Our people and places have been featured in several publications and websites recently, including The Spectator, The Telegraph, Atlas Obscura and the Heritage Open Days website.
"There is a plateau of neglect upon which an old church seems to sit for a while blessedly spared from ‘improvement’. But on the far side of the plateau, the land falls away steeply to closure, vandalism and ruination.
St Mary’s church, Mundon, possessed of a rare tranquillity, had begun slipping off the plateau by 1975. The nave was exposed to rain by a gappy roof. Brambles lashed in the wind at the broken windows. Demolition was proposed. But in that year it was taken into the care of a small voluntary organisation, Friends of Friendless Churches. …" Read more
"These once nearly forgotten churches may be small and humble but their stories are anything but! From extraordinary women to secret princes, brave sailors and legendary kings, their past companions are definitely worth noting. …" Read more
"DOWN A DEAD-END LANE ON a salt marsh, encircled by a forest of gnarled petrified oaks—a sight so strange that it inspired the Martian landing scene in H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds—sits the only remains of an abandoned English village: the 13th-century church of Saint Mary’s. Christine McDonald and her friends were so intrigued by the ruins when they stumbled upon it as teenagers in Essex in the 1970s that they decided to make the church their hangout, despite the “keep out” signs, spiderwebs, and dead animals. …" Read more
"A world turned upside down and mysterious stones that may have marked the burial of a heart… Clare Kirk from Friends of Friendless Churches is back with us to share more tantalising tales, this time of curious carvings to be found inside their historic buildings. …" Read more
"Hundreds of churches are earmarked for closure in the next five years, and buyers are snapping them up to convert into new homes. ..." Read more (subscription/free trial required)
"We all need a little help from our friends… for the Friends of Friendless Churches this means coming together to restore beautiful historic buildings to their place as community hubs. As a small charitable organisation with a wide remit and limited resources, Heritage Open Days provides an all important platform for them to share their work and reach out to potential new friends. …" Read more
