HADFAS Harpenden Area Decorative

The more you know, the more you see. That is true of the insides of churches. We all notice the large colourful windows but what about those tiles in the Chancel? Are they really hundreds of years old?

Recorders note metalwork (chalices, plates and so on as well as crosses), the memorials, the windows, the stonework, the woodwork, the paintings, the bells, the organ as well as the more curious things like graffiti or the mundane items such as electrical and sound equipment. If it’s there, we record it!

The local group, drawn from both HADFAS and HEDFAS, is currently just finishing the recording of St Leonard’s Church at Sandridge, which is a small, interesting church with an unusual screen, incorporating Roman Bricks. It also has a new engraved glass screen, closing off the west end of the church to allow meetings to be self-contained.

We have been given permission to record St Peter’s, at Ayot St Peter and work will begin this autumn. It is a small Arts and Crafts church, consecrated in 1875, with many interesting features. It replaced churches that have stood on the site since the thirteenth century.

As much as possible is photographed or drawn so that the record of what the church had is permanent. Copies of the records are available to be seen at the Hertfordshire Archive and Local Studies Centre in County Hall Hertford (previously known as the County Records Office!) as well as those held by the various parishes.