A JOINT effort and some clever thinking has created a new centrepiece for Barnard Castle’s festive display.
An inner glow has brought the town’s grade-II listed Methodist church out of the “inky darkness” and thrust it into the forefront of the seasonal illuminations.
The new feature is a collaboration of ideas between the town’s Christmas lights team, the church’s minister and a progressive county conservation officer. Despite being so prominent, it required no planning permission and cost very little cash.
It also fulfills an ambition shared by the church’s minster, Revd Graham Cutler, and Christmas lights committee member Tim Raw.
Mr Cutler said one of the things he first noticed when taking up his post at the church was how it “disappears into the inky darkness when the streetlights come on”.
He said: “We wanted to light it up”. Similarly, Mr Raw noticed that the church has three pillars at its front when walking past one day.
He said: “I thought we could tie some lights to them without drilling into the church.”
Advice from Durham County Council’s conservation officer, who said lighting the church up from the inside would not need planning permission, brought the plan together.
Festive display committee member Roger Peat said it broke down the team’s traditional idea of “lights in a tree” and opened up ideas on how to use light.
Mr Raw said: “It is amazing how different it is to anything else. We learned a lot about lights.”
The spotlight display is controlled by the church minister’s iPad and cost about £220.
Mr Cutler was so impressed he bought more lights for the church, and uses them to enhance the mood during services. The internal display will also be used during the carol service.
He said: “The feedback on this has been fantastic. Regularly on an evening we have people stopping and taking photographs.”
