News

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has announced that the Government’s Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme closed at the end of March 2025.

Those invaluable grants covered the cost of VAT on repairs to listed buildings in use as places of worship, and made a significant reduction in overall costs.

We await details of a new scheme to replace this.

Our much-valued friend and Trustee Mrs Theresa Britt passed away suddenly just before Christmas 2024. We miss her enthusiasm and sense of humour.

Theresa became a Trustee in 2019, leading on communications and events organising with grace, sensitivity and a willingness to get things done.

In 2021 Theresa was awarded a Post Graduate Diploma in Parish Church Studies from York University, and she had recently become Chair of the St Albans Diocesan Advisory Committee.

Theresa was a cherished wife to Revd Bill Britt, Vicar of Stotfold and Radwell, and mother to their their family. Theresa is greatly missed by the parish.

Our Annual Meeting for 2026 will take place at St Mary's Church, Pirton on Saturday 18 July at 2.30pm

With the coach full, we set off from Royston station on our tour which devised by Trustee Richard Genochio.

First stop was St Mary's Godmanchester which is mentioned in the Doomesday book. After coffee, the Vicar gave us an excellent guided tour - pointing out the re-use of Roman bricks, tiles and columns in the construction of this fine Gothic/Early English church which dates from 13th C. 

We then moved on to St Andrew's, Orwell where the tower dates from c1250 and the chancel from c1320. There is a memorial to former Rector Jeremiah Radcliffe, one of the scholars who translated the Authorised Version of the Bible.

After a convivial pub lunch at Orwell, we visited St Helena and St Mary's Church, Bourn. In Early English and later styles, the chancel has a hammer beam roof with angels and surviving rood screen. 

Finally we arrived at St John the Baptist, Royson which was recently restored, and reopened less than a year ago after a devastating fire in 2018. Dating from 1250 it was originally part of an Augustinian Priory and we again had an excellent talk and guided tour. The Trust gave a grant towards the new lighting scheme and it was a joy to see how bright and fresh the interior looked.  After this came a delicious afternoon tea to end of a perfect day, which ran like clockwork thanks to the organising skills of Madeline Russell our Chairman and Theresa Britt, Trustee.