As we move into autumn, we look forward to seeing the lovely colours associated with the season as the leaves start to fall, with crisp days and blue skies giving us the opportunity to visit our county’s wonderful churches, such as the picturesque Thurton, St Ethelbert, pictured in our main image.
The first of our Coffee, Clean & Chat sessions, which we are hosting at the churches in the direct care of the Trust, took place on Tuesday 2nd September at Rackheath, All Saints. A group of willing volunteers dusted, polished, washed, and swept, with the church looking much more presentable two hours later. The coffee and delicious apple cake certainly helped sustained us in our endeavours! For more details of the morning, click here.
The next Coffee, Clean & Chat session will be taking place at Bagthorpe St, Mary, PE31 6QY, pictured above on Tuesday 7th October at 10.30am. Please do pop along if you can, everyone is welcome. If you require further information about these sessions, please contact secretary@norfolkchurchestrust.org.uk.
Two churches that have received grants from the Trust have recently completed repairs. The scaffolding is now down at Mutford, St Andrew, above. Works included installing Brett-Martin high density lookalike cast iron guttering, it (happily) looks the same but is much lighter, has a deeper flow and should need little maintenance for a long time.
In March of this year The Norfolk Churches Trust awarded a grant of £5,000 towards the re-roofing required at Bawdeswell, All Saints. Work has been completed by removing tiles, battens and felt, peeling back lead flashing on the parapets, replacing old felt with new breathable felt, replacing battens, retiling the roof, and cleaning, priming and recoating guttering. As you can see from the image above it is certainly looking much more watertight.
The 2025 Bike Ride, Walk & Drive took place on Saturday 13th September. It certainly was four seasons in one day, however early reports suggest a good day was had by those who took part. We extend our sincere thanks to all those who participated, sponsored, manned the churches, and volunteered. Many do this year on year and without this support the Trust would not be able to offer grants to churches such as those mentioned within this newsletter.
Above one of the very welcome, welcoming committees, Pat, Churchwarden Lorie, and Rev’d Chris Ellis at Bergh Apton, St Peter & St Paul. We are very grateful to those who support the event in this way with refreshments and a smile.
We will keep you updated of revenue as the money starts to come in.
The Trust’s 49th Annual General Meeting took place at St George, Colegate, Norwich on Thursday 11th September, presided over by Lord Dannatt, President of the Trust, pictured here with Chairman Rosabelle Batt. For a full report of the evening, please click here.
This year’s Trust Christmas card features an altar and reredos painting at St Mary the Virgin, North Creake. In packs of ten and measuring 5″ x 7″ the cards priced at £8.00 per pack, are selling fast. You can order your cards here.
The wording printed inside is, Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.
Please note that postage and packing is included in the £8 price for orders of ten packs or fewer. If you want to order more than ten packs, please contact the Trust Office.
Next year the Norfolk Churches Trust will be celebrating fifty years of supporting churches and chapels in the county. We have many exciting events planned and we do hope you will be able to join us. More details will follow shortly.
If you would a printed version of this letter to pin up on your noticeboard, you can download one here.
