St Mary the Virgin church in the village of Hillington is usually attended by the King during the winter, but now all church services, including Easter Day, have been “suspended” indefinitely following “two separate incidents.”
Orange fencing has been used to stop visitors getting too near the outside church walls and there are “Danger Keep Out” signs in the grounds.
A notice on The Sandringham Group of Churches website states: “Hillington Church has had to suspend public worship on safety grounds, until further notice, following two separate incidents where plaster has fallen from a wall and ceiling, and the organ has sustained some damage. There is currently no public access to the church.”
The Sandringham Group of Churches comprises six medieval parish churches and two ruined churches on the estate. At the end of last year parishioners held a meeting to discuss the future of the church building and are currently deciding what to do.
Minutes of a parish council meeting held in December said: “The church is very short on funds and has a considerable shortfall.”
It comes after the late Queen Elizabeth II had to cancel her visit to the church in 2015 after a lump of plaster fell from the ceiling. At the time, church officials decided it was too dangerous to admit members of the public into the church because of the risk of more plaster falling and injuring someone, and instead the Queen and Prince Philip worshipped at St Mary Magdalene around 400 yards from Sandringham House. Surveyors later carried out an inspection to ensure that no other parts of the ceiling were in danger of collapse before officials agreed to reopen the church.
The Queen’s last visit to the church was in January 2020 when she was accompanied by Prince Andrew.
St Mary’s Church is constructed from flint with some Sandringham sandstone and carrstone quarried from the estate. The tower and elements of the chancel date back to the 15th century. The nave was rebuilt and much of the rest of the building was restored during the 19th century, when a north chapel was also built.
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