St Peter Mancroft Church is located in the marketplace in the heart of the medieval city of Norwich, and is the largest of the city’s 31 surviving medieval parish churches.
The church has received a Church of England Demonstrator Churches grant of £50,000 with co-funding from the scheme's partners, Benefact Trust, of £36,00 to transform its carbon footprint and energy use by replacing its entire interior lighting system and installing heat pumps as well as batteries and 48 solar panels.
Through this work, the church expects to see an 84% reduction in emissions by saving 52.26 tonnes of CO2 each year.
In July 2022, General Synod approved a routemap for the Church of England to strive to reach net zero carbon by 2030. The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher is lead bishop for environment for the Church of England.
Bishop Graham said: “I am delighted that the clergy and congregation at St Peter Mancroft have taken the journey to Net Zero Carbon seriously and have worked hard on ambitious plans. As a major historic building in the centre of Norwich, their work will have widespread interest. Their selection as a national demonstrator project also means that their learning will be shared and they will be able to encourage other church communities.”
The roots of this project at St Peter Mancroft began in 2017. It became apparent that the lighting in the Grade 1 listed church needed a complete overhaul to bring it up to date. The current inflexible sodium lights have been burning for decades. As part of this project, new and more energy efficient LED lighting will be installed to replace the old lighting.
The Rev’d Canon Edward Carter (pictured above), the Vicar of St Peter Mancroft Church, has been instrumental in this project. Soon after he arrived at the church, one of the main gas boilers failed. It was another element which speeded up this major environmental project. Work began on installing solar panels on the southern roof in March 2024, with the installation of the new LED lighting system, heat pumps and batteries to follow.
Canon Edward said: “It’s so satisfying to see this project finally come to fruition. It is a comprehensive project to a Grade 1 listed church at a time when the net zero agenda is one of the Church of England’s top priorities. We are delighted to have been identified by the Diocese of Norwich as a demonstrator church project. The entire installation process is being filmed for use as a resource for other parishes who may want to be doing this themselves.”
“It’s so satisfying to see this project finally come to fruition. It is a comprehensive project to a Grade 1 listed church at a time when the net zero agenda is one of the Church of England’s top priorities. We are delighted to have been identified by the Diocese of Norwich as a demonstrator church project.”
Rev'd Canon Edward Carter, St Peter Mancroft, Norwich