of the reasons Billa Harrod and others decided, fifty years ago, that something had to be done, and the Norfolk Churches Trust was born. I am particularly delighted that Roger Last, who played an important part in the story of this church, is here with us this evening.
I can remember driving past here more than thirty years ago and seeing this church covered in vegetation, looking lost and forlorn on the hill.
And yet, here we all are this evening.
This summer we have seen this church filled again: a hugely successful concert, with the evening sunshine streaming through the windows, and only recently, a wonderful Eucharist service with a congregation, including children and families. A church that once appeared abandoned is alive and loved again.
I think Billa Harrod would have been enormously pleased to see this tonight. Her legacy, and her sheer determination that these beautiful ancient churches should not simply be allowed to disappear, lives on in everything that we do today.
And it is particularly fitting that Rachel Morley from the Friends of Friendless Churches is with us this evening. The Friends played such an important part in rescuing St Peter’s before the Norfolk Churches Trust took on its care in 2009.
So, this building is not simply the venue for our 50th AGM. It is part of the reason why we are here at all.
You will be relieved to hear that I am not going to repeat everything in the Annual Report. Instead, I’d like to pick out a few highlights from this extraordinary anniversary year. And what an extraordinary, uplifting, exhausting and memorable anniversary year this has been.
We began with the inaugural Lady Harrod Lecture, given by John Goodall of Country Life. We held our first Heritage Skills and Maintenance Day across seven churches, and we have had wonderful musical events, special services, and other occasions in churches across Norfolk. And, of course, the hugely successful Holkham Opera, which this year raised more than £40,000 for the Trust. Our enormous thanks must go to Sarah, Countess of Leicester. Our annual Bike Ride and Walk was joined this year for the first time by our Classic Car Drive, which was a huge success. A particular thank you to David Missen, who devised the routes and quiz and did so much to make the day such fun.
But perhaps one of the things that has given me the greatest pleasure has been our Primary School Art Competition. More than 2,600 Norfolk children took part. They went into their churches, stopped, looked at a window, a carving, a monument, or a gargoyle, and drew something that captured their imagination. More than 600 of their pictures were exhibited at the Crypt Gallery in Norwich. Seeing them all together was one of the most uplifting moments of our anniversary year.
Because if we want these buildings to survive for another fifty years, it is not enough simply to repair them. Another generation has to discover them and ultimately love them.
Our anniversary service at Norwich Cathedral was another very special moment, celebrating everything that has been achieved over the past fifty years and remembering all those who have contributed to it.
But before I say any more about our anniversary year, I should look back briefly at the year covered by this Annual Report. Perhaps nothing captures the spirit of the Norfolk Churches Trust quite like our Stately Car Boot Sale at Sennowe Park. More than 4,000 people came, and the event raised over £100,000. What I remember most, though, is the extraordinary army of people who came and volunteered, not because they had to, but because they love Norfolk’s churches and want to help protect them. From the almost military car parking to the teas, cakes, stalls and Silent Auction, everyone played their part.
And, of course, there were the bargains.
Where else could you see a stuffed moose head being carried triumphantly across a Norfolk park, followed shortly afterwards by a pair of gentleman’s red thigh-length kinky boots? Somehow, it all works. People come together, have enormous fun and, in doing so, help preserve the churches they love. My particular thanks must go to Delphine Steel, and her committee and to all the volunteers who made that extraordinary day possible.
Our other events, visits, lectures, church tours and the wonderful Bike Ride and Walk all raise vital funds. But they also do something perhaps just as important. They bring people together around our churches.
But behind all these events is the real purpose of the Trust: helping Norfolk’s churches when they need us. Last year alone we awarded grants totalling £182,713, and over the past fifty years we have awarded more than £7.1 million, supporting 733 churches across Norfolk. Behind every grant is a churchwarden, a parish and a community trying to look after something precious.
We have also launched our Churchyard Conservation Scheme, spearheaded by Ian Lonsdale in partnership with the Diocese of Norwich and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, helping parishes care for churchyards not only as places of history and memory, but as wonderful havens for wildlife.
There is, however, a sad irony that in our anniversary year we have seen the removal of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. We are already seeing the consequences. At our most recent Grants Committee meeting, two churches received £6,599 simply to cover the additional VAT costs. That is money which could have gone directly towards repairing those churches.
But we cannot allow ourselves to be defeated by it.
We must continue, as I am sure Billa Harrod would have wanted, to give hope to churchwardens and communities faced with what can sometimes seem an impossible task; to help people care for these buildings, use them, and bring life back into them.
And above all, to remind people that Norfolk’s remarkable medieval churches are not somebody else’s responsibility.
They belong to all of us.
And before I finish, there is still one very exciting anniversary event to come — our Secret Artist Auction on 22 October, with the pictures being exhibited at the Red Dot Gallery in Holt. We have some wonderful artists taking part and, we hope, it will raise a significant sum for the Trust.
There are also two people I particularly want to thank this evening as they retire as Trustees.
First, Ian Lonsdale, who has been with the Norfolk Churches Trust for more than thirty years.
Thirty years is, I believe, considerably longer than a life sentence, although I hope Ian will look back on his time with us rather more fondly. Ian has served the Trust in so many ways, including as Chairman. His knowledge of Norfolk’s churches, his wisdom and dedication have been invaluable. And characteristically, he has hardly been winding down, spearheading our new Churchyard Conservation Scheme in his final year. Ian, we owe you an enormous debt of gratitude. Thank you.
We also say goodbye as a Trustee to Amelia Courtauld, after a remarkable twenty years. Amelia has brought to the Trust an unfailing sense of optimism, fun and charm, together with a formidable determination to make sure things actually get done.She has played an enormously important role leading our Bike Ride Committee and supporting one of the Trust’s best-loved events. Amelia, thank you for twenty years of enthusiasm, hard work, laughter, and friendship. We will most definitely miss you.
Finally, as Chairman, I simply want to say thank you to everyone who makes the Norfolk Churches Trust what it is, our trustees, staff, committees, churchwardens, clergy, craftsmen, volunteers, members, and supporters. And not simply for this extraordinary anniversary year, but for everything that people have given to the Trust throughout its fifty years. Even simply by being a member, you are part of this.
Fifty years ago, people looked at churches such as St Peter’s, Corpusty and decided that allowing them simply to disappear was not acceptable. Tonight, we are sitting inside one of those churches. A church that was once abandoned and left to ruin now stands strong and proud on this hill. Alive, loved and with a future once again.
I cannot think of a better testament to what the Norfolk Churches Trust has achieved over its first fifty years, or a better reason for us to begin the next fifty with confidence.
Thank you.
Rosebelle Batt Chairman, Norfolk Churches Trust
