St. John the Baptist, Timberhill, Norwich
St. John’s is normally open each day – 8.30 – 4pm. For some reason it was shut when I visited it (at about 3pm). This was a shame as this is a church worth seeing. It is linked with the fabulous St. Julian’s which I have visited already.
The church website is at http://www.norwichanglocatholic.org/
I can’t rate this for my study.
St. Stephen’s, Norwich
St. Stephen’s church sits right next to a busy new shopping centre – Chapelfield and is well placed as a major pathway runs right past the church door. St. Stephen’s has glass doors so that passers by can see inside. There are some clear signs to welcome people in as the church runs a coffee shop serving drinks and simple meals. There is a visitors book in the entrance but this only showed 7 people for October. Many people do visit though.
The cafe has a guide price for it’s wares – you can pay this or whatever you can. The staff, all volunteers, are friendly and helpful and the food was excellent.
There is a book for sale – ‘A Church Reborn – the story of St. Stephen’s Church’ also a free guide ‘Welcome to St. Stepehn’s Church Norwich – A Visitor’s Guide.’ This tells some of the recent story of this church which has had some serious structural problems. The church has been well re ordered. One unusual feature is that the sanctuary area had been brought forward and toilets installed at the east end.
There is a good World War 1 display and a prayer request basket. I rate St. Stephen’s as good for this study and it shows how a nearby development can really transform the life of a church. The church’s vision is ‘Open doors, open hands, open hearts.’ They are certainly doing this. The website is at ststephensnorwich.org which gives clear visitor information as well as much else that happens at this busy church. St. Stephen’s is well worth a visit.
St. George, Tombland, Norwich
St. George’s is a short walk from the Cathedral. It is open every day and sees this as an important part of the church’s life. There is a sign outside and some friendly stewards on duty. The church is warm and the lights were on. I was given a guided tour by a man who was enthusiastic about his church. It is anglo catholic and draws a congregation from a wide area. There is much to see at St. George’s.
Inside, I found a free guide sheet as well a a guide book to purchase. There is a votive stand to use as well as a prayer request board. The church is very well looked after and worth a visit. I didn’t count the visitors book but my guide told me that they get thousands of visitors each year.
There is even a dragon here – which is used in parades!
I rate St. George as good for the purposes of this study. There is not a church website but there is a lot of history etc on achurchnearyou, as well as clear visitor information.
St. Helen’s, Bishopgate, Norwich
This is a very interesting church part of which was used as a hospital. The Norwich Historic Churches website does say that the church is open every day. It wasn’t when I went and there wasn’t any indication as to when it might be accessible outside of a Sunday service. There is a church website – sainthelenschurch.co.uk which doesn’t give any visitor information either. This is a shame as this place could have a significant ministry to the many visitors to Norwich as well as local people. The Cathedral is only a couple of minutes walk away – fortunately this is open and makes no admission charge either, which did help to counter the disappointment of St. Helen’s.
I have to rate this a very poor.
I was able to visit Norwich during the autumn half term. This was a place notable for having virtually every church locked and inaccessible. Fortunately, things have improved in this respect but it is still a mixed picture. There is the Norwich Historic Churches Trust whose website is at http://www.norwich-churches.org/ This gives details of those places open and link to any website. This is a city where it is wise to check with churches first as the details given are not always accurate. This website also gives details of the churches no longer used for worship as well as those destroyed in the second world war.
I managed to visit a few places – for details read on…
Holy Trinity, Barsham
I hadn’t been in this church for several years and was looking forward to visiting again. It is a typical, East Anglian, round towered church in a delightful setting.
The church is signed off the road and there is plenty of parking. Inside, there are several booklets and other information about the church. Also, a leaflet about ‘Local Places’ which gives details of holiday accommodation and a local tea room. This is a rare thing to find! There was a leaflet from the Diocese of St. Edmundsbury & Ipswich listing churches open – a useful thing to have.
There are some lights left on in the church and some good booklets and history leaflets available, including one about the remarkable Nelson’s Hoist of flags – ‘England expects that every man will do his duty’ – the church has links to the great man. There is a history display and plenty more! This really is a most interesting church to visit and a lot of effort has gone into explaining the history of the church and area.
For pilgrims, there is a votive stand and a book for prayer requests.
