Churches Conservation Trust – part two

My name is Laura and I’m at the end of my second year studying History. Back in February I wrote a blog entry about my work with the Churches Conservation Trust (http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/), an organisation that rescues and restores churches all around the UK. In February I was yet to start my placement with the Trust, but I am now a fully-fledged volunteer working primarily at All Souls’ Church in Halifax. We have managed to build a team of around fifteen volunteers at the church, and we share the responsibilities of key-holding, meeting and greeting the public and church cleaning. We are also in the middle of setting up some events at the church over the summer period, as visitor numbers so far have shown that many of the local people in Halifax are interested and passionate about the idea of getting the church back into regular use.
I have spent the majority of my time at All Souls’ sat on the floor scrubbing the many layers of salt and dirt off of the beautiful floor tiles. Whilst this may sound like tedious work, all of us who work at the church have become really attached to the building and its history, and it provides a real sense of achievement and satisfaction seeing it being restored to its former beauty. There are plenty of tasks to be undertaken whilst at the church, so the placement never gets boring. It also provides a chance to take a break from everything else that’s going on and have a good natter with the other volunteers!
The support of my fellow volunteers and the general public has made working at All Souls’ a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and every week we meet a variety of people ranging from children who have never known the church in use to elderly couples who got married there. As well as providing me with some invaluable experience of working within the heritage sector, I have also gained some new friends and contacts, and identified the areas of the heritage sector that I am most passionate about working in.
If anyone is interesting in volunteering with a really worthwhile cause, you can find more information about getting involved here. (http://www.visitchurches.org.uk/Volunteer/)