Church recording is all about ‘Recording the Past for the Future’. It involves making accurate, detailed descriptions of the furnishings, artifacts and some of the fabric of places of worship. The records are held by four different institutions where they form part of the national Heritage Archive. Members from our Society are part of the Combined Chichester Church Recording group and are currently currently working at St George’s Church, Whyke, where there is an enormous collection of textiles for such a modern church.
The picture of the altar at St Peter and St Mary illustrates some of the work we do. The design, stitching, materials and trim on the frontal are recorded by those interested in textiles. Identification of the exposed stones in the East wall behind the altar challenges our Stonework recorders and even the floor tiles require full descriptions, identification and careful dating.