An enlightening experience

Even in the short time I have been a Heritage volunteer steward I have had many positive experiences, not least of these being the people I’ve met whilst surveying properties.

As a new volunteer in 2010 my very first survey involved calling at a private property which I had often admired from a distance as it was situated on a regular route I once took to work.

As I approached it I could see several people working. I recall feeling rather unsure about proceeding; anxious about what reception I’d receive and the small, but important considerations as a representative of the Trust, as to whether I had chosen the right way to access the property. I need not have worried!

The workmen were interested in the Lincolnshire Heritage at Risk project and encouraged me to wait a short time until the owner returned. When he did, he was more than helpful with the information he gave, making my task of surveying the property quite effortless!

As an unexpected bonus, he gave me a conducted tour of his home which provided more fascinating details about its history and the recent renovation work.

Walking away from the property I reflected that should most of my surveys prove to be as pleasant a task as this one, my work as a volunteer would be very rewarding!

On a separate occasion, on a warm and sunny April afternoon, I arrived to survey a small village church. Two men were mowing the grass in the churchyard and silenced their machinery to talk to me. They were keen to learn about the Lincolnshire Heritage At Risk project and soon introduced me to the church warden who lived a short distance away.

Again, due to the wealth of information this person was able to give, my task of surveying the church was made much easier! She explained that the size of the church’s congregation was slowly, but surely, dwindling - a comment which unfortunately has been repeated by individuals at other churches I have surveyed since. The church warden informed me that funds were invariably in short supply and that attempts to improve the situation through social functions were poorly supported. This account reflected the content of a TV programme I recently saw about the less than encouraging future of church attendance in the UK. 

I reflected that the survival of valued church buildings was largely dependent upon the congregations and communities that supported them. Here then, was first-hand knowledge of someone actively involved in the business of her church who gave not only a frank and pessimistic account of the ultimate survival of the church’s fabric, but also that of the future of active worship in her local community - and of course, the wider negative social connotations that such a decline would mean.

So, on just two survey visits, I had the pleasure of meeting two individuals with completely different stories. One who was obviously proud of his efforts to preserve the heritage of his home and the other, who despite her best efforts to encourage the continuity of her own church and a sense of community, feared the worse for its future.

Whether their stories are positive or, unfortunately, less so, as a volunteer steward I gain much personal satisfaction from the new people I meet and their interesting and varied views of local heritage.

Colin, Heritage Steward