Stained glass restoration appeal at Long Melford's Holy Trinity Church takes creative new approach with heritage colouring book
An £800,000 appeal to ensure the survival of eight unique pieces of medieval history is taking a creative new approach to fundraising, with the launch of a book for adults and children alike.
Holy Trinity Church in Long Melford is releasing a new heritage-themed colouring book this month, with all proceeds from sales going towards the preservation of its historic stained-glass windows.
The fundraising campaign to restore the windows – among a small number of their kind to survive the purges of the Reformation and the Civil War – formally launched in January 2020, to counteract extensive corrosion that had occurred over many centuries.
To support the appeal, church committee member Simon Edge and specialist photographer Chris Parkinson compiled the Long Melford Stained Glass Colouring Book, featuring 36 line-drawn images based on the figures in the windows.
The text also provides a biography of the figures, who are primarily East Anglian dignitaries, including friends and family of John Clopton, the principal financier when the church was built in the 15th century.
Mr Edge, a novelist and senior editor at publisher Eye Books, said the idea is not only to help collect funds for the restoration, but also increase the public’s knowledge of local history.
“What we really hope is that it will make people look at the windows in a different light,” he told Suffolk News. “For people who live here, going down to the church will be a richer experience.
“We hope that it will generate more interest in this great treasure because, as ever, not everybody who lives with it on their doorstep is aware of the history.
“It’s all about putting it on the map locally. That’s the paradox, because it’s on the map nationally for historians, who regard it as an amazing heritage survival, but, for local people, not so much.
“The corrosion is bad, so we’re not just doing this to make the windows look better. We’re doing it to ensure they survive for future generations.”
The book will be formally launched at the Long Melford fete on Saturday, along with a variety of themed merchandise, all of which is raising money to send the stained glass to conservation specialists based at Canterbury Cathedral.
