Another SHCT Certificate of Thanks for a Suffolk Ride and Stride volunteer. It was for Jean Goyder the retiring Area Organiser for Samford after over 30 years support. (She’s still a Local Organiser for St Mary, Capel St Mary.) Sara Eley of East Bergholt, the incoming AO, made the presentation. Congratulations!
SHCT Annual Service on Sunday September 6th at Blythburgh Church IP19 9LP
The SHCT is delighted to announce that its Annual Service of Choral Evensong is to be held at Holy Trinity Blythburgh at 6 pm on Sunday, September 6th.
All SHCT Friends are warmly invited.
Blythburgh,with its Angel Roof,is considered to be one of the great churches of England.
The guest Preacher will be Canon Rich Henderson ,Archdeacon of Suffolk who by repute will certainly do justice to this great occasion.
We will be lucky enough also to hear the Blythburgh Singers, a choir of Cathedral standard ,who sing at Holy Trinity every month.
And if that is not enough, the PCC of kindly invited us to a glass of wine afterwards!
The Collection will be shared between Holy Trinity and the SHCT
There is ample parking next to the church.
Please put in your diaries and do all you can to attend what should be a wonderful Service of celebration and Thanksgiving.
If you definitely can come, do please let us know so we can advise the PCC of numbers for refreshments!
In the meantime, every good wish from the Chairman and Trustees for a happy summer.
The Chairman of Ride and Stride, Simon Ronan, was pleased to present another Certificate of Appreciation to a long-term supporter of Ride and Stride.
Rosalind Field has been taking part in the annual fundraising event (previously known as ‘the Bike Ride’) for many years, and was nominated for her efforts by her long-term Area Organiser, Martin Favell.
At St Mary’s, Holton St Mary,. Suffolk, friends and villagers (including those at the community garden coffee morning, were there to join in the congratulations.
“I think I started taking part in the year 2000 and have probably raised about £20,000 for Suffolk Historic Churches Trust,” she explained. “I haven’t ridden a bike for some years now so I have been walking around churches. I have done Norwich, Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and at least three times I’ve walked London churches. Often as I walked, people would willingly give me money too.”
Rather than just one church benefiting, Rosalind nominates different local churches for half the money she raises each year.
This September, Rosalind is planning to continue her fundraising by walking round the Cambridge colleges for Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride. (Saturday 12th September)
14 July 2026
Cyclists, walkers, vintage and classic car owners and even horse-riders, can start to plan their route for Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride and Pedal and Drive day, which will be held on Saturday 12th September. Details of how to get involved are now in churches and on the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust website.
Charlie Haylock, Suffolk author and specialist in Spoken English, helped to launch this year’s event at St Mary the Virgin, Edwardstone, Sudbury.
“This church is where I was christened and for the first five years of my life I lived in Edwardstone,” he explained. “Our churches go back hundreds and hundreds of years so are important from an architectural point of view but they are still the centre of the community, especially in villages. People get married in them, and buried, and now, luckily, churches are used to hold functions that bring people together.”
Also present at the launch was a 1934 Rolls Royce. owned Jo Burge, a Penny Farthing bicycle owned by Nick Tribe, as well as cyclists and walkers who will be involved in the main fundraising event for Suffolk Historic Churches Trust.
At Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride and Pedal and Drive walkers, cyclists, runners and vintage or classic car owners will be sponsored on their journey around the historic churches taking part – over 500 in Suffolk alone. Organised by Suffolk Historic Churches Trust, this fund-raising idea started in Suffolk in 1982 and is now held across most counties in England.
“Last year, the day’s fundraising in Suffolk raised £220,000, and we hope to equal or even better that this year” explained Simon Ronan, the Chairman of Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride. “Everyone can get involved as they chose their route, visiting as many or as few churches as they wish. Individuals, families and groups of friends, who are cycling, driving, walking or running, will meet others taking part and be welcomed by volunteers at many of the churches. Even those sitting as welcomers in churches can be sponsored too! We are very grateful to Charlie Haylock, the team at St Mary’s, Edwardstone, Nick Tribe and Jo Burge, for their help in launching this year’s event.”
