25th ANNIVERSARY YEAR

Welcome Message From The Chairman,
Richard Halsey MBE

Welcome to the Cambridgeshire Historic Churches trust website. I am very honoured to have been appointed as Chairman in the Trust’s 25th anniversary year. We have decided to celebrate the anniversary with a service of thanksgiving at St Mary’s church Swaffham Prior on June 8th 2008 and we are very pleased that the Bishop of Ely will be present. Further details will be given at the Annual Conference A Passion for Churches at Wolfson College on April 26th 2008 when we will celebrate the county’s ecclesiastical riches. This is always a good chance to meet like minded people in a delightful place and to learn more about Cambridgeshire – so get your booking in quickly!

This year’s Annual Report will also celebrate the Trust’s success in helping the historic places of worship of Cambridgeshire, the hugely helpful role that WREN has so willingly fulfilled and from some individual accounts, explain the vital role of the Trust in keeping these buildings used. It will be published at the Annual General Meeting on 25th October 2008, when Jeremy Musson will be our guest speaker; further details will be posted on this site when available.

The needs of congregations have changed over the years, so although helping with repairs remains our priority, Trustees have agreed to offer our own grants to fund facilities which will give the buildings a future by making them more useful. This year, we are also offering to help congregations protect their metal roofs by offering grants of up to 50% of the cost of applying Smartwater. Please see the Grants pages.

The Trust can only do this with your support, through events like the Ride and Stride day and the Conference and from expanding our membership. Please help us by joining the Trust and so help maintain the ecclesiastical heritage of Cambridgeshire.

We hope you find this website useful and we look forward to meeting you at one or all of our events

Richard Halsey MBE

Chairman