East Anglia: Catholic churches welcome visitors for Heritage Open Days

St Mary's, Thetford celebrates 200th anniversary

Source: Diocese of East Anglia

Heritage Open Days, England's largest festival of history and culture, runs from 11 to 20 September this year. Thousands of volunteers across the country will welcome visitors to historic buildings and offer free events and experiences, including several at Catholic churches in East Anglia.

At St Edmund's Catholic Church in Bungay, visitors can discover a Grade II* listed building with a Catholic history stretching back more than two centuries. Benedictine monks first arrived in the Waveney Valley in 1657, while Bungay's first Catholic church opened in 1823 following the Catholic Relief Act. The present church contains an impressive collection of 19th-century stained glass, carved panels, a reredos and one of the largest baptisteries in England, as well as historic vestments, some more than 300 years old.

St Edmund's will be open from 10am to 4pm on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 September, with guided tours available on both days. Nearby, St Mary's Church will host Wool Linen Silk from 18 to 20 September, an exhibition celebrating vestments and textiles from different faith communities in the Bungay area, with examples dating from the 19th century to the present day.

St Mary's Catholic Church in Thetford will mark a particularly significant Heritage Open Days as it celebrates its 200th anniversary. Built in 1826, before Catholic Emancipation, the church has been described as one of Thetford's hidden gems. Visitors will be able to explore the church and its extensive gardens, as well as enjoy displays, talks, guided tours and refreshments. It will be open from 11am to 5pm on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, with visitors also welcome at Sunday Mass at 10am.

In St Ives, Sacred Heart Church will offer visitors the chance to discover the remarkable story of the building known as "Pugin's Little Gem". Designed by celebrated architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, the church was originally built in Cambridge and dedicated to St Andrew in 1843. After becoming redundant, it was dismantled, transported by river to St Ives and reconsecrated as Sacred Heart Church in 1902.

The Grade II listed church is the only church in Cambridgeshire designed by Pugin, who is perhaps best known for his work on the Palace of Westminster. Volunteers will be on hand to explain its architecture and extraordinary history when the church opens from 10.30am to 3.30pm on Saturday 12 September.

The Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Norwich will meanwhile offer visitors several opportunities to see one of the Diocese's greatest architectural treasures from a new perspective.

Victorian Gothic Revival at St John's will explore how architect George Gilbert Scott Junior and the 15th Duke of Norfolk created a distinctive Victorian interpretation of medieval Gothic architecture. Tours on Tuesday 15 and Thursday 17 September at 11am will examine how the Cathedral's stonework, stained glass and structure combine to create a sacred space for worship and prayer. Places must be booked in advance.

For those wanting to venture beyond the areas normally seen by visitors, Hidden Places at Saint John's will offer guided tours on Saturday 12, Monday 14 and Wednesday 16 September. Visitors will climb to the West Gallery, explore the Cathedral's sacristies and Choristers' Tunnel and descend into the Columbarium beneath the building. The tours include spiral staircases and areas normally accessible only to clergy and staff, and advance booking is required.

Together, the events provide an opportunity not only to appreciate some of East Anglia's finest Catholic architecture and treasures, but also to discover the stories of the communities whose faith has sustained these churches through generations.

All Heritage Open Days events are free.

Full details, including opening times, accessibility information and booking arrangements, can be found on the Heritage Open Days website: www.heritageopendays.org.uk/