On Ride and Stride Day, (Saturday 12th September), the cyclists, and walkers get sponsors for their journey around some of Suffolk’s wonderful churches, and half the money goes to their choice of church, chapel or meeting house and the remainer is given in grants by Suffolk Historic Churches Trust for urgent repairs or improvements to church buildings. The latest grants quarterly meeting awarded £71,000 to twelve Suffolk churches (details attached) but all are welcome to apply.
Also, on the same day, Suffolk Churches Pedal & Drive, a vintage and classic car rally is held, with around 100 cars visiting a selection of churches solving clues in a mystery quiz. A steeple-to -steeple horse ride is organised too. Full details of all the events are on the Trust website. Donations and sponsorship can also be collected via Just Giving. Click HERE (cars) or HERE (horses)
A list of churches that are open is available on this Trust website, and from participating Suffolk churches. Cyclists and walkers can choose whichever churches they wish, and runners and disability scooters are welcome too. A photography competition for participants will also be held on the day, and details are on the Trust website. Click HERE
RULES AND HOW TO ENTER:
Ride and Stride Day – Saturday 12th September 2026
Entry is free and open to all ages, but we ask that you are sponsored or get donations for your journey. (We give grants to help preserve our beautiful church buildings.) There is a Sponsorship form on this website or you can fundraise via JustGiving. CLICK HERE for details of the event.
The prize is a £50 voucher, for the best SET of TWO photos. They should be taken on Ride and Stride Day and will be of:
The submitted photos may be used for publicity for the Trust, encouraging others to support our work, and the photographer will be credited when any are used, but no fee is paid.
Please take your photos on Ride and Stride Day, then email (by the closing date 18.9.2026 ) to shct@btconnect.com
When sending us your set of photos we need to know where each one was taken, and also:
Your name email: Phone number
Your address ……………and which church are you raising funds for.
An independent judge will choose the winners. Good luck!
Winners are announced on our website and named in Ride and Stride publicity.
The total sum awarded at the June Grants Meeting of Suffolk Historic Churches Trust was £71,000. It is shared between twelve Suffolk churches, eight in the west of the county and four in the east, all facing huge bills for repairs and conservation.
The successful parish churches are in Barningham, Brome, East Bergholt, Hunston, Ipswich, Keddington, Kettlebaston, Rattlesdon, Stoke by Nayland, Walsham le Willows, Whitton and Wissington.
The various work that will be undertaken in the churches include work to floors and guttering, improving heating, and access. (Details listed below)
The total cost of the work at the thirteen churches (excl VAT) is around £1,890,000. In East Bergholt, St Mary’s needs to re-roof and lead the roof, remove benches, underfloor heating, and level access to South porch and the work will cost around £1,433,800. At SS Mary & Botolph, in Whitton, the vestry underpinning, new roof and drains will cost £111,145. The grants awarded by SHCT will go towards the costs.
“Several churches in the diocese, not including those above, currently find they must raise in excess of two million pounds in order to carry out major work to the fabric of the building. Suffolk Historic Churches Trust can seldom meet the entire needs of a church and sees itself as an enabler for other grant givers,” explained John Devaux, Chairman of the Grants Committee, SHCT. “Churches, chapels and meeting houses of all denominations can apply for a grant from the Trust, which are awarded quarterly.”
The SHCT grant money is raised by legacies and the annual Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride Day, the Suffolk Churches vintage and classic car rally Pedal & Drive, as well as a Steeple to Steeple horse ride, all held on the same day. This year the fundraising day will be held on Saturday 12th September and details are on this website.
