By Barry Richardson

As with much of the Re‑Awakening, people have been given a once‑in‑a‑generation chance to see St Mary’s up close. This is an unexpected bonus with glimpses of corners long hidden from view.

By Barry Richardson

The title might suggest a third book to join Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass—but I am merely borrowing that allegory to explore the luminous world of stained glass at St Mary’s and look at some of the outcome of works undertaken.

By Chrissie Van Mierlo & Anna Herbert

As we enter the final phase of our refurbishment, works are progressing at pace all across the site…

By Barry Richardson

This week I visited St Mary’s to document the progress as the Re-Awakening building phase enters its final chapter. Scaffolding still cradles the West tower, but is largely gone elsewhere outside the church.

By Barry Richardson

On the way home from work today, I found myself staring at St Paul’s Cathedral — the ‘modern replacement’ for the one lost to the Great Fire of London. Once the tallest building in the city, it now sits quietly, dwarfed by the steel and glass of the City’s skyline and constrained within the neighbouring buildings.

By Barry Richardson

This week, I stepped through the vestry door not to narrate, but to listen…

By Barry Richardson

My latest fortnightly visit to St Mary Magdalene revealed a series of quiet surprises woven through the steady progress of Re-Awakening. 

By Barry Richardson

Not all doors are carved in oak or framed in stone. Some glow quietly on screens, others open in the heart. At St Mary’s, every door—visible or unseen—is being opened anew through the lens of accessibility…

By Barry Richardson

This week's visit to St Mary’s revealed a fresh shift of activity. The external scaffolding on the North side has been largely removed, and the pace of activity within the building is unmistakably gathering momentum.

By Barry Richardson

Last week, I wrote about a vivid moment: the morning sun casting a kaleidoscope of colour across the walls of St Mary’s. It made me wonder—why do churches have stained glass?

By Barry Richardson

This week’s visit to St Mary’s felt very different. It was not just a progress review (a.k.a. a nosey wander) but something more intimate - a reunion with an old and dearly loved friend.

By Barry Richardson

This week's blog is titled by a phrase many will know, supposedly originating in Yorkshire, and I invite you to take it quite literally because within St Mary Magdalene, Newark currently there’s certainly lots of dust (muck), and there is definitely some nationally significant brass…

By Barry Richardson

This week, we're returning to the present day, with a progress update of work inside St. Mary’s…

By Barry Richardson

This week, I’m walking with St Mary’s through time…

By Barry Richardson

Metalwork plays an important part in this week's blog, for its help in beautifying St. Mary’s, and the damage caused to stonework…

By Diana McNee and Linda Bennett

Diana and Linda here, sharing some reflections while exploring the developments of our Parish Church renovations during last Friday’s hard hat tour.

By Barry Richardson

The Re-Awakening Project at St. Mary's includes an extension to the Crossing – the central area of the nave where the church extends in all four directions…

By Barry Richardson

Following last week’s internal building progress update, we return to look at why St Mary’s is considered such an outstanding piece of mediaeval architecture by highlighting the Chantries, which indirectly circle back to the Re-Awakening Project…

By Barry Richardson

This week's Blog delivers a "Re-Awakening" internal building progress update…