This Was an Interesting Find

 At one of my visits to The Osier Café in Stowmarket church I found this among their books for sale. 

It was written in 1971 when many of Suffolk's Churches were in a very poor state. The Suffolk Preservation Society were trying to raise money for restoration but needed to know which were the most important.

The author wasn't asked to compile the list but felt so strongly about the subject - he'd been visiting Suffolk churches since he was boy -  that he took it upon himself to compile a list of the special things about many of the churches and the reasons they shouldn't be made redundant. 

At that time any church in a village with less than a population of 200 was under threat and churches situated remote from the village they served with populations of under 250 were also threatened with redundancy plus in larger towns that had more than one church it was assumed that only one would survive in use. 

This would have been nearly half the churches in Suffolk made redundant and no longer used for services.

He divided churches into different categories.

Churches,(of very small villages, or situated remote from their villages, or down-town churches) all of which are considered to be either probably or possibly threatened with redundancy on pastoral grounds, but which it is considered must at all costs be preserved, if need be by the Redundant Churches Fund.

Churches of larger or growing villages or small towns which it is assumed will not be threatened with redundancy in the foreseeable future, but which must in many cases be retained.

Important churches, the future of which is not in question. (There were only 18 in this list )

Then he listed  churches which ought if possible be preserved and frighteningly more than threequarters of this list of  nearly 300 churches were already about be closed in the very near future.

The Duke of Grafton who at that time was the President of the Suffolk Preservation Society writes the Forward to the booklet and says  "......................The problems are acute and deeply worrying in many parishes. Mr Fitch throws down a challenge to Suffolk. Our successors may not easily forgive us if we fail to take it up in time".

Presumably this small book made people with influence sit up and take notice because thankfully hardly any churches were closed and in Ipswich for instance many that were closed were preserved and used for other purposes.

Back Tomorrow

Sue