Work begins at St Peter's Church, Sudbury

Work has officially started on the £1.67 million project at St Peter’s Sudbury which following conservation and adaptation work will create a new lease of life to the site. The twelve month contract was awarded to Universal Stone Limited (USL), based in Wickford Essex and the company which was established in 1939 has extensive experience working on church and other listed heritage  buildings.   St Peter’s will provide an increased programme of cultural and learning activities and events, new jobs, volunteering opportunities alongside a business plan to support the sustainability of the site long term. 

Universal Stone are now actively recruiting a Stonemason Apprentice who will train on site at St Peter’s and other USL sites.    CCT is committed to addressing the nationally recognised shortage of traditional heritage skills and we are delighted by this exciting opportunity. 

The interpretation plan for St Peter’s has now be completed that will help the local community and visitors understand the rich heritage of St Peter’s and surrounding area.  CCT is recruiting volunteers including ‘heritage detectives’ who will uncover local stories and help with production of interpretation banners. 

Public artwork on the hoardings at St Peter’s has been installed and is proving extremely popular. Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and working with local artist and sign writer Wayne Tanswell, the artwork, representing angel wings, is designed to inspire community participation. 

The wings are embellished with the words of a sonnet written by the late Peter Ainsworth, former Chair of Trustees at the Churches Conservation Trust. The sonnet was written in response to the lockdowns in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, which meant churches were completely closed for the first time since World War 2.

With thanks to the Friends of St Peter's, The National Heritage Lottery Fund, and all of our individual donors and supporters.