There are more details of how to make a grant application click HERE
Suffolk Historic Churches Trust Grants awarded in July 2026 were:
St Andrew, Barningham – metal grilles to four windows (Hooligans have thrown stones and a brick though a stained glass window on two occasions. There are grilles over some windows but there is a need to protect the remaining four.).
St Mary, Brome – Replace gutters, downpipes etc. Connect to mains drainage
St Mary, East Bergholt – Re-roof and lead the roof, remove benches, underfloor heating, level access South porch
St Michael, Hunston – Install pew heaters in chancel
St John, Ipswich – Install upgraded power supply. Change heating to infra-red heaters
SS Peter & Paul, Keddington – Conservation of sanctuary floor
St Mary, Kettlebaston – Re-tile south nave roof. Various flint and plaster repairs
St Nicholas, Rattlesdon – Replace Chancel woodblock floor
St Mary, Stoke by Nayland – Repair bell chamber louvres.
St Mary, Walsham le Willows – Masonry repairs to south aisle, eastern window
SS Mary & Botolph, Whitton – Vestry underpinning, new roof and drains
St Mary, Wissington – Lay an equal access ramp to the porch
At the recent annual meeting for Area Organisers of Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride, a Long Service Certificate of Appreciation was awarded to Nigel Smart for his work in the Bosmere area, by the chairman of the event Simon Ronan. (Area Organisers can nominate one volunteer for Long or Outstanding Service each year).
The evening is when the boxes of sponsor forms, posters etc are collected by the Area Organisers and taken back for delivery to the churches in their area. The boxes are collated by the Trust Hon. Secretary Jill Taylor – a huge job.
Also at the meeting Simon can brief those assembled with any Ride and Stride news and the total raised by the event the previous year.
They were asked to remind churches that the volunteers sitting to welcome cyclists and walkers can be sponsored for their time ( using the usual sponsor form) and that Simon is asking every church to identify a “fascinating fact’ for participants to hear. This might be something from the churches history or something that can be seen during their visit.
The Area Organisers were also interested to hear how the Suffolk Churches Vintage and Classic Car Rally and the Steeple to Steeple Horse Ride (both held on the same day) are organised.
This year’s event will be held on Saturday 12th September. More details are on this website and in Suffolk churches.
Three fascinating Suffolk churches (two ‘off the beaten track’) and a warm sunny May day… what a lovely way to spend a few hours.
The annual Spring Field Day for the Friends of Suffolk Historic Churches Trust was organised again by Trustee Jamie Norman, and it took us to Bures, Wissington and Stoke By Nayland.
Driving through a farmyard and down a long track took us to St Stephen’s, a small manorial Chapel on land belonging to Geffrey Probert, the Chairman of the Trust. He explained how, in 1215, Gilbert de Tani was given permission from Canterbury to build a private chapel, – possibly replacing the previous wooden one, as long as it didn’t compete with the local parish church. It was consecrated by Stephen Langton the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1218. it is, we think, the only surviving manorial Chapel in Suffolk (the many others were in the post-Reformation destruction of the mid 16th century). The custodian of the church is the landowner and is responsible for its upkeep.
Over the years the partially thatched building has been used as a plague house, as farm-workers cottages and, for over 400 years, as a barn. In the 20th century Geoffrey’s Great Aunt purchased it back, and in the 1930’s it was restored as a church. Inheriting the main house, land and church, Geoffrey is now St Stephen’s proud custodian.
Describing some of the events in the chapel’s long history he told us how oral tradition has it that St Edmund, King and Martyr, the first Patron Saint of England, was crowned at the site in 855AD, the location identified from medieval writings.
The stone tombs of the De Veres, the Earls of Oxford, that now take up most of the nave, were rescued from the gardens of Earls Colne Priory, (which the De Veres owned after the Dissolution of the Monasteries) and were brought to Bures by ox and carts to be reassembled in the 1930’s.
The chapel is still used for an annual summer service and a Christmas service, but any denomination can hold services there and these have previously included Greek Orthodox and Catholic worship.
