Friends of Beverley Minster Annual Report 2017 1 FRIENDS of BEVERLEY MINSTER AGM WEEKEND 2017
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Friends of Beverley Minster Annual Report 2017 1 FRIENDS OF BEVERLEY MINSTER AGM WEEKEND 2017 FRIDAY 6 OCTOBER ANNUAL DINNER 19.00 for 19.30 at Cerutti ‘2’, Station Square, Beverley Speaker: John Phillips (Hon. Secretary of The Friends of Beverley Minster) SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER STUDY DAY ‘BEVERLEY: TWO CHURCHES AND A TOWN’ 10.15 - 16.00 Speaker: PROFESSOR BARBARA ENGLISH, MBE Peter Harrison Room, Beverley Minster, Minster Yard North, HU17 0DP Includes morning and afternoon refreshments and a buffet lunch. Cost per person: £25 (£20 for Friends*) SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING in the Parish Hall at 14.15 ST JOHN LECTURE at 15.15 ‘New thoughts on an old Chronology: Meaux Abbey, East Riding of Yorkshire, in a new light’ Speakers: Dr Glyn Coppack & Stuart Harrison Peter Harrison Room, followed by Afternoon Tea in the Parish Hall. St John Lecture: Cost per person: £5 (no charge for Friends) CHORAL EVENSONG in the Quire at 17.30 BOOKING ENQUIRIES TO: The Programme Secretary, Friends of Beverley Minster, 85, Ancaster Avenue, Hull, HU5 4QR E-mail: [email protected] Telephone 01482 442221 PHOTO CREDITS Please use the enclosed form to apply for places where there is a charge. Front and back covers and pages 27 and 39: Andrew Gommersall. Pages 2, 5, 18 and 25: Mervyn King. * 'Friends' should be interpreted as current Friends of Beverley Minster and current members of the Pages 4, 12, 13, 31, 32 and 33: John Phillips. Pages 15 and 16: Liz Grove. Friends of St Mary’s, Beverley are also able to buy tickets at the reduced Friends’ prices listed. Pages 9 and 10: Barbara English (Page 9 photo of Wressle: Wiki Commons) 2 Friends of Beverley Minster Annual Report 2017 Friends of Beverley Minster Annual Report 2017 3 Contents Report of the Chairman of the Friends Roger Lewis Report of the Chairman of the Friends Roger Lewis 5 Work on the in previous annual reports, we have diverse Heritage Lottery responsibilities including supporting new Floodlighting the Minster Elly Hoyes 7 Funding (HLF) learning and scholarship about the building Officers and Members of the Council 8 proposal and the (hence the importance of John Phillips’ The Percy Family, the Minster and Beverley Town Barbara English 9 Grants for Places of recently published book ‘Of a faire uniforme Curate’s Report Gareth Atha 13 Worship (GPOW) making: the building of Beverley Minster 1188- Social Secretary’s Report Pamela Martin 14 fund, covered 1736’) and making the resulting knowledge Friends Spring Outing Liz Grove 15 elsewhere in this available to the general public (hence our support for the ‘interpretation’ component An Evening with Lawrence Sterne John Askey 17 year’s annual report, has prompted us of the GPOW bid). We have also restored Music in the Minster Robert Poyser 18 again to look carefully at our purpose as historic components within the building, Membership Secretary’s Report Liz Grove 20 Friends of the Minster. such as the two 17th century paintings on The Object of the Friends 21 the south wall of the main south transept Annual Accounts James Moore 22 We took part in a specially-convened PCC and the Hilliard memorial in the north quire Beverley Minster Shop Limited Jane Myers 24 meeting in mid June to explore progress on aisle. In addition we have funded new work, Report of the Minster Building Surveyor Simon Delaney 26 the bids and to get confirmation that we such as the Minster shop (approximately were all working in the right direction. £75k). We also support activity that we Grant for Places of Worship Application Tim Carlisle 28 see as central to the quality of worship in The Heraldry of the Nicholas de Huggate Effigy John Phillips 30 As well as the PCC, the ‘we’ refers to two the Minster and which gives our church its Agenda for the AGM 34 other organisations – the Friends and the unique identity – notably the music (more Minutes of the AGM 2016 35 Old Fund. Old Fund responsibilities relate to on this below) but also smaller items such maintaining the structure of the Minster (lead, as the crib figures which form such a focal stone, glass is one way of summarising it) and point during Christmas and Epiphany. All this to any proposed changes to that structure work has to be of the highest quality – even (for example, re-building the Chapter House). the two large flower stands near the nave altar were architect-designed and the shop The PCC’s responsibilities are for the design was the outcome of a competitive continuity of worship and service at the tender to architectural practices. All this goes Minster, i.e. they look after its core activities beyond – and is not