Filling Janice's shoes

Much has taken place over the summer, most notably the publication of our latest leaflet, 'Yorkshire Wolds Churches: A Gazetteer,' and the appointment of a new Churches Heritage Officer to replace Janice Smith, who left the post after a very successful 18 months to join the team at Sewerby Hall. Everyone at the Trust is very grateful for the work Janice has done and wishes her every future success.

Emily Keane, outside All Saints' Church, DriffieldFilling Janice's shoes in the post is Emily Keane (pictured right, outside All Saints' Church, Driffield). Emily was thrilled to be able to join this thriving project which now boasts 119 members! Clearly more and more churches are recognising the many benefits of belonging to the East Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust. This is great news for the contribution to tourism in East Yorkshire that churches make and to the regeneration of our remote rural communities. Promoting and opening our churches and getting more people into the countryside has a remarkable impact.

Getting involved raises the profile of your church within your own community and has many social benefits as well! As we pointed out in our first newsletter, this has economic ramifications too: the project has proven that visitors from outside your local area are likely to spend more time and, of course, money, within your community whilst incorporating a visit to a church.

St. Nicholas Church, North NewbaldAccording to a recent article in The Times, an aging, well-travelled population are demanding culture and authenticity over Disney-style theme parks. Visits to churches, monuments and other religious shrines in Scotland for example, are expected to treble by 2014, rising in value to about £300 million. And if it works for Scotland, it can work for us!

If you haven't already joined, becoming a member of the East Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust will maximise your church's potential as a visitor heritage site and put your church on the map, allowing it to feature on our leaflets and website and on the Yorkshire Tourist Board website (http://www.yorkshirevisitor.com/) too.

Joining is free and straightforward: simply contact Emily Keane, all details are available by clicking 'Contact Us' at the top of this page. A members' pack will be sent to you.

Pictured above is St. Nicholas, North Newbald, the finest Norman church in the East Riding.