Driving on, we came to the village of Wissington and, down a narrow lane (there is a parking area for visitors to the church on the left, halfway down), a public footpath leads to the Wissington Hall estate and to St Mary the Virgin, a Norman church. Our guide here was Rosemary Knox the church historian.
In 1832 the church was restored to his designs, including many ‘Norman’ features, by Rev Charles Birch in line with the ideas prevalent in Victorian times,. The porch and oak door are an exact copy of the medieval one but entering the church, what strikes you most are the genuine 13th century wall paintings of Bible stories, and the 14th century painting of a ferocious dragon. Like many such church wall paintings, they were painted over – in this case twice- during the church’s history, only to be discovered during renovations.
Our final church to explore was one that stands majestically on the hill overlooking the Dedham Vale, an impressive sight with its 120 ft tower, seen as you drive up the hill …and a very large church for a village of its size. Grade One listed, 15thcentury St Mary’s, Stoke By Nayland, was often painted by John Constable, It is another church that was restored in Victorian times but since has had to have remedial work (over £1m so far) rectifying previous incorrect repairs – and the current scaffolding shows the work is continuing. (The Suffolk Historic Churches Trust has helped with grants.)
Built on an Anglo-Saxon plan, in 946AD a priory once stood on the site and St Mary’s itself was built in 1300, but has been restyled over the years and is now a Perpendicular design.
Our guide, Capt Richard Channon, after telling us about the restoration challenges they faced, showed us the fascinating medieval oak door carved with multiple angels, apostles etc, and the two-storey porch that has the parish library in the upper part. Inside the church, the West tower arch is enormous, stretching to roof level.
The unusual carved font has four raised steps, one each side, so the priest, parent and godparents can all stand around the baby being baptised, and dates from 1508.
The church has impressive 17th century marble monuments and brasses, in memory of the Mannicks of Gifford Hall and the alabaster figures of Ann, Lady Windsor and her kneeling daughters and son, date from 1615.
The brightly coloured Victorian stained glass windows flood the chancel with light, and there is one medieval window, ‘inexpertly restored in 1865’.
The fundraising continues.
Eating our picnics on the benches outside St Mary’s, we chatted and agreed it was a very successful day with knowledgeable guides giving us a glimpse into the history of three lovely, but very different, churches and the communities they served in the past and today.
GRANTS of £57,500 AWARDED TO SUFFOLK CHURCHES
Thirteen Suffolk churches facing huge bills for repairs and conservation have heard that they have been awarded grants towards their costs from Suffolk Historic Churches Trust. The total sum awarded at the April Grants Meeting was £57,500 divided among nine churches in West Suffolk, and four in East Suffolk
The successful parish churches are in Bardwell, Blyford, Brockley, Bungay, Copdock, Creeting St Mary, Framsden, Hepworth, Lackford, Norton, Woolpit, Worlington and Worlingworth.
The various work that will be undertaken in the churches include repairs to floors, towers, roofs, ceilings, walls, windows, gutters and improved heating. At Holy Trinity in Bungay the work will enable more community activities to be held there, and at St Mary’s, Worlingworth, the grant will go towards a condition report prior to work on their nationally significant font cover.
“Three of the churches awarded grants in April have to find well in excess of £100,000 each,” said John Devaux, Chairman of the Grants Committee, SHCT. “There are further churches in Suffolk which have to raise over half a million pounds in order to fund the instruction of experts and the commencement of urgent repairs. The sum required to safeguard this part of our heritage continues to rise inexorably year by year.”
The total cost of the work at the thirteen churches (excl VAT) is £593,000 and the money awarded by the Trust will support other grant applications and encourage local people in their fundraising efforts.
The SHCT grant money is raised by legacies and the annual Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride Day, the Suffolk Churches vintage and classic car rally Pedal & Drive, as well as a Steeple to Steeple horse ride, all held on the same day. This year the fundraising day will be held on Saturday 12th September and details are on this website.
