Photos by Stella Gooch
Flag flies
The headlines of the brochure advertisement read:
Tuesday, 27 July at 7.30pm
In the presence of their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
PAUL WATKINS Conductor
ALEXANDER ROMANOVSKY Piano
Wednesday, 28 July at 11am
ALEXANDER ROMANOVSKY Piano
Wednesday, 28 July at 7.30pm
YSAYE QUARTET
Programme Sellers at the church door
Details in the brochure revealed that Music in Country Churches celebrates its 22nd year in 2010 and the charity was set up in 1989 with active support from HRH The Prince of Wales (who is the charity’s patron). The aims of the charity are:
1. to arrange weekends of music in rural churches of exceptional beauty and interest; and
2. to raise funds to assist those churches with their maintenance costs.
I had personally never heard of Music in Country Churches but I thought I had to buy tickets and treat my husband for his birthday as it was just the thing he would especially enjoy. I succeeded in getting two tickets to the first concert on 27 July.
These specific concerts were arranged for the financial benefit of The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Anmer and were being held at St Nicholas Church in Dersingham. This often occurs with Music in Country Churches to enable larger attendance numbers when the Church receiving the funding was too small. St Mary the Virgin is located in the west of the village of Anmer and overlooks many acres of farmland where it has sat through 700 years. In 1374 the Chantry Chapel was added to the main building of St Mary’s by Sir Oliver Calthorp who appointed one of the Canons from the Priory at Flitcham to officiate. Memorials in the church show that between 1566-1792 three Rectors served for a period of 153 years: Richard Parry (a Welshman), William Houghton and Charles Buckle. It also shows that Robert Hailes was a Patent Customers and Formerly Collector of His Majesty’s Customs in the Port of Kings Lynn. The Coldham family came to the Manor in 1678 and they retained it through many generations. In 1885 the Church of St Mary the Virgin and the Chantry Chapel were restored by Henry James Coldham and his wife, Agatha Geraldine. In 1889 the Tower was restored in memory of Henry James Coldham by his friends. The church tower houses two bells which rang out through many centuries but are now silent. Hopefully they will one day ring out again.
At the end of the 19th century, Anmer was incorporated into the Sandringham Estate which belonged to King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. The King and Queen restored the Baluster Font in the Chapel at the west end after it was discovered by the Rector in an outhouse in 1921. Queen Mary gifted the church a beautifully embroidered Florentine altar frontal and two Jacobean embroidered chairs. Three religious paintings by Sir Noel Paton were presented by King George V and Queen Mary and these are now on show in Sandringham Museum. In 1949 an Altar Service Book was presented to the church by younger children of the Coldham family: Agatha Maria, John Hamilton, Lucy Maud and Alice Rachel. This continues to be used for the service of Holy Communion today. Over the years the Church fell into disrepair resulting in the Norfolk Churches Trust becoming involved with its restoration in 1999.
PC Martin Didwell and Police Dog "Max"
In my capacity as “press” I arranged to be on the spot early on and talked to some of the behind the scenes people who helped make the visit of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall to the concert a smooth one. PC Martin Didwell and Police Dog “Max” smiled for the camera whilst their colleague PC Adrian Vincent looked on. The two PCs said that the police team had been drawn from various parts of Norfolk for the event and they were responsible for ensuring Max did a thorough search of the church and grounds as part of security measures. Max was a 3 year old Springer Spaniel and he had been working with the Police for 2 years.
Philip Neal and Louise Hawkins from St John Ambulance
Whilst concert goers drifted into their seats, I also got to talk to Philip Neal and Louise Hawkins from St John Ambulance who were on standby at the event. Louise said she had served an amazing 36 years for St John Ambulance. Whilst Philip, the Member in Charge at the Hunstanton branch, had completed 19 years service. Since Philip barely looked 20 years old I had to question how? Apparently, Philip is carrying on a family tradition started when he was not long out of the cradle – his father, Michael Neal, held gave 29 years service to St John Ambulance in Hunstanton and was also the Member in Charge there for many years. They were both attending the concert to provide the usual first aid back up on behalf of St John Ambulance and were due to also attend at the Sandringham Flower Show the next day.
I talked with the programme sellers as the clock ticked on and soon The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall were pulling up outside St Nicholas where groups of well wishers had waited for a glimpse of them. The Mayoress of Kings Lynn, Zipha Christopher and the recently appointed Chief Constable of Norfolk, Philip Gormley welcomed our royal visitors and the royal couple greeted a line up of many local people on their journey through the doors of St Nicholas Church.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall arrive
The concert itself was really stunning. The English Chamber Orchestra and Alexander Romanovsky performed the Overture from The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart), Concerto No 24 in C minor for piano and orchestra (Mozart) and Symphony No 4 in B flat (Beethoven) faultlessly to my inexperienced ear and the acoustics in the church were second to none. The close of the concert saw our illustrious entertainers receive resounding and unending applause from their appreciative audience.
At the interval my husband and I followed the crowd to a large marquee on a tennis court located at the home of Richard and Anna Stanton who kindly allowed the Music in Country Churches organisers to set up a refreshment reception there. The setting was very appropriate and the wine flowed freely amongst the concert goers.
The next concert for Music in Country Churches is set for 3 and 4 September at The Church of St Michael, Framlingham, Suffolk Enquiries: 01603 528319.