churchtourismstudy

St. Mary the virgin, Aldermaston

A fine looking church perched high above the village. The noticeboard only give details of Sunday services + the Vicar. The church was locked and there was no indication of how I might get in or when. I rate this as very poor.

But, this may change, as the church website, http://www.awb.org.uk/st-mary-s-church-aldermaston.html, does say this ‘St Mary’s is not currently open during the day although we are keen to rectify that in the future; we are also looking at ways to improve our facilities for us and for future generations.‘ This is very encouraging so let’s see what happens here.

St. Mary’s, Kingsclere

After what had so far been a fruitless trip it was good to come across a church open and actively welcoming people inside! St. Mary’s stands right in the middle of Kingsclere and it would be a real shame to not have it open.

The signage is very good and very welcoming – a simple point but an an important one. Too often church noticeboards are not very friendly! I have given example elsewhere. It is something that, I am sure, is taken for granted but just what do the signs outside have to say to new people? Here is a good example of how to do it. Inside, two friendly ladies were sorting out the new parish magazines. They were very welcoming and even put the lights on for me and told me what to look at. The people who clean, arrange flowers, do odd jobs and sort out magazines are real ambassadors for the church. By being friendly and helpful they provide a good first point of contact for a visitor. I found a simple Brief Guide for 20p and a bigger one for £2.50. This is a good practise to follow. The visitors book showed 12 visitors during July. There is a children’s area which had been left ready to use – another important point. It is easy to tidy away on a Sunday!

St. Mary’s is a simple cared for church. Crosses and candlesticks had been cleared away, presumably for security, but it does take away quite a bit from the interior. Some simple wooden ones would suffice. There is a votive stand to use and displays on the bells and the hassocks – a colourful feature of many churches. The Bible was left open on the lectern.

There was a display on a side altar of children’s prayer books.

It would have been good to see somewhere for people to leave prayer requests but St. Mary’s is worth seeing and I rate it as good. There doesn’t seem to be a church website but there is an entry on http://www.achurchnearyou.com/kingsclere-st-mary/

Update – there is now a website at http://www.clerewoodlands.org.uk/contact-us/st-marys-kingsclere/ This gives lots of useful information and is worth a look at.

All Saints, Hannington

A pretty church on high ground with the village green in front of it. A church which looks well worth visiting. The Benefice website is at http://www.baughurstbenefice.co.uk/ and helpfully gives a postcode for sat navs. This makes churches much easier to find and is the method I use.

The lych gate has a box labelled ‘Walk maps’ but these had sold out. The noticeboard only mentions Sunday services. The church was locked which is a shame as it is surrounded by the village housing, as well as a business next door and I would have thought that it wouldn’t have been too hard to get someone to unlock each day and keep an eye open. Looking through the windows it shows a plain, well cared for, interior. What does keeping it locked say to people? Is this an exclusive club, or has God departed? Who does the Church belong to – the gathered congregation or to everyone? I rate this as very poor.

St. Peter’s, Cassington

St. Peter’s is a fine small cruciform church in this West Oxfordshire village. Cassington is well known for it’s annual Bike Night which attracts 10,000 bikes from a wide area. This was why I was in the village.

The church is open each day and present a very well care for appearance, both externally and internally. It is a lovely little church which is well worth a visit. There is much to commend here. The church sign lists the various services which happen here but in the porch is a good welcome notice saying that St. Peter’s is open each day. Inside there are some free guides to the church along with an outline ground plan to guide the visitor as to what they are looking at. There are also some nice postcards, also free – donations are invited. The visitors book shows only 7 visitors during June.

There is also a good selection of Christian books to borrow with many recent titles (sometimes church libraries seem to be a result of a previous vicar’s study clear out!) and a lovely children’s area has been created within the north porch. This looked very welcoming with colouring and other things to do. It would certainly keep a visitor’s child amused whilst they looked around.

There are other good features here. The Bible was left open at one of the Sunday readings and there is a display of mission links at the west end.

Some ‘Jesus, an introduction’ booklets are there, (by sgm Lifewords) as well as some of the Oxford Diocese leaflets.

Side altar in nave

St. Peter’s is a church I like very much. It could do with a place for people to leave prayer requests and it would be good to make some sort of link with the Bike Night as this does seem like a unique opportunity. Well worth a visit and I rate it as OK for thsi study – it wouldn’t take much to raise it to good or even very good.

St. Michael and All Angels, Walthamstow

St. Michael’s is the largest church building in Walthamstow. It is an Anglo Catholic church  with a service every day. The website details these on http://www.stmichaelswalthamstow.org/. On the day I visited the service had been cancelled so that meant I couldn’t get in. There is no visitor info anywhere, physically at the church or on the website.