There are four Suffolk Historic Churches Trust Grants Meetings scheduled a year and any church, chapel or meeting house, of any denomination can apply.
Suffolk Historic Churches Trust Grants awarded in April 2026 were:
1 St Peter & Paul, Bardwell : repair churchyard wall
2 All Saints, Blyford : install pew heaters
3 St Andrew, Brockley : patch leadwork on tower, vestry, porch roofs; re-lead window
4 Holy Trinity, Bungay : remove pews, refloor and heat area south of south aisle so that it can be used for community activities
5 St Peter, Copdock : repair tower roof and cracks; install equal access
6 St Mary, Creeting St Mary : re-slating vestry
7 St Mary, Framsden : some re-tiling of chancel roof
8 St Peter, Hepworth : re-tiling part chancel and all nave roofs
9 St Lawrence, Lackford : replace plaster in part nave ceiling
10 St Andrew, Norton : phased window repairs
11 St Mary, Woolpit : repointing, stone repairs, replaciing floorboards, re-plastering, window repairs
12 All Saints, Worlington : replace fallen guttering
13 St Mary, Worlingworth : condition report prior to work on nationally significant font cover.
There are more details of how to make a grant application HERE
Another Certificate of Thanks for long-serving volunteers who have helped Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride event (originally known as a sponsored Bike Ride) has been awarded by Suffolk Historic Churches Trust.
The latest certificate was presented to Patrick Grieve for well over 30 years of supporting the Trust, first as a cyclist, then Area Organiser for Ride and Stride, as Chairman of the Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride organising committee and as a Trustee. The current chairman, Simon Ronan, made the presentation at Patrick’s church, St Peter’s at Cransford, near Framlingham.
Patrick was originally recruited by Helen Pitcher, the wife of the then rector of Framlingham, and says he has always loved churches.
“My parents are buried here at St Peter’s and I have reserved my own little plot! St Peter’s is 800 years old, made of flint and mortar with no foundations. There is one small Saxon window and inside there are no aisles or transept. We have a huge Dutch dower chest that probably came from Cransford Hall.”
One exciting discovery was made.
“The pews didn’t come right to the back of the church but to make room for the baptismal font a few pews were removed. Revealed were two medieval carvings, little masks. William Dowsing (the Puritan) didn’t see them low down in the wall, covered by the pews so they survived his wrecking. One is sticking his tongue out and the other is grinning… with a bit of a snarl!”
A highlight of Patrick’s time whilst involved with the Trust is taking part in the sponsored bike ride, some years ago, on a six-seater bike.
“It was a prototype, built by my friend Jeremy Wingate -Saul. It was called ‘a ‘sociable’ and was a very heavy thing,” he remembered. “We only used it for two or three years as it was very dangerous and, going fast down a hill, one person had to steer and the others put their feet down!”
“I am delighted to present Patrick with this certificate,” said Simon Ronan, current chairman of Ride and Stride. “The Suffolk Historic Churches sponsored annual event has been going for over 40 years, and is the sole fundraising event for the Trust. In 2025 we raised an amazing £212,020 in one day. This popular cross-county event funds grants to churches of all faiths for repairs and maintenance. The Trust relies on volunteers to help organise the event and to man the churches during the hours of the ride.”
The Trustees and the twenty volunteer Area Organisers across the county were asked to contact church organisers for their suggestions for worthy recipients of a Trust certificate for long-service or outstanding support. More dominations are welcome.
Hundreds of supporters, walking or cycling around their chosen route from over 500 churches that are open on the day, donate half their sponsorship to their chosen church, chapel or meeting house and the other half to the Trust, to be given in grants to help preserve church buildings. Anyone is welcome to take part, not just church-goers.
The next Suffolk Churches Ride and Stride (and the Historic and Classic car rally, and steeple-to-steeple horse ride both held on the same day) is on Saturday 12th September 2026.
