St. Ann’s, Manchester
St. Ann’s is in Manchester city centre. It is open Tuesday to Saturday and obviously receives many visitors. It is well sign posted and well worth going to see. I found an excellent, colour, guide at only £1, a simple welcome leaflet with a guide around the building and a ‘Words for Prayer, Thought and Wonder’ leaflet as well. There is a stall with books, cards etc as well.
There didn’t seem to be a visitor’s book but there is a place to leave prayer request cards (in a very prominent place – too many are tucked away as an afterthought), a votive stand to light candles and holy water in the font. The Lady Chapel is designated as a quiet space.
There is a good church website – http://www.stannsmanchester.com/ which gives clear visitor information. The only thing lacking is something for children but otherwise I rate that as very good. It is a real oasis of peace in a bustling city. Here are some more pictures-
Nearby is a real gem of a church – St. Mary’s which is well signposted as ‘The Hidden Gem’. See the website – http://hiddengem.catholicfaith.co.uk/home2.html
This is well worth seeing. My study has been focused on Anglican Churches but it is interesting how all the Roman Catholic churches I have come across have been open . As most of these are in urban areas it does tend to counter the excuse that urban Anglican churches give that they cannot open because of the fear of vandalism… Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of this lovely church. It also has a well stocked gift shop with all sorts of booklets and candles etc. for sale.
Holy Trinity, Margate
This is a very busy church with a well used community centre attached to it. Lots of different groups use this excellent facility each day. The church was built in the 1930’s and the exterior is not easy to photograph as it is surrounded by tall trees and a busy road. The church was open by going into the community centre entrance and turning left. Inside it is beautifully kept and is an oasis of peace and quiet. Nothing was available for visitors, no visitors book or leaflets or anywhere to leave prayers. That is a shame but at least Holy Trinity is open and peace can be found here. By the standards of this study I do have to rate it as poor. I will leave you with some pictures of the inside and the external sign (the website appears to be defunct). There is an entry on achurchnearyou which says ‘We believe that our faith in Jesus is central to all that we do. That being a Christian is exciting and gives us the motivation to reach out in love. All are welcome to come and enjoy what is being offered. Trinity is a parish church rooted in the local community. ‘ This appears to be very much the case.
St. Paul’s, Cliftonville, Margate
A large church in the busy community of Cliftonville. There is a fascinating collection of shops here. The church is open for coffee, chat and prayer on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10.30-11.30. This is a pretty needy area and I would imagine that this fulfills a need. It wasn’t open when I visited so I haven’t rated it. Another church in Margate to re visit.
There is a website on the notice board but this doesn’t seem to be current so I won’t quote it. There is an entry on achurchnearyou.
St. John the Baptist, Margate
St. John’s is a fine, large, church which sits high up above the town of Margate. It is open each Mons, Weds-Fri between 10.30 and 12.30. This is clearly stated on the church website – see http://www.stjohnschurchmargate.org.uk/ I turned up a bit later to find it closed – some homework before visiting would have been helpful! The church looks well worth a look so I will return sometime. I haven’t rated it.
All Saints, Westbrook, Margate
I turned up to this interesting looking church to find it open but as there was a service on I didn’t go in. From what I could see through the glass doors this is an anglo catholic church with quite a bit to interest a visitor. There was a good welcome notice or two in the porch and I anticipated a nice visit later on. Returning I found it locked with no indication as to how I might gain entry.
There isn’t a church website but a brief entry on achurchnearyou. Again I have to rate this as very poor from the point of view of this study.
St. Catherine’s, Manston
Another church near Ramsgate and another locked one! I have yet to find a church open in the Ramsgate area. What is going on?
St. Catherine’s is a Victorian church and is again on a busy road and opposite a popular pub. There isn’t a website but the entry on achurchnearyou reveals that this is a well used building. They do host ‘Open Church’ sessions now and again but the dates weren’t given. It is next to Manston airport which has recently shut. The church is used for prayer meetings for this as there is a lot of local concern over what might happen here. This would seem to be reason enough to have the church open if it were just as a focus for this concern. This could become a centre for this. As it is I have to rate it as very poor.
