About Our Team

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Our project to repair and share the heritage of St Leonard’s Church Flamstead is now being delivered. Major restoration work started in September 2020, with the church re-opening triumphantly on 19th December 2021, after 15 months of building works that took place during a major pandemic and mostly during an interregnum (no vicar).

The roof, windows and walls of the church are now structurally sound and weatherproof, and rainwater drainage much improved to avoid damp. Heritage will now be much better served and the structure better maintained going forward. The overall project was directed by Andrew Lambourne between 2017 and late 2021. Since then, a Programme Board is responsible for its management.

Our bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund included an ambitious programme of activities and new Interpretation displays. These will enable a larger and more diverse range of visitors to understand and enjoy the rich heritage of 900 years of social and religious history embodied in this wonderful building.

Essential to any project like this is a dedicated team of volunteers: individuals from the Flamstead community as well as local organisations. These include the Friends of St Leonard’s, the Flamstead Scarecrow Festival, the Flamstead Society, Flamstead Parish Council, the Flamstead Village Show, and the Village Hall Committees, as well as Historic England and the St Albans Diocese.

Because this is a community project, everyone is a stakeholder and is invited to take part. An initial team of volunteers took the project forward through the bid, the building works, and early delivery of the heritage-related Activity Plan. However, delivery of this plan was badly curtailed by the pandemic and largely suspended.

Now though, we are in a position to re-recruit volunteers. If you live in or near Flamstead and are interested in heritage and can offer either specialist skills or just a willingness to get involved, we’d be delighted to hear from you:

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Parochial Church Council

The executive body legally responsible for running the church including maintaining the fabric

The Flamstead Parochial Church Council (PCC) is a registered charity, no. 1179567. Its members work closely with the Flamstead Heritage Group and the Friends of St Leonard’s to ensure our Grade I listed Church is properly maintained. Its members are also trustees of the charity.

Vicar – Revd Jo Burke
Churchwardens – Mary Jenkin, John King
Members – Karen Barton, Anne-Françoise Brenton, Hope Clayton, Suvro Dutta, Clive Hayward, Miranda Motley, Clare Rudd, Laura Thrift, Leslie Webster

St Leonard’s Church website: St Leonard’s and St John’s

Flamstead Heritage Group

Created by the PCC specifically to spearhead the heritage project

The Flamstead Heritage Group is accountable to the Parochial Church Council (PCC).  It was responsible for making the successful bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and much of the associated local fundraising. It is now delivering the heritage-related Activity and Interpretation Plans. It gratefully draws on other organisations and individuals in the village for support..

Programme Board (current)

Revd. Jo Burke – vicar; chair
James Mellish – Project Manager
Claire Smith – Community Engagement Manager
Roy Lambden – independent
Gill McGreevy – independent
Carol Gibson – publicity
Miranda Motley – PCC representative
Mark Jenkin – FoSL representative; vice-chair

Original Team

Project Director – Andrew Lambourne (until late 2021)
Finance Manager: Veronica Worsey
Fundraising manager: Tim Wright
Schools Activity strand: Phil Mercer, Kerry O’Brien
Young People Activity strand: Miranda Motley, Clare Rudd, Anna Franklin
Special Interest and Historical Research strand: Leslie Webster, Mark Jenkin, Diane Lynch, Jayne West
Tourism and Outreach strand: Katharine LeQuesne, Anne-Françoise Brenton
Living Churchyard strand: Matt Biggs, Bryan Thompson
Further Education & Professional Development strand: Andrew Lambourne
Marketing support: Sandra Clark
Historic England adviser: Trudi Hughes
Diocesan adviser: David Bevan

Friends of St Leonard's (FoSL)

Ongoing fundraising through membership, events, and legacies

FoSL, a non-religious charity (number 1074485), raises funds, which it makes available to the Parochial Church Council for repairs, development projects, routine care and maintenance of the church building.

Chair – Mark Jenkin
Treasurer – Tim Wright
Other Trustees – Revd. Jo Burke, Carol Gibson, Greg Parsons, Sarah Parsons, Clare Rudd

FoSL website: Friends of St Leonard’s