Churches Conservation Trust Report
St Peter’s, Offord D’Arcy
AGM
12th June, 2009
Firstly, many congratulations on such a successful year at St Peter’s. I was lucky enough to attend the Christmas Fair and Fantastic Mr Fox and was very impressed by the levels of attendance and the professional way in which the events were organised.
As you are aware, it is our 40th Anniversary and we’ve been busy promoting the CCT through national events such as a bell ringing weekend in our larger churches in February, a reception at Clarence House, an exhibition of 12 prints by Gerard Stamp featuring our churches, the ‘Birthday Song’- 40 choirs in 40 churches (planned for October) and a service will be held in Westminster Abbey on the 16th September, which we hope representatives from the Friends Group will be able to attend.
The CCT has undergone a regional restructure and as a result, we are now supported by Rebecca Rees, our Regional Manager. Rebecca has a wealth of experience in the heritage sector and has worked for the National Trust and English Heritage. Our Conservation Manager is now Neil Rushton and he has replaced Roger Simmons who retired at Christmas time. Neil is an archaeologist and keen to see the churches used to their full potential. He has worked for the CCT for several years and until now, has been based in the south of the region.
As a region, we have two new vestings, one at Knotting in Bedfordshire and the other is in Swingfield, Kent. So that takes our quota to 111. We’re kept very busy, but aim to be in a position to assist and support you as required.
We’ve just joined a scheme promoted by Visit Britain to encourage visitors into our churches. This is the ‘Visitor’s Code of Practice’ which is a simple form and checklist to help improve the visitor experience. Many of the churches in the region have already signed up, its free and will help you promote your church to visitors. Please let us know if you’d like more information
Thank you for continuing to promote and support the CCT.
Sally Porter, Development Officer.