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Friends of Friendless Churches

@friendlesschurches.bsky.social

4.1K followers 190 following 1.2K posts

We are the Friends of Friendless Churches — we rescue, repair & protect historic ‘closed’ places of worship in England & Wales.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · May 2

An update from our Director, Rachel Morley, about the upcoming repair projects.

As we look forward to completing repairs at Gumfreston, Llangua, Llanddoged, and Bodwrog, we’re also excited to announce six new repair projects for the 2025–26 financial year.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 6h

If want to read more about St James’s, then please follow the link below to a BBC News article about our repair project, featuring a video about the lengths that one plasterer went to keep the project on track…

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

How human hair helped to save a crumbling Monmouthshire church

A church dating back to 1150 has been rescued from ruin in a "race against the clock" renovation.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 6h

St James’s, Llangua on BBC Wales!

On the 20th September, BBC Wales ran a segment on our repair project at the beautiful St James’s, Llangua in Monmouthshire.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 2d

However, thanks to the Ayshford family, this beautiful medieval chapels survives with its salmon-pink walls, wagon roof, and colourful rood screen.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 2d

Less than 60 of England’s 300 medieval chapels of ease were converted into parish churches after the Reformation. Sadly, countless more fell into ruins or completely disappeared over the following centuries.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 2d

Thus, Ayshford Chapel must have been regarded as a chapel of ease within the parish of Burlescombe. After the Reformation, the Ayshford family assumed full responsibility for the livelihood of the chapel’s priest.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 2d

A chantry was also founded at Ayshford in the 13th century, though this was not its primary purpose; otherwise, the chapel would have been suppressed during the Dissolution of the Chantries under King Edward VI.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 2d

Although originally established for private use, Ayshford Chapel later seems to have served as a chapel of ease. In the 14th century, the Bishop of Exeter granted permission for parishioners to receive the sacrament there, formally recognising what had become an accepted custom.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 2d

The canons were bound to celebrate in the chapel at least one mass every Sunday, Christmas, and Michaelmas. They also had to baptise the sons of the owners Ayshford Court and conduct the family’s marriages in the chapel.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 2d

The foundation document of the chapel, dated 1282, records an agreement between John of Ayshford and Canonsleigh Abbey, stipulating that the owner of Ayshford Court would pay the canons six shillings sterling annually in return for their officiation at the chapel.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 2d

The beautiful Ayshford Chapel is one of only a handful of medieval chapels of ease that continued to be used for religious services after the Reformation.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 5d

In this video, heritage plasterer Louis Cartwright explains the different options of finish for the interior walls of St Mary’s, Kenderchurch, Herefordshire.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 5d

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 5d

Thank you as always. Yes, we are delighted to be able to provide employment to talent craftsmen and contractors. It is truly one of the joys of our work!

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 7d

To read more about the repair project at St Andrew’s, South Runcton, please follow the link below to an article on our website: friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk/news/roof-wo...

Roof work, high-level mortar repairs and jackdaws at St Andrew's, South Runcton

Read about our continued roof work, high-level mortar repairs, and jackdaws at St Andrew's church, South Runcton in Norfolk.

friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 7d

The apsidal north vestry is being re-roofed. Many of the vestry’s corbels had disintegrated as they were made from rendered bricks. Accordingly, our conservators, Theo and Emma of the Skillington Workshop, have skilfully remade them.

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📷 North vestry roof

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 7d

The apsidal chancel roof has been re-slated and sections of the new rainwater goods have been installed. Locally manufactured, these rainwater goods are made from stainless steel and painted dark green.

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📷 Newly re-slated chancel roof with new rainwater goods

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 7d

Rob Sandford and his team from Greystone & Mason have been hard at work and the project is on course to be completed by the end of autumn 2025.

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📷 St Andrew's during repairs

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 7d

Private ownership would have been a tragedy as St Andrew’s is one of the finest Victorian churches in the county. The present structure was built in 1839 by John Brown, a Norwich based architect, from the ruins of a medieval Romanesque church.

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📷 Interior before repairs

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 7d

We adopted St Andrew’s in the spring of 2023 and repairs to this Neo-Norman church began in late 2024. If we hadn't step in and offered an alternative future, then St Andrew's would have been sold for private, domestic conversion.

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📷 St Andrew's during repairs

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 7d

Despite thundery downpours and days of hot sun, repairs have continued at St Andrew’s, South Runcton, Norfolk.

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📷 An autumnal St Andrew's, South Runcton before repairs began

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 8d

Our pleasure, glad you enjoyed seeing some of the best glass inside our churches!

Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 9d

In 1876, Heaton, Butler and Bayne decorated the chancel at St John the Baptist’s, Allington. The east window displays characteristic elements of their work — namely, the vibrant colours derived from Heaton’s research into medieval techniques, and Bayne's striking linear designs.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 9d

Finally, another notable firm was Heaton, Butler and Bayne. Heaton and Butler began by producing designs for Clayton & Bell, and were later joined by Bayne, a pupil of Clayton.

📷 Heaton, Butler and Bayne - East window at Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 9d

Another prolific stained glass firm was Powell & Sons. As they produced windows by many different artists, there is a degree of variety in their glass. However, as illustrated by the east window at St Cynhaearn’s, a Pre-Raphaelite artistic flair is present in much of their work.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 9d

Also at St Cadoc’s is a later window from the Kempe studio (c.1918), which is perhaps more characteristic of the studio's wider oeuvre. With deep blue and green hues and exceedingly delicate draftsmanship, it clearly shows the strong influence of 15th-century glass.

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