Meet our team: Layla Fedyk, Volunteer Interpretation Assistant

In this blog series we look forward to introducing our team here at the CCT. We hope you will enjoy learning more about the scope and variety of the work that we do. 

This month we heard from Layla Fedyk who has recently joined us as a Volunteer Interpretation Assistant. A qualified archivist, Layla will be helping us publish more audioguides for our churches. Recently she has produced a new guide for Sutton Veny’s 900-year-old St Leonard’s church, exploring the historical contexts, communities and life of the church. You can read more and listen to the audioguide below.

My name is Layla. I’ve recently begun volunteering with the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), to contribute scripting audio guides for properties in their care.

I came across the opportunity while researching places to use my skills and be involved in projects that especially interest me. I’m a qualified archivist having worked on a number of archival projects at London institutions until fleeing to Wiltshire just in time for Lockdown 1 from March 2020.

Archival duties include thoroughly researching context, detail and associations of a given subject, and appropriately communicating and promoting the findings to entice existing and potential audiences. It’s always rewarding to discover new things about our cultural heritage and share it with others.

Drafting audio guides for CCT is a great opportunity to have an outward focus for the kind of research I undertake for recreation too. Seeking to better connect with my new surroundings I invest in exploring various features which make the places of Wiltshire and surrounding counties.

It’s been a welcome pleasure then to have recently explored rabbit holes of the historical contexts, communities and life of Sutton Veny’s 900-year-old St Leonard’s church now in CCT’s care. It forever fascinates me that these silent structures have a life and memory of their own stretching well beyond their changing communities and visitors.

Short term- I wish my audio guides to provide a coherent and interesting narrative for listeners, unique to each space. Long term – I love the thought collectively these resources CCT provide could help attract new interest and appreciation of places still serving communities of our present time.

Other interests during lockdown include studying wild plants, trees and foraging, in my garden and on local walks. A precursor to taking a course in wild crafting or botany I hope. And in the kitchen there’s been some definite winners and losers in many culinary experiments (I have my paper Dosas down but probably need a third lockdown for a black treacle bread to come out right!)

All in all 2020/21 may have me poorer in funds but much richer in knowledge and inspiration. I’m very pleased to have found the opportunity with the Churches Conservation Trust and am looking forward to getting to know more about its volunteer team.

Click here to listen to the new audio guide for St Leonard's, Sutton Veny.