St. Lawrence, St. Lawrence in Thanet, Ramsgate, Kent
A few days away gave me the opportunity to visit a few more churches in East Kent and also to try out my new camera (the last one hadn’t done very well after being dropped on a Derbyshire road!). My hopes weren’t high as this is an area where most of them seem to be locked. This is a shame as there are some nice churches in this area. There are exceptions and some are open for visitors. Unfortunately, St. Lawrence wasn’t one of these. It was firmly locked with no indication if it is ever open between services. This a real shame as this looks like an ancient church which would be worth seeing inside, quite apart form the ministry that this might provide to locals and visitors. To compound this the church is on a busy road right next to a well used Tesco Express. A real wasted opportunity. I have to rate this a very poor for this study.
There isn’t a church website but there is a brief entry on achurchnearyou.
St. Mary the Virgin, Battle
Famous for 1066 and all that, Battle is a busy little town which gets it’s fair share of visitors. There are various trails laid out and much is made of the famous events which led to the Norman Conquest. St. Mary’s is in a good position and is worth a visit in it’s own right.
The church is open but looks locked! A sign saying that it is accessible would be good as well as one that indicates that the entrance is through the west door and not the south porch (which is nearest to the road). It was a dull day so the church was a bit gloomy inside but it is worth seeing as there is a lot of interest here.
There are postcards for sale and a guide (a bargain at 50p, especially as it is in colour) and a laminated guide to carry around. There are some interpretation boards around which are nicely done. This church gets a fair number of visitors, 78 entries in the book for August 2014 for instance. There is also a prayer tree and a prayer board and a votive stand to use. A Bible is left open. Also a children’s area.
There is a website – http://www.stmarysbattle.org.uk which is rather strange. It does give some history but no specific visitor information.
I rate St. Mary’s as good for this study.
St. Michael and All Angels, Berwick
Berwick is a tiny village in a lovely location at the foot of the downs. The church of St. Michael and All Angels is a real gem and worth seeking out. It is well signposted from the main road and there is plenty of parking. The exterior is unremarkable and doesn’t prepare you for what awaits inside.
Again, there are some instructions about how to put on the lights – these reveal a remarkable interior. This is covered in painted murals which were painted during the second world war by the Bloomsbury artists. Bishop Bell of Chichester wanted to revive the tradition of wall painting and Berwick was hoped to be an experiment which would inspire others. The murals depict local scenes and local people. They are very interesting.
There are postcards, hand made cards and a very good guide available (at a reasonable £2 as it is in full colour). 17 people in the visitors book in February and many in the summer. There is a prayer request book and a votive stand to use as well as an open Bible (always good to see). The church website is at http://www.berwickchurch.org.uk with clear visitor information and where to park. A good effort. I rate St. Michael’s as very good – go an have a look you won’t be disappointed! I will leave you with some pictures of the interior.
St. Mary’s, Hailsham
This church has something of an identity crisis! The sign outside tells the world that this is ‘Hailsham Parish Church’ or ‘HPC’ . It is dedicated to St. Mary. I don’t really get the use of acronyms for churches. This seems to be something that has begun to be used in the last few years. Is it an attempt to make the church sound relevant to the 21st century? A bit difficult when it is using a medieval building I think. This will sound very dated in a few years time.
Anyway, back to the point! Hailsham is a small town and St. Mary’s stands at it’s heart. It is a pity that it isn’t open to welcome people inside as there would be a worthwhile ministry here (which might have a greater symbolism than messing with the name). The town was bustling at the time of my visit and several people walked past the church door. The notice board tells us this –
Surely being open and friendly makes ‘Jesus known’, especially in the heart of Hailsham? The door was locked. However it is possible to get into St. Mary’s as the website (www.hailshamchurch.org.uk) does say that on ‘Fridays from 9.30 – 12.00 there is the Bite in Cafe (with open church via lounge)’. Better than nothing but still not very good.
I have to rate this as very poor for my purposes. How can churches like this be persuaded to throw open their doors?
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