19th August 2026: To make parking at St-Nicks Arts Centre easier and safer, we removed part of the earth bank and opened a vehicle entrance connecting our traditional parking area (in front of the church) to the new parking alongside the blackcurrant field. Thanks a lot to Michael Starling for organising all this work!
20th August 2026: After removing part of the earth bank and opening a vehicle entrance connecting our traditional parking area (in front of the church) to the new parking alongside the blackcurrant field, we introduced a one-way traffic flow for parking at St-Nicks Arts Centre. Thanks to the local fruit farmer’s generosity, we have plenty of parking space for any kind of events, and parking and exiting have become even safer now.
See below for more photos of the latest developments regarding the Arts Centre renovation.
RENOVATION DIARY: JOIN US ON OUR JOURNEY!
St. Nicholas Church in Swafield is entering a new chapter in its history by incorporating a year-round Arts and Community Centre serving North Norfolk. This strategy outlines how the modernisation of the church will create a sustainable, vibrant, and self-funding cultural venue that supports community life, the arts, and heritage conservation for at least the next century. At the same time the church will continue to be a place of worship, serving the people of Swafield.
2026 – Grand opening, hard work and lots of fun
In January 2026, Trunch Concerts Committee (a subcommittee of Trunch PCC) expanded to include new members and reorganised into St-Nick Arts Centre and Trunch Concerts Committee, overseeing classical music concerts in Trunch as well as numerous community events at St. Nicks Arts Centre in Swafield. The reorganised committee and volunteers, with the full support of the Diocese of Norwich, began its work on renovating the church to launch the Arts Centre.
The work started by installing outdoor lighting at St. Nicholas Church and a temporary outdoor toilet, the upgrading of the electrical supply system (switching to a three-phase network), and the testing and installation of infrared electric heaters. Six pews in the nave of St. Nicholas have been removed (and safely stored) to create space for a nice stage in front of the rood screen. The removable floor panels were installed there – to protect the floor and to level it.
24th Jan 2026: following the upgrade of the electrical supply to three-phase, 10 temporary infrared heaters were installed in the nave.
28th Jan 2026: Re-laying electrical cables for the exterior lighting.
31st Jan 2026: Two Victorian style lantern post lights were installed outside the church.
28th Feb 2026 – Clean up Saturday at St-Nicholas: clean & strim of the churchyard, stripping Ivy from the walls and cleaning out the vestry.
7th Mar 2026: cleaning and trimming the hedges at St Nicks Arts Centre in Swafield.
12th Mar 2026: six pews in the nave of St. Nicholas have been removed (and safely stored) to create space for a nice stage in front of the rood screen.
16th Mar 2026: we are so grateful to our friends and sponsors, VIP Plant Ltd, a civil and mechanical engineering company from North Norfolk, which is laying now the removable floor panels at St Nicks Art Centre, – to protect the floor and to level it.
18th Mar 2026: Our new temporary floor in St Nicks is varnished and ready for the grand opening! We tried to match the colour of the stain with the chancel screen and the pews.
20th Mar 2026: Professional Stage, Light, Sound equipment – everything is ready for the Grand Opening event.
21st Mar 2026: St Nicks Arts Centre Grand Opening event. The feedback was great: – Congratulations on a brilliant launch for St Nicks At Centre! What a beautiful night! – It was a truly amazing event, and the acoustics were brilliant! – Wow – that was a great night!! – such a lovely atmosphere! – What a great evening. So many good things to enjoy!
21st Mar 2026: This is the Soul Setters, one of two amazing bands played at the Grand Opening event at St Nicks Arts Centre, with an upbeat, energetic performance!
21st Mar 2026: The Offbeat Collective – dynamic, big-band–style ensemble with vibrant energy, they delivered feel-good happy reggae at the Grand Opening.
28th Mar 2026: Help from friends to remove a large tree felled by the wind at St. Nicholas Churchyard.
10th Apr 2026: Sold out event: cinema night with Nigel Havers, presenting David Lean’s epic film A Passage to India (1984), in which he played one of the leading roles.
18th Apr 2026 – sold out concert: DixieMix jazz band performed their new programme From Blues to Swing in front of our new rear projection screen, on a specially built mobile stage.
23rd May 2026: Disco Fever at St Nicks – our first themed dance party. Large video projection and computer operated lights transformed the venue into a Wonderland 
It was such great fun to see so many people enjoyed the party (about 60), dressed up, dancing beautifully, smiling and having time of their life.
10th June 2026 : Four medieval bells returned back to St Nicholas, after a very long sojourn to Somerset, where they were restored! We hosted a coffee morning watching them ascend up the bell tower. Revd Sally blessed the bells. As the bells haven’t been heard as a set for over a century, this was a moving celebration!
6th July 2026: The FETE at SWAFIELD HALL. We raised about £5000 in aid of St-Nicks Arts Centre. The atmosphere was very joyful, we saw so many very happy people at Swafield Hall. We have ringing bells at St Nicholas Church now, but next we need a water supply, toilets, kitchen and it’s a big and expensive project.
28th July 2026: A high quality Blüthner baby-grand piano was delivered to St-Nicks Arts Centre. On August 8th this piano was used for the first time at Maria Konoshenko and Michael J McEvoy concert ‘Songs of Exile’,
19th August 2026: To make parking at St-Nicks Arts Centre easier and safer, we removed part of the earth bank and opened a vehicle entrance connecting our traditional parking area (in front of the church) to the new parking alongside the blackcurrant field. Thanks a lot to Michael Starling for organising all this work!
20th August 2026: A one-way traffic flow for parking was introduced at St-Nicks Arts Centre. Thanks to the local fruit farmer’s generosity, we have plenty of parking space for any kind of events, and parking and exiting have become even safer now.
St Nicks Arts Centre will serve as a model of how an historic rural church can evolve into a thriving arts and community hub without losing its sacred and heritage identity. This initiative ensures that St Nicholas remains at the heart of Swafield and the local area — not only as a spiritual space, but as a beacon for creativity, learning and community spirit for generations to come.
We would like to thank the following organisations who are generously helping fund our restoration journey:
Many thanks to our sponsors & partners who include:
