We were delighted to welcome members and supporters of the Norfolk Churches Trust to the sold out, inaugural Billa Harrod Lecture on Friday evening. The talk honouring Lady Harrod’s role in the founding of Norfolk Churches Trust fifty years ago.
We were given a very warm welcome by our hosts Ben and Helen Budworth of Bylaugh Hall, our beautiful venue for the evening. We extend our gratitude to them for providing this wonderful historic backdrop to the evening.
We were privileged to have as our speaker for this lecture, John Goodall, Architectural Editor of Country Life who has spent nearly two decades exploring and writing about Britain’s great houses, churches, and historic places. He brought his wealth of knowledge to his theme, Parish Churches the Fight for Survival.
The talk could not have been more timely as the Government has recently announced that there will be delay to the launch of the Places of Worship Renewal Fund, most likely until after the local elections in May. Increased costs due to VAT is just one of the issues facing churches today.
With illustrations of Norfolk Churches and their treasures and historical context, John highlighted that the problems that confront churches today are not new ones. There have always been too many churches and the skills, crafts and materials required to restore them are expensive. The mid-seventies, the time when the Trust was founded, was a particularly difficult period. In 1979 147 churches were made redundant, 250 in 1992, rising to 320 in 1999, thankfully only 30 churches have been made redundant since the turn of the Millennium.
Ironically, John feels that churches having too much money can cause as much damage as having too little. Whilst we can be dazzled by the high value restoration projects that put our churches in the spotlight it is by the down-to-earth treatments, like clearing the gutters and fixing the drains, that a significant difference can be made.
Our churches are full of historical and artistic artifacts including stained glass, carved chests, painted screens, and furnishings that deserve to be seen by people where they have been created by people in the place that they were created.
Where else could you stand alone and take in all that history and art in situ, not behind glass, but in a church. As John said we all need somewhere where we can just stand still.
What can be done?
Going back to VAT; the current situation means that VAT is charged on church repairs but new builds are zero rated, following a question from the audience it was suggested that letters be sent to local MPS.
Encourage the next generation, the Trust’s School Art Competition aims to inspire children to discover the rich heritage of Norfolk churches.
Crucially, basic maintenance will keep churches going. Architect Ruth Blackman who was in attendance highlighted how she has implemented a QI Scheme in which she attends an inspection along with a contractor who can deal with basic maintenance ‘on the day.’ This might be clearing guttering or providing a ladder to enable access to the tower. These prompt repairs can prevent larger and more expensive problems in the future. The scheme has been very successful in its first year and will be extended.
John ended his talk on a positive note, church buildings have always suffered crises but they are still here, we need to do enough to keep them going for future generations.
The evening ended with time to mingle accompanied by champagne and canapes served by Bylaugh’s very helpful and friendly staff. Thank you to all who attended, who made it a very enjoyable evening.
Pictured above are Lady Egerton (former Chairman and now Vice President), Malcolm Fisher (ex Secretary) and Diana Don (former Advisory Council Member) who between them have provided many years of hadr work and support for the Trust.
