Our Team

Martin Stuchfield, M.B.E., J.P., D.L., F.S.A., F.R.Hist.S.

Chairman

Martin is a trustee of numerous registered charities concerned with heritage, history and archaeology.

Martin was elected Hon. Secretary in 2015 and also served as Vice-Chairman from 2017 to 2021 when he became Chairman of the Trust.

He is President and Conservation Officer of the Monumental Brass Society. He is also a consultant on monumental brasses to the Chelmsford, Norwich and St. Edmundsbury & Ipswich Diocesan Advisory Committees (‘