News
News
Colin Cooper
It is with great sadness that we record the death of one of the founder members of the Friends of Hailes Church.
Colin Cooper, who died in late January, aged 78, was one of our most stalwart supporters and helpers, invariably behind the scenes as he never sought the limelight. On the many occasions from 2000 onwards when his wife, Janet, organised fundraising activities for the Friends at the church or in their own garden, Colin was always at her side, taking care of the necessary preparations such as lighting the church for events, creating signage, and turning his manifest practical skills to any job. The success that the Friends have had every year with the sale of bric-a-brac and other items at the annual Stanway fete has also owed a great deal to Colin’s assistance before, during and after the event.
Colin has quietly contributed so much to the promotion of our work. He and Janet have sold produce from their garden in Hailes for many years in aid of our funds and have taken the opportunity to talk about the nearby church, and the Friends’ efforts safeguard it, to visitors and walkers passing their house along the Cotswold Way . One of his most recent acts was to restore a table and make a noticeboard, both of which now stand at the west end of the nave and which give the Friends a visible and valuable presence in the church.
We, the Friends of Hailes Church, send our condolences to Janet and her family, and we will always be sincerely grateful to Colin for his very generous support and encouragement. He was a true friend and Friend and will be missed greatly by us all.
Public lectures (ongoing)
Two public lectures about the church, entitled Hailes church – the first 1000 years, have been given, one in Toddington in October 2024 and the other in Winchcombe in March 2025. Both were very well attended, raising significant funds for the Friends and also recruiting new members. Requests by local societies for this lecture have since been received. As a result, it was given to the annual joint meeting of the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society and the Gloucester Cathedral Guides, held at Gloucester cathedral in October 2025; and will next be given in Cheltenham to the U3A Historic Churches Group in March 2026. The speaker’s fees and the voluntary donations accruing from such presentations are another valuable source of income for the Friends.
So as to raise yet more funds in the same way, other lectures will be given in 2025-6. Among them will be one entitled Winchcombe, Winchcombeshire and the kingdom of the Hwicce (to be given in Winchcombe Museum’s Winter Lectures series at 2.30 pm on 5 November at Abbey Fields Community Centre, Back Lane, Winchcombe), and A guided tour of Anglo-Saxon and Norman Winchcombe (to be given to the Winchcombe History Group at 7.30 pm on 23 February at the same venue).
For further information about these and other lectures given on behalf of the Friends, please write to friendsofhaileschurch@outlook.com.
Update on chancel ceiling (October 2025)
Most unfortunately, access to the chancel has had to be denied to visitors since June 2025 because of the collapse of several portions of its 17th century ceiling. The funds needed to pay for a professional survey of the whole ceiling have now been raised, and this work will be undertaken in the near future by Cliveden Conservation. A large grant towards the cost of the survey has been made by the Diocese of Gloucester, and the shortfall will be met equally by the Friends and the PCC.
Woodwork survey (October 2025)
A survey of the condition of the church’s historic woodwork has very recently been undertaken by Hugh Harrison Conservation. In the nave, many of the medieval pews are rotting away, both at their point of contact with the damp inner faces of the north and south walls and also wherever they are in contact with the frequently wet floor; and the low dais on which the 17th-century pulpit stands is in urgent need of repair. In the chancel, the lowest sections of the 17th-century panelling are similarly affected by rotting, and some of the choir stalls, of the same date, are deteriorating significantly.
[For further information please see Projects]
The sale of postcards
In August this year the local artist Paul Workman (who is a member of the Friends) produced a postcard which presents a beautiful reconstruction of how the wall paintings on the chancel’s north wall may have looked in their original, early 14th-century, state. Since then, sales of the postcard to visitors to church have so far raised about £100 for the Friends. We are most grateful to Paul for his very generous donation of his artwork and half the printing costs.
Stanway fete (July 2025)
Each year the Friends of Hailes Church have a fund-raising stall at the summer Stanway Fete. In 2025 we raised nearly £700. The next fete is expected to be held in July 2026. Donations of bric-a-brac and books in advance of the event will be much appreciated. (If you have items to donate, please contact us at friendsofhaileschurch@outlook.com.)
Wall paintings survey (June 2025)
A survey of the condition of the wall paintings – the first to be undertaken in over 20 years – was made in June 2025 by the expert firm of conservators Rickerby & Shekede. This was funded in equal amounts by the parish and the Friends. Among other things, the survey was designed to establish at what rate the wall paintings continue to deteriorate (as they undoubtedly do), and also the extent to which the church’s serious problem with damp is the heaviest contributory factor in this. The conservators’ report states that, although the extent of deterioration since the previous survey (made in 2002) is less than had been feared, there is indeed a significant threat to them from the prevalent dampness – an issue that requires urgent action. [For further information see Projects.