Chris Audsley, Stuart and Kester Potter, and Peter Simper
North
Chris Audsley – 17Nineteen Project at Holy Trinity, Sunderland
Chris volunteers through the All Churches Trust Craft Skills programme which is running during the construction phase of the 17Nineteen regeneration project at Holy Trinity and is a keen photographer with a love of historic buildings. Throughout construction, Chris has been capturing photos of the conservation work as it happens and images of the skilled craftspeople and apprentices carrying out their tasks. She has built a portfolio that captures the detail and hard work that goes into caring for a historic church, which she has turned into a photobook when construction had to stop due to Covid restrictions. Her images have also been used on social media to allow local audiences to stay connected with the project whilst the church was inaccessible. Chris is a fantastic asset to the project team – she is reliable, committed and acts as an advocate for the project within the community.
South
Stuart & Kester Potter – St Andrew’s, Walpole
Stuart and Kester Potter moved to Norfolk in 2019 with their young family and got in touch with the CCT to offer their help at St Andrew’s after seeing a request for local support. Stuart, a former church warden, and Kester had some very relevant and transferrable skills which proved to be a real benefit to St Andrew’s, which had been closed for some time for repairs. Stuart and Kester helped with a plan to attract more local support for the church by opening it to the public on a regular basis, as well as a fundraising campaign to repair the church clock and its bells which had been silent for many months. The church was inundated with visitors on Remembrance Sunday, and Stuart and Kester now have plans for a community exhibition which will enable locals to share their memories of the church. They have inspired other locals to volunteer at the church and are continuing their fundraising efforts for ongoing repairs.
West
Peter Simper – Church of The Blessed Virgin Mary, Hemington
This church is a new vesting for the CCT and Peter has had a longstanding relationship with the church, previously serving as Church Warden and dedicating many years to the care of the building. Peter embraced the transition of the church from the care of the Church of England to the care of the CCT and has been both positive and supportive of the work the CCT undertakes. Peter is a mine of information about the fabric, fixtures and details of the church, having carried out a huge amount of independent research about the church, which helps to inform CCT staff team and their understanding of the church. Since the completion of repairs, Peter has organised a Harvest Service to celebrate the church’s reopening, providing tours of the building and sharing his knowledge of the place with visitors. He has also created new display cases to exhibit beautiful and interesting artefacts/finds from the church and the local area.