One remarkable fact about this place is how, at the equinox, the sun briefly shines through a small window (high up on the west wall) and shines full on a crucifix on top of the rood screen. This must be a special event to witness and the church naturally makes much of it. The next time this occurs will be on Friday 20th March 2015 at about 5.15. Quite a few people turn up to see this.
I rate Holy Trinity as very good – go and have a look. There isn’t a dedicated website but quite a bit on a churchnearyou, including visitor information. I will leave you with some pictures.
St. Botolph’s, North Cove
A charming little church just off a busy road. It features some good wall paintings. It was locked at the time of my visit but there is a list of key holders. This wasn’t tried as I didn’t have time so I haven’t rated this church for this study – definitely a place to come back to. The excellent Suffolk Churches site has a good entry on this church – http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/northcove.htm
There isn’t a church website that I could find.
St. John the Baptist, Royston
In the market town of Royston sits St.John the Baptist – often known as Royston Priory. The church is open everyday and has glass doors at the west end so that people can see inside. The external notice board doesn’t mention that the church is open but there is a notice at the west end.This says; ‘Church open, please respect the building.’
Inside, I found a guide book and a display of both church groups and mission projects that the church supports. There is quite a bit of children’s work on show, as well as ‘quiet bags’ for children. There didn’t seem to be a visitors book but there is a prayer board and votive stand to use.
On the altar in the Lady Chapel, is an open book – ‘Saints and Pilgrims’ by the Diocese of St. Alban’s. This was open at a recent saint’s day. This is a nice idea.
The church website can be found at http://www.roystonparishchurch.org.uk but there is no visitor information on it.
I rate St. John’s as good for the purposes of this study and recommend a visit to this lovely church.
St. Mary the Virgin, Bletchingley
A lovely church in the centre of this Surrey village. There is a nice clear sign outside which tells all comers that this church is open every day. Some friendly people were tidying up the already neat churchyard as I arrived. An equally friendly lady was doing flowers and spoke with pride of her church. This is a church which is very well cared for – inside and out. The welcome that people give who are around the church doing various tasks is important. If I had been looking to move here I would have been impressed by my welcome.
There is a good guide and New Daylight Bible notes as well as a booklet on the gargoyles here to borrow. There is a World War 1 folder in the chancel detailing the village’s casualties in that conflict. This is becoming common and is very welcome.Also a folder on the churchyard and it’s care and one on the church memorials. Only 2 people had signed the visitors book during August but this is probably a church which gets a lot of locals coming in.
There is a prayer request box to use as well as a votive stand – also a pebble pool which I have come across before. Each pebble represents a prayer. However, this good idea was rather lost by not being labelled as to what to do. The church website – http://www.bletchingleyparishchurch.org.uk/welcome.htm does explain this (and gives some other good visitor information and a video tour). There are some remains of a ‘Hermit’s cell’ which are highlighted. I rate St. Mary the Virgin as good for the purposes of this study.
Picture of Desmon Tutu who was a curate here in the 1960’s
Votive stand and pebble pool
St. Martin of Tours, Chelsfield
This is another church that is a part of the Small Pilgrim Places Network (see http://www.smallpilgrimplaces.org/). The church is open every day and there is a good size car park in front. The sign board gives various details about what happens here but doesn’t say that the church is open for visitors. The church website can be found on http://www.stmartinchelsfield.org.uk – this gives a church plan plus photos, as well as saying that the church is open each day. No mention of SPPN though. This is also reflected inside as I could find no mention of this. The other churches I have visited that are part of the Network make quite a lot of it, but not here for some reason.
A sign on the door welcomes visitors. There is a good welcome leaflet in the church which gives details of church life as well as historical information about the building. There some historic cards and pictures for sale and a CD of organ music for church funds. 13 people had signed the visitors book in August.
A small display shows some pictorial history and there is a Bible left open on the lectern.
On the south side is a chapel – is St. John’s Chapel which is set up for prayer. There are some prayer cards to use for requests, with a focus on remembering those who have died.
I must admit that I found myself rather disappointed by St. Martin’s. They do need to make more of the membership of SPPN. This is probably because the others I have visited have been so good. I rate it is OK plus for this study – worth a visit as refuge from the M25 nearby!
Prayer requests on top of a heater
churchtourismstudy 