The only remains of an abandoned English village are down a dead-end lane on a salt marsh, surrounded by a forest of gnarled petrified oaks. When Christine McDonald and her friends were teenagers in the 70s, they stumbled upon the ruins and decided to make the church their hangout despite the "keep out" signs.
McDonald says the teenagers were "crestfallen" when they found out the spooky spot was known to adults too. Is St. Mary's the salvation of the world? The Friends of Friendless Churches rescues churches that are in danger of collapse or demolition. The Friends of Friendless Churches was founded in 1957 and now oversees 58 churches, mainly of medieval origin, with a network of about 150 local volunteers, the interest and annual $40 dues of nearly 2,900 international friends, and grants from groups.
The soil under St. Mary's is constantly shifting. The Friends of Friendless Churches is trying to fix the building. The Friends of Friendless Churches have a picture of Morley von Sternberg.
It has been almost 50 years since the Friends of Friendless Churches welcomed St. Mary's. McDonald has spent decades researching the building's special elements, such as fragments of wall paintings that show the murder of St. Edmund, a 9th-century Christian martyr and king, and the unusual round 16th- St. Mary's is open to the public year-round, just like the other churches in the Friend's care. McDonald says that his teenage self would approve. The teenager might be surprised that the battle is still going on.
Rachel Morley is the director of Friends of Friendless Churches. The Friends secured St. Mary's 14 years ago, but the clay soil is still moving. The organization received a grant from the English government to help with the stabilization of St. Mary's. Two other churches are also being saved. It is fingers crossed for all of them.
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Historical discoveries have been aided by the group's efforts. The nonprofit took over St. Peter's in Wickham Bishops, Essex, in 1975, and has been teaching ever since. The organization discovered important 13th- to 17th-century wall paintings in the church during repairs in 2007. An aerial survey conducted by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales in 2005 revealed a previously unknown five-sided enclosure at St. Baglan's on the Caernarfon Bay in Wales.
The Friends of Friendless Churches discovered important 13th- to 17th-century wall paintings in the church during repair work at St. Peter's in Wickham Bishops, Essex. Adrian Powter is from Friends of Friendless Churches.
Important stories about Welsh identity are told by the churches in Wales. Friends volunteer Ifor Williams, who researched St. Baglan's in Welsh-language sources and dug into the history of the Celtic language group. He found that the Latinized version of the word "Loverni" on the tombstone was actually a Latinized version of the word "fox" in modern Welsh.
Philip Powell, a long time volunteer and advocate for the preservation of St. Decuman's, says that the churches are a library of the area. Almost all the residents relocated after the 1994 explosion at the nearby Texaco oil refinery shifted the medieval church's roof.
The church in the Welsh village of Rhoscrowther is in the shadow of an oil refinery. The church's roof was damaged in a 1994 explosion. Andy Marshall is from Friends of Friendless Churches.
The spaces that Friends of Friendless Churches conserve are important to their local communities. The pews are always packed when St. Mary's holds its only annual service, a rededication to commemorate the saint's day in August. People with ties to Rhoscrowther can still hold services at St. Decuman's.
The church is a final resting place for the old people who worked on the land all their lives. He says taking care of the buildings and grounds is the least you can do for them.
