As our churches and churchyards change their hue to the vibrant colours of autumn, our October newsletter looks back at recent events that have taken place during this season, whilst also looking forward as we move towards winter and plans for the festive season.
October started with a member-only literary event with geographer and broadcaster Nick Crane where he discussed his new book, The Path More Travelled – The Secret History of Britain’s Footpaths.
Nick presented an illustrated talk taking us from early man and the evidence of the first footpaths and ancient footprints in the Severn estuary, how ideas came across the channel, the arrival of horses and therefore bridleways, the development of the wheel, the first streets, the arrival and departure of the Romans, the building of Hadrian’s Wall, the development of mapping, through to the Class A airfields of World War II, and right up to the present day.
A fascinating insight into the British landscape.
See more on this evening here.
We have a limited number of signed copies of Nick’s book which you can purchase here.
Saturday 10th October saw the culmination of the Sacred Spaces: churchyards for nature event at St Andrew the Apostle Church, Holt, where the winner of the inaugural Norfolk Churchyard Conservation Award, was announced.
The Rt Revd Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich, was on hand to open the envelope to reveal the winner as Hemblington All Saints. He is pictured here presenting a specially carved oak plaque along with a cheque for £1,000 to Susan Rowe from the church.
The standard of entries overall was impressive, so much so that three other churches received churches received Highly Commended Certificates on the day. These were Blofied St Andrew & St Peter, and a brace of All Saints Edingthorpe and Horstead.
You can read more about the day, the inspiration for the award, more details on the churchyards of the finalists and see more images here.
Our final event for October was the much anticipated Secret Artists Auction and of course the big reveal linking our Secret Artists with their artwork.
The Weston Room at Norwich Cathedral was the venue for climax of the Secret Artist Auction. More than 100 guests including Trust members, supporters, ‘secret artists’ and representatives of the Norfolk Churches Trust came together for the final hours of bidding.
There was time to view all the wonderful submissions, and discuss our favourites, or keep our cards close to our chest, and see if we could work out just which artist had created which work.
We were delighted to welcome artist, designer, writer and long-term friend of the Trust Matthew Rice, as our witty and engaging host for the evening.
He regaled us with stories of his days as a churchwarden in Norfolk and his thoughts on how we could and should be using our church buildings, and why this evening was so important in raising funds for these incredible buildings in our communities. He of course made sure that we kept bidding!
When the digital hammer came down at 8.30pm we were delighted to see that the fantastic sum of £34,437 was raised from the auction, and finally the Secret Artists and their works were revealed, did you guess correctly, see here.
We would like to thank all those artists who kindly donated pieces, to Matthew Rice for hosting, for those who worked behind the scenes to make the event happen and to those who took home a piece of artwork. Your generosity means that we can support more Norfolk Churches with grant funding helping to keep Norfolk’s unique church heritage open for all.
Update on the 2026 Bike Ride, Walk & Drive
How time flies, it has been just over six weeks since the good people of Norfolk took to the roads and paths of the county to take part in the Bike Ride, Walk & Drive. Since that date we have been collating visitor and sponsor forms and receiving payments, and we are delighted to announce our first total of £82,260.69. A fantastic start. Half of the proceeds raised from the Bike Ride, Walk & Drive event is distributed to the churches and chapels that our participants nominate, last year 253 places of worship in Norfolk directly benefitted. The other half of the proceeds are used to boost our Grant Fund, so to all who participated either by sponsoring, volunteering, or raising money yourself, you really are making a difference. So, if you still have forms and funds to send to us, the sooner we receive them the sooner we can distribute funds to your nominated churches.
Although titled Bike Ride, Walk & Drive, how you take part is very much up to you. Bikes have included the modern, the power assisted, vintage, at least three tandems, and two penny-farthings. The drive element this year has included Classic Cars for the first time and we have recorded walkers, runners, people on horseback, bell-ringers, and the very MOD-ern scooter, pictured here.
Have you seen the lovely images that we have received of the day, it is a wonderful lasting record of this event. The photo gallery can be viewed here.
We will shortly be announcing the winner of this year’s photography competitions, so watch this space.
We also love to hear stories of your day, and we share with you news from two of our regular participants. David Nice has once again shared with us his annual chronicle of his day taking part in the event. As ever, lots of information and photographs which may prove the impetus to visit one of the churches featured here, or use as a guide for next year’s event perhaps? Read his blog Stockton to Thurton here.
Octogenarian Marylin Williams, a stalwart of the Bike Ride, has once again made her annual pilgrimage from Liverpool to Norfolk to take part. She loves Norfolk, the place where she grew up, and the church buildings that are very much part of the landscape. Read the story of her day here.
The Bike Ride, Walk & Drive Committee will meeting soon to plan the 2027 event and we welcome your thoughts and suggestions so we can improve year on year. Was the signage more widespread and visible this year? Was the form easier to print and use? What else could we improve? Let us know here.
We want to make this event an accessible and fun way to engage people in preserving the history, character and identity of Norfolk. Finally, please put Saturday 11th September 2027 in your diary.
Funds raised from the Secret Artist Auction, the Bike Ride, Walk & Drive and all our events help to preserve Norfolk’s unique church heritage. Our Grants Committee will be meeting of 5th November and we will share news of which churches have been successful in securing grant funding in our November Newsletter.
