South Runcton church saved by Friends of Friendless Churches after 'struggling for a while'

A South Runcton church has been given a second chance at life after being taken on by restoration organisation Friends of Friendless Churches (FoFC).

St Andrew’s, which lies nestled between trees, is the 60th church to be taken under the wing of the charity.

It was built in 1839 and is a rebuilding of a Norman ruin by Norwich architect, John Brown.

It had been sketched by John Sell Cotman, a famous painter of the Norwich school of artist, and this shows the church as a crumbling, overgrown ruin of Romanesque arch and apse.

It’s unclear how much, if any, of the original ruin Brown incorporated, but there’s textbook Norman detailing throughout – from zigzags to billeting, blind arcading to grotesques.

Rachel Morley, head of FoFC, said: “St Andrew’s has been struggling for a while, but had some tremendous, dedicated local supporters. We have a lot of repairs to do here.But we’re delighted that we could give this important, overlooked church a secure future.”

“The Friends believe historic places of worship are our greatest architectural legacy, and our nation’s most important cultural treasures. As an independent, nondenominational charity, we care for redundant places of worship across England and Wales.”

Formed in 1957 by Welshman Ivor Bulmer-Thomas, FoFC, has a mission to save disused but beautiful old places of worship of architectural and historic interest from demolition, decay and unsympathetic conversion.

Ms Morley said:”Today, our work is more important than ever. From our small office, our tiny team of just one full-time and one part-time members of staff campaigns for better futures for our historic places of worship.

“We rescue them from wrecking balls, we carefully repair and re-open them, we champion traditional skills and employ craftspeople to restore these places, and we keep historic churches alive for the local community and visitors to enjoy.

“The Friends of Friendless Churches is a labour of love. However, maintaining and repairing churches is a considerable financial challenge. Despite taking on new churches every year, we do not receive regular public funding in England.

“Our work is mainly funded by membership subscriptions, donations, and legacies.

“We are so grateful to our supporters. Without them, these buildings would simply no longer be here, or open to the public.”