adequately described as – as a church community. ‘ornament and decoration’. Our own remit is sometimes summarised Though the core functions of the three as ‘ornament and decoration’ but we resist organisations – Old Fund, PCC and Friends such a simplistic interpretation. We are not – are clear there will inevitably at times be just ‘the icing on the cake’; the organisation tension over who should pay how much that provides things that are ‘nice to have’ and for what. Is the disabled access a cost but not strictly necessary. As I have written related to Old Fund (building structure) or 4 Friends of Beverley Minster Annual Report 2017 Friends of Beverley Minster Annual Report 2017 5 Friends (access to the public)? In this case, visitors to see parts of the building open days) and also to continue to develop success elsewhere, requires expenditure of the Friends paid. Are the chairs in the nave hitherto closed (including the north east the professionalism of the Minster’s music. up to about £47,500 and was enthusiastically a PCC responsibility (part of the on-going transept) Robert writes about this in his report on the supported at the May meeting of the Friends’ worship) or a Friends’ responsibility (to • opening up the aisles would require Minster’s music. Council. ensure provision of high quality furniture?) In relocation of functions (e.g. flower the end we split that cost 50/50. In the recent arranging in the south choir aisle and Recruitment of choristers – particularly boys There are similarities with our support for case of the restoration of the font the Old ministers’ robing in the north aisle); – requires on-going effort. The Minster does the Assistant Organist post. That too was Fund paid for the engineering component Friends would be sympathetic to helping not have the luxury of a ‘choir school’ with aimed at developing the Minster’s music; also, (repairs to the mechanism that raises and create a fit-for-purpose music school a ‘captive’ group of boys and girls who sing Friends’ funding was on a similar three-year lowers the font cover) and the Friends paid incorporating changing and rehearsal in the choir in return for free or subsidised basis, with a commitment on the part of the for the gilding of the dove and the restoration facilities, thereby freeing space in the schooling. In Beverley we have to recruit from Minster to work towards other sources of of the woodwork. north aisle local schools and provide perceived benefits funding to continue after the pilot period. • elements of a new lighting scheme, for to children who have many other claims on (We contributed £12,100 to this project in Preparing the bid to the HLF has reminded example lighting the misericords, Percy their time and energy. The proposed scheme October 2012.) In every way the appointment us that other organisations are involved too. tomb and other aspects of the Minster’s would in particular provide opportunities of Ian Seddon as Assistant Organist has Obviously, St Mary’s but also the town - and heritage currently difficult to see clearly for children from lower-income families. succeeded: his own playing and accompanying the Council should also be a major player • interpreting the Minster to visitors Applicants would take part in an interview has been of the highest standard and he has as its decisions have impact on the context • contributing to the restoration of and audition; if successful, they would need also enabled the Director of Music to work in which the Minster (and St Mary’s) stand; windows and especially the great east to show on-going commitment in terms of more intensively work with the choir. Our think, for example, of the benefits to visitors and west windows. lesson attendance, participation in the choir investment has ‘paid off’ too in that funding of closing Minster Yard North to traffic and and progress in learning their instrument. The has been found to maintain the post. thus going some way to creating a precinct, an Support for the Minster’s music proposal, based on schemes that have shown area of peace and freedom in which to stroll undisturbed around the building’s exterior. But we must remember that the HLF bid has not yet been submitted, let alone accepted, Floodlighting the Minster Our priorities in the HLF bid and life goes on. As a charity we are required to make sensible use of our funds - the For just £15.00 per night members of the The sight of Beverley Minster fully lit is Work on the GPOW and HLF bids has money we receive from you, the donors. public and local businesses/organisations are enjoyed from all vantage points, whether it invited to sponsor a night on an annual basis is from close up in Beverley itself or from helped us to focus on our priorities as We are prudently holding a proportion of or for one year only.