This is a church which gives the impression, probably unwittingly, of being a fortress. Every gate is locked up and it gives an unwelcoming appearance. There is a lovely calvary at the East end, which is well cared for.

The website tells me that ‘We are a friendly and welcoming church family in the Catholic tradition of the Church of England’, but that is not the impression that the church building gives out. I have to rate St. Michael’s as very poor for the purposes of this study.

St. Mary’s, Walthamstow

St. Mary’s was advertised as being a part of the ‘Walthamstow Art Trail’ – a yearly event that encompasses many different venues.

I found the church open as it was the time for a mid week communion service which I was very glad to join in with. These simple, said, service are good to a part of. This also gave me the opportunity to have a look around what is an interesting church with a vibrant worshipping community. I found some history displays as well as some free leaflets on the history of St. Mary’s. There was one entitled a Time Trail for Children which was well done. Many of the items in the church are labelled for this as are some for a ‘Symbols Trail’ but there were no leaflets to explain this. There are leaflets on the churchyard, the tower and it’s bells, the monuments and on on the east window as well as a welcome one. In addition, there is a quite well stocked book stall and some of the ‘Why Jesus?’ booklets.

The church features quite a few large memorials which have been labelled. There is also a leaflet about these which is a useful idea. The churchyard is also very photogenic – covering a small area with a mass of large tombs to the great and the good. There were some art installations here too made from recycled materials by children.

Art in St. Mary’s churchyard

The signs outside do not mention the church being open to visitors neither does the website on http://www.walthamstowchurch.org.uk but there were 36 names in the visitors book for the first 10 days of June, presumably for the art festival. I found this a bit confusing as quite a bit of effort had obviously gone into providing for visitors so I emailed the parish office who told me that ‘We are open on Mondays and Tuesdays for informal morning prayers from 9am – 09.15. And of course for Sunday morning and evening services. Should you wish to visit outside these hours, please drop me a line, or call on the number below (02085201430) and I shall be glad to arrange it.’

This is a wasted opportunity here as this is a church well worth visiting – could it not be open say on a Saturday? I am sure that stewards could be found. There was no where to leave prayer requests either but that is understandable in the context.

History board in churchyard

There is a history board in the churchyard.

I have to rate St. Mary’s as poor but it would be good if it were open. It would not take much here to have a significant ministry to visitors – it is a church which is nearly there. It just needs to be open on a regular basis and advertised as such. At the moment mixed messages are being given out.

St. Andrew’s, Alfriston

Alfriston is a lovely little Sussex village and very worth while visiting. There are tea shops, a book shop and several other interesting establishments to visit. Also there is the Clergy House, the very first National Trust property, all nestling in the Cuckmere Valley.

Even on a wet Bank Holiday, St. Andrew’s is a church well worth going into. It is a magnificent building, cruciform in shape. It is open every day. There is no web site but the entry on achurchnearyou says; ‘The Church is normally open to visitors daily from 9.00am to 5.00pm or dusk every day.’

The sign outside just gives details of the Sunday services. Inside, there are some multi lingual paddle board guides to use, and  a couple of church guides. Also some bible notes to take, a prayer request box (which had several requests inside it) and a votive stand to light a candle. A quick look at the Visitor’s book shows some 113 entries for May. There was a bible left open at the last Sunday’s reading on the lectern. The North porch has been converted into a small sales area and there is a toilet as well there. For sale were home made jams, used books, prayer cards and book marks ( from the Tim Tilley range) and other gifts. Even some dolls house cushion kits – a first for me! There are even some small bags ‘to wrap your goodies in’. A thoughtful touch.

At the time of my visit, there were two people in pray sat in a pew. This church really does have a lovely prayerful atmosphere. In the chancel are some modern stained glass windows which caught my eye.

St. Andrew’s is a good church to visit and I rate it as very good.

Easter Sepulcrhe at St. Andrew’s

St. NIcholas, Pevensey

St. Nicholas is an interesting church not far away from Pevensey Castle. I have visited here before and found it open but sadly not today. It was firmly locked. In the porch is a notice which implies that the church is open.

There were quite a few people about many of whom would no doubt have visited if they could. This is a Forward in Faith parish and one of their notices can be seen on the board above. Many of these do seem to be locked which is a great pity.

There is no church web site but there is an entry on achurchnearyou which says, somewhat ironically, ‘We are a very friendly church, visitors and new members are always welcome.’ Apparently not on a Bank Holiday though.

I have to rate this as very poor for the purpose of this study.