The Bale & Stiffkey Benefice

Sharrington is situated on the southern edge of the Benefice and has a population of 110. The thirteenth century church is small and easy to heat, with 30 on the electoral roll and an average of 11 at the weekly services. We welcome many more villagers to our festivals throughout the year, when we like to serve coffee and encourage people to stay on to socialise.

We have a large and active PCC which oversees fundraising to meet our parish share in full each year. Our activities include the village fete, occasional concerts, open gardens and flower festivals and also the annual Sharrington Lecture, chaired by the Bishop of Norwich. This is in its fifth year and attracts nearly 100 people – capacity audience for the church!

Sharrington Lecture with Sir Roy Strong

Sharrington has a spacious and well-maintained village hall, but whenever possible we try to stage events inside the church, to encourage familiarity and community use. We keep the church unlocked from dawn to dusk and have records of all our activities in albums at the back of the church, ready for visitors who come to admire our stunning set of medieval corbels, or to research family history in our well-maintained churchyard. We have an active group of volunteers who clean, arrange flowers, mow grass and generally support the church.