Exploring Sussex Churches

John Vigar


Region:
East of England
Notice Period:
Regular (more than one month's notice)
Type:
Professional
Fee:
Paid
Category:
History
Updated:
30th March 2019

Although Sussex was relatively late in converting to Christianity it has, uniquely amongst southern counties, retained a large proportion of its earliest church buildings. Subsequent wealth and influences have not destroyed all that was there and the past really does peep out at the casual visitor.

The lecture looks at the architectural history of Sussex churches, taking a chronological view from the early eleventh century to the twentieth. It illustrates a variety of buildings that are little known.

John Vigar was encouraged early in his career by John Betjeman and is Trustee of a national church preservation charity of which Betjeman was a founder. He is an architectural historian by profession, specialising in ecclesiastical architecture. As well as teaching at several universities he works for The Churches Conservation Trust and lectures extensively across Europe.

This lecture lends itself to a study day, or a full-day tour as a follow-up. John prefers to take guests to little known churches where he explains each in detail.

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About John Vigar

John has been a professional speaker for over 40 years. He lectured for the University of Kent from 1992 to 2010, teaching a variety of architectural and social history studies, and has worked on a sessional basis for many other academic institutions. He has been a regular tutor at Denman (the national college of the Women’s Institute near Oxford) for over 35 years. An enthusiastic and popular approach to his subject ensures that he has a large following of regular students.

In addition to his contracted lectures John is a popular speaker at meetings of many different groups including The Arts Society ( formerly NADFAS), the National Trust, and historical societies country-wide. His lecture tours to public Libraries and Colleges in Germany where he speaks on English literature and its links with topographical history are also well received.

John Vigar`s specialist subject is ecclesiology – the study of church architecture and associated topics. He has written extensively on the subject and regularly leads tours to churches across England, both as part of his own programme of activities, and for other organisations. John has written the guidebooks for several hundred churches and is the author of books on the historic churches of both Kent and Sussex. He has visited and recorded over 13,000 of the 16,000 Anglican churches in England and Wales.

After retiring from university lecturing John worked for 13 years in the south-east region of The Churches Conservation Trust and he is a Trustee of the oldest church conservation body, The Friends of Friendless Churches. John is also a member of the Advisory Council of The Norfolk Churches Trust and has previously served as Hon Sec of the Ledgerstone Survey of England and Wales and as Photographic Curator of The Kempe Society.

He runs the www.kentchurches.info and www.hampshirechurches.co.uk websites

All lectures now available by Zoom.


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