Coffee, Clean & Chat is back!
On Tuesday 6th October a group of willing volunteers dusted, swept polished and washed Rackheath All Saints church, which was left gleaming at the end of the morning.
There was still time to chat over coffee and delicious homemade, seasonal apple cake in this lovely, light filled church which is in the care of the Norfolk Churches Trust.
As ever, Tipsy the dog was on there to lend a paw and make sure that we were not slacking!
Our next Coffee, Clean and Chat will be taking place on Tuesday 3rd November from 10am to 12.30pm at Dunton, St Peter, NR21 7PG do please join us if you can for all or some of the morning.
and in December
Celebrate the first day of December by joining us for Coffee, Clean & Chat at West Bilney, St Cecilia, PE32 1XQ
Looking forward
The Trust is delighted to bring Daniel Wilson to Wymondham Abbey on Thursday 19th November at 6.30pm.
Daniel is a young online content creator who produces short form videos featuring the history and architecture of Britain’s buildings. He will be reading from and signing copies of his new book Great British Architecture: Remarkable Stories of Our History and Heritage.
Discover the extraordinary stories written into Britain’s historic buildings, and the people, power and ideas that shaped them. From time-worn ruins and cathedrals to tucked-away country churches and elegant stately homes, Britain is full of genuinely incredible, but often surprisingly overlooked, historic buildings.
Places for this evening are priced at £20 for an individual or £30 for a couple, each option includes one copy of the book.
Book you place(s) here.
We are also offering a special price of £5pp for those aged under-25 (please note this price does not include a copy of the book, but books will be available to buy on the night, should you desire). Book your under-25 place here.
Our Winter’s Tale event, taking place on Thursday 26th November proved extremely popular with tickets selling out within 48 hours.
We apologise if you were disappointed not to be able to secure a place.
For those joining us on the evening, we do hope the event provides the perfect start to the festive season with an enchanting evening of Music and Prose.
Our thanks goes to our special guest readers Olivia Colman, Adam Buxton, and Miranda Raison and to our musical accompaniment the Saltmarsh Strings
As thoughts turn to the festive season, save the dates for the annual Carol Services that will be taking place in the Churches in the Care of the Trust.
Thursday 3rd December – 7pm Snetterton All Saints, NR16 2LR
You are very welcome to join us at the annual Candlelit Carol Service laid on by World Horse Welfare for a celebration of Christmas Carols and Readings, coupled with mulled wine and mince pies. Please note the car park is not lit so torches are recommended and please wrap up warmly.
Wednesday 16th December – 12 noon – Rackheath All Saints, NR13 6QT
This Carol Service will be followed by a sausage and soup lunch. All Saints is signposted with a brown Heritage sign on the Wroxham Road: continue down Swash Lane NR13 6QT.
Wednesday 16th December – 7pm Dunton St Peter NR21 7PG
A Carol Service by torchlight. Volunteer Nativity ‘lesson’ readers welcome on the night. Please wrap up warm and don’t forget your torch.
Tuesday 22nd December – 3pm – West Rudham, St Peter PE31 8TE
Carol Service followed by mulled wine and mince pies.
We do hope you can join us at one of these Carol Services.
Planning your Christmas shopping? North Norfolk’s finest Christmas Fair is back at Fakenham Racecourse in aid of Thornage Hall which it has supported for over 30 years
Taking place on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th of November 2026. there will be some 40 independent stalls showcasing an array of artisan pieces, from homewares, jewellery, leather goods, clothing for men women and children, stationary, accessories and gifts galore.
The Norfolk Churches Trust is pleased to announce that it will be one of the stallholders at the event, where you will be able to purchase our Emma Bridgewater pottery, our other branded merchandise, Christmas cards and other special Christmas presents.
Entry to both Wednesday (4-8pm, preview evening) and Thursday (9am-3pm) is via a donation of £5 on the door, where you will find the famous Bottle stall, Tombola, Raffle and Thornage Hall café for a sweet treat and a coffee. There will be bubbles available in the evening too.
You don’t need to wait to purchase your Norfolk Churches Trust Christmas cards as we have a range of cards available to purchase from our online shop, including the 2026 card which features a Nativity stained glass window situated at St Peter & St Paul, Shropham (1898) by Mary Lowndes.
Mary Lowndes (1857 – 1929) was a pioneering female artist in the Arts & Crafts Movement at the end of the nineteenth-century and made over one hundred stained glass windows. She paved the way not only for other women artists in the Movement but was also active in the cause of women’s suffrage, organising demonstrations and creating posters, banners, and placards to raise awareness.
Cards measure 5″ x 7″ and come in packs of 10, priced at £8.00 per pack.
The wording printed inside is Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year
Please note that postage and packing, within the UK, is included in the £8 price for orders of 10 packs or fewer.
Purchase your Christmas Cards here.
Is your church organising a Christmas Fair (or any other fundraising event)? Would you like us to promote it on our website, if so email a flyer and some information to the following email address media@norfolkchurchestrust.org.uk.
Thank you as ever to our members and supporters, your generosity enables us to support parishes across the county, helping to keep their buildings open for the benefit of all.
