Friends are rallied to aid country’s oldest church

Dating from about 670AD and largely unchanged over the centuries, Escomb Saxon Church, near Bishop Auckland, is hailed as England’s earliest example of Christian architecture.

It welcomes about 11,000 tourists a year and is the oldest church still holding weekly services.

Organisers of a new friends group hope former visitors will join regular worshippers and people from the wider community to learn more about the building and to offer it support.

The friends scheme will also include the church’s closed graveyard, which is being developed as a wildlife area by the Durham Wildlife Trust with money bequeathed by the late Dennis Heslop, from Darlington, who had family links with nearby Witton Park.

The church’s tourist secretary Gilly Beddow, whose late husband, Nick, was vicar for 17 years, described it as a national gem.

She said: “Nobody knows exactly when it was built or why it is here, but it is the only church in the country that stands pretty much how it was when it was built.

“People who come are interested in the history and love the building.

“We want more people to be associated with it and meet up from time to time.”

Churchwarden Derek Jago hopes that the friends will be people from inside and outside the church.

He said: “The building is important to the whole community.

School groups come here for history projects and some of the local schools are interested in joining.

“We don’t plan to have a formal membership. It is about fellowship and people interested in history.

“Some people just like the peace that the church offers. It is a simple, beautiful building.

“It is not about fundraising, although there are always projects to be tackled.

“We just need a list of names and addresses of people to contact so that we can send them newsletters and let them know what it going on.

“With the wildlife area as well, it seems ideal to combine the two.”

Contact Mr Jago on 01388-458358 or email derek_jago@talk21.com