STAFFORDSHIRE HISTORIC CHURCHES TRUST
County Organiser
John Wallbridge
171 Newhampton Road West
Wolverhampton WV 6 0RP
Tel. 01902 742612
Email jwallbridge@hotmail.co.uk
Treasurer
Preb Michael Metcalf
196 Stone Road
Stafford ST16 1NT
Tel. 01785 600260
Email prebmetcalf@hotmail.com
www.staffordshirehistoricchurchestrust.org
May 2014
Dear
If you are an ‘old hand’ with Ride and Stride please ignore the next paragraph. If you are
new to Ride and Stride please read on.
Ride and Stride is the sponsored event in aid of the Staffordshire Historic Churches Trust.
On the second Saturday of September every year, all over England, cyclists and walkers are
sponsored to visit churches; and churches open between 10am and 6pm to receive them.
Half the money raised is returned to your church to use how you wish; the other half is given
in grants to churches of all denominations towards the cost of repairs and maintenance. Ride
and Stride is the principal source of income for SHCT. Ride and Stride day is also the best
time in the year to visit churches and find them open throughout the day. Would the folk in
your church consider getting involved as cyclists and walkers or as welcomers? Some
churches which get a lot of visitors even like to sponsor the welcomers for every visitor they
clock in.
Last Year
 157 churches took part in Staffordshire
 28 new churches took part
 110 cyclists and walkers were sponsored
 Approx. £14,000 was raised, Gift Aid will be added to this
 £20,500 was paid out in grants. SHCT exists to help churches. Can we help your church?
This year
 Ride and Stride day is Saturday September 13th between 10am and 6pm (or as long as
you can manage).
 Things you will need for the day can be collected on the following days between 6 and
7pm. (Please collect if you can, it does save on postage)
1. Monday June 23rd Holy Trinity church hall, Baswich, Stafford, ST17 0BY
2. Tuesday June 24th College Hall, Cathedral Close, Lichfield, WS13 7LD
3. Wednesday June 25th St Andrew’s Church, St Andrew’s Close, Wolverhampton
WV6 0QZ
4. Saturday 28th June 2.30–4.30pm St Mary’s, Colton WS15 3JW . This is the AGM of
SHCT – all welcome. There is always a good tea!
 Provisional list of churches will be available by June 23rd; final list in mid-August;
latecomers on the website
Suggestions
 A number of churches combine R&S with other activities at the church to make it an even
better day for everyone.
 Several churches combine R&S with English Heritage Open Days to attract more visitors.
For more information Google ‘heritage open days’.
 I’m sorry some churches get few visitors especially when you are all ready to welcome
people. To avoid disappointment the best thing I can recommend is you get in a group with
neighbouring churches and then have the fun of visiting one another’s churches. As St Paul
says so often, we need to encourage one another.
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A few requests
If you really can’t open (and hopefully man) your church please do consider option C
– ‘Closed but register available in porch’.
Please reply to this letter as soon as possible so that I can compile the list of
participating churches – the longer your name is on the list the greater your chance of
getting more visitors.
Please let me know if you are organising a group of cyclist/walkers which others
might like to join.
Please get people to fill in the sponsor form fully: every year we miss out on hundreds
of pounds in Gift Aid because there are insufficient details to make a claim.
Please look at the website and use it to get informed about R&S this year. Your
description of your church is for the website – an increasingly important tool to get
people interested.
Reports and photos of the day would be most welcome for the website - a good way
to advertise R&S.
144 new churches were invited to take part in Ride and Stride last year; 12 responded.
Can you help to increase the number of participating churches? Is there a church near
you that could be invited? A word from you has more effect than a letter from me!
Finally
A big thank you for your work on behalf of Ride and Stride, whether opening your
church, or cycling/walking yourself, or encouraging others to take part, or making the
refreshments which visitors appreciate, or any of the other things which can make this a
special day in the life of our wonderful churches.
Best wishes,
John Wallbridge
SHCT events
Go to www.staffordshirehistoricchurchestrust.org for more details
1. Sunday July 13th church tour: Weston under Lizard, Blymhill, Lapley, Weaton Aston
2. Thursday July 17th ‘Summer Evening at Chillington Hall’
3. Saturday October 4th church tour – details to be fixed
4. Saturday October 11th quiz evening with fish and chips at Baswich
Also
Friday May 30th 11am-1pm coffee morning in aid of SHCT at St John’s in the Square,
Wolverhampton