This Easter Adam Klups, Icon Trustee and Church Buildings Officer at the Diocese of Gloucester, will walk to Santiago de Compostela in Spain to raise vital funds for Tredington and Stoke Orchard PCC and their project to conserve the unique wall paintings at the Church of St James the Great in Stoke Orchard.
The little church of St James the Great may appear humble and unassuming from the outside, but upon crossing its threshold one immediately realises that it's a special and ancient space.
St James' is one of Gloucestershire's lesser-known gems. Its nave is covered with numerous layers of wall paintings, including one of Europe's earliest and best-preserved cycles of the life of St James the Great - the patron saint of pilgrims. This is not a coincident: the church was built en route to the most popular of medieval pilgrimage sites – Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
These unique wall paintings are now in need of conservation intervention to ensure that they are preserved for the enjoyment of future generations. Although the church is much loved by the local community, the cost of conservation work is a burden too heavy for them to bear and generous help is needed to have the paintings conserved and interpreted better.
From the moment Adam first met members of St James' congregation and saw the paintings up close he knew he wanted to do something to help. Since then they've been collaborating closely planning a conservation project. They managed to attract some of the best professionals in the country to have the paintings assessed and come up with recommendations for treatment, including Tobit Curteis ACR and Mark Perry ACR and are now hoping to start conservation work - Phase 1 of the project- in the summer. Phase 2 will see the church made more welcoming for all and its amazing heritage better interpreted.
What is the best way to raise money for a church dedicated to a patron saint of pilgrims? It must be a sponsored walk to Santiago de Compostela! Adam has always wanted to experience what it is like to walk in the footsteps of thousands, if not millions of pilgrims who have embarked on their Camino way for all sorts of reasons; to search for the divine, try to understand the meaning of life, test their physical strength or simply have an adventure of a lifetime. Adam will be walking with his friend and colleague from the Diocese of Oxford, Liz Kitch, who like him is raising money for churches in her diocese.
Please consider sponsoring Adam to help preserve these special and ancient paintings for the enjoyment of the Stoke Orchard community, visitors and future generations by donating here.
Please also support Liz Kitch and her fundraising efforts here.
