Spring 2023 Update

A MESSAGE TO MEMBERS

As we turn the page on another year and your Trust enters its fifth decade, it is perhaps worth taking a look at what has been achieved and more importantly, where we go from here.

Thanks to the tremendous generosity of our members and supporters over many years we now have a trust fund in excess of £1 million. This is way ahead of anything we hoped to achieve when the Trust was started. Then, our ambition was to raise £100,000 and to use that nest egg to generate sufficient income to make a contribution towards the maintenance of the churches. Now, we have the ability to make grants of £100,000 and more if needs be, each year. The churches are in better condition than any time in perhaps the last two centuries and during the past 40 years of the Trust’s existence, no church supported by us has been made redundant. Snave as you all know was already on the way to being declared redundant when the Trust was established and is now wholly maintained by us.

Plenty to be proud of, that’s for sure but no reason to be complacent. Attendance at church services continues to fall and the average age of those attending continues to rise. The age profile of PCCs is also increasing and in some instances, it is proving difficult to replace those who have decided that the burden and responsibility is too much. If churches are going to survive both as living places of worship and a rich source of local history, a younger generation will need to become involved.

In my Chairman’s Statement last year and also my Summer Newsletter I referred to our educational objective and whilst I feel sure that our primary focus will be the continued maintenance and preservation of these magnificent buildings, we must also look to the next generation to build on what has been achieved thus far.

The level of grants we make each year is entirely dependent on the applications we receive. In 2021, grants amounted to £108,000 whilst last year, they were a little over £35,000 of which the largest was to St Peter and St Paul Newchurch, principally for repairs to the stonework. Requests for funding come from the churches and their PCCs and is not dictated by us. Applications for grants are invited both at the beginning of the year and in the Autumn and our thanks must go to Graham Maple who ensures that our forms go out on time to enable us to consider requests at the next available meeting.

I mentioned that we now have a trust fund in excess of £1million. This is due in no small part to the extraordinary and generous level of donations and legacies received during the year; in excess of £250,000. A quite remarkable sum and surely an indication of the affection in which these churches are held. Much of this has been invested and will provide income from which future grants can continue to be made. My thanks once again to David Williams our Treasurer who keeps our finances under control.

Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday 20 May at All Saints, Lydd and I am delighted that Dame Joanna Lumley has so kindly agreed to be our speaker. Whilst the church will be able to accommodate everyone who wishes to attend, there is rather less availability for lunch and any of you planning to come to both the lunch and meeting should book their ticket as soon as possible. Full details accompany this report.

John Hendy who, over the years has been involved in no few than 130 tours feels that it is time to hang up his tour guide’s hat and the two or three tours scheduled for this year will be his last and he will step down from the Council. John has made a tremendous contribution to the Trust and in particular bringing his knowledge of the Marsh and its churches to a much wider audience. However I am pleased to say that his voice, if not his presence, will live on and those of you more technically proficient than your Chairman will be able to listen to him on our App as you make your way around the churches.

Ian Hamilton, our Northern representative on the Council has also stepped down. Ian has been a great supporter of the Trust for many years and distance was never a barrier to his attendance at both Council meetings and AGMs. In fact I cannot recall an AGM he has not attended. As with John Hendy, he is an accomplished photographer and has contributed many fine images over the years. We wish them both well.

Joining the Trust is Heather Maple who, with her husband Graham, become only the second husband and wife team on the Council in the history of the Trust. Heather has gallantly agreed to take on the role of Membership Secretary from David Hanbury and her contact details are now shown on the Application Form included in this Report. Our thanks go to David for all his efforts over many years. Thankfully, he will not be lost to us completely and remains on the Council.

Notwithstanding the high cost of postage, our Christmas cards continue to sell extremely well and I am most grateful to all those who contribute to make them such a success – John Doyle who regularly supplies us with one of his paintings together with John Hendy and David Campbell for their photography – and not least of all, to Elizabeth Marshall, who amongst the many and varied tasks she performs for the Trust, turns her home into packing and postal depot to send out our cards. A new selection of cards will be available by the date of our AGM in May.

Two dates for the diary: the Members Tour, once again conducted by John Campbell and Elizabeth will be on Saturday 2 September whilst the annual Thanksgiving service at Snave will be held on the following Sunday 10 September.

Finally, my deep gratitude must go to all of you – our Members – who have supported us and continue to do so – so generously and loyally and to whom we owe the success of this wonderful Trust. If the churches could speak I feel sure they would echo my sentiment.

Peter Anwyl-Harris

Chairman