Arts Society North Bucks and Church Recorders combined event

On 20th March 2024,The Arts Society North Bucks and their church recorder volunteers combined to present a day promoting their activities in the Victorian 'railway church' of  St James, New Bradwell, Milton Keynes.

An audience of 60 people, a mixture of Arts Society members, church recorders,and church members, from North Bucks and elsewhere, first heard a typically high-quality talk from Janet Gough about Victorian Church Architecture, with particular mention of the work of both Sir George Gilbert Scott, and his pupil George Edmund Street, who was the architect of our venue.

Janet's talk was followed by our celebration of the excellent work of Judith Jeffcoate, who founded and led our group of church recorders for several years. Judith succeeded in gaining a 2023 Marsh Trust Award for her volunteering and this event was the occasion for its formal presentation - by David Medcalf, Chair of the Church Recording Society (CRS). 

It was then time for lunch! Here we we owe huge thanks to the team at St James, who were  unfailingly helpful and welcoming, and provided all the refreshments during the day. During the lunch break, attendees could browse a selection of completed church records, and take away copies of TAS North Bucks programmes and CRS leaflets,

After lunch David Medcalf talked of the benefits of church recording, which contributes so much knowledge of the artistic treasures of churches to researchers and to a wider audience. He stressed the importance of local Arts Societies continuing to support church recording as a volunteer activity. The day ended with individual church recorders talking to small groups of attendees about how they went about recording objects in churches. And finally: tea and cake ended an enjoyable day!.