Our active and enthusiastic Church Recording group meets for a morning's recording twice a month, on the second Monday and fourth Tuesday.

The group is currently recording All Saints' Church, Hutton Village.  Churches already recorded include St Giles' Mountnessing, St Mary's Shenfield, St Mary's Fryerning and St Edmund and St Mary's Ingatestone.

The items are described in detail and their history researched.  All the material is then compiled into a book illustrated with photographs and drawings.  This is presented to the church and copies are sent to various national institutions, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The Church Recorders work as part of a team, choosing a single local church to record and then working in pairs on different sections of the church furnishings: memorials, metalwork, stonework, woodwork, textiles, paintings, library, windows and miscellaneous.  Training is available from experienced recorders and help can be obtained from a wide range of experts with whom we share our discoveries.  It takes about three years to complete a church record and the sense of achievement when the finished volume is presented is matched by the delight with which it is received.

Who benefits?
-   the church authorities who have a complete furnishings record
-   the police who use our accurate descriptions and photographs to identify retrieved stolen artifacts
-   insurance companies who use our records to identify items
-   researchers who are producing theses and books on allied subjects

Church Crawls:
In Essex, we have an annual church crawl, visiting four or five Essex churches; this is always very informative and great fun, and gives an opportunity to meet recorders from other societies.

You don't have to be a member to join the Church Recording group.  If you are interested in taking part, contact us by email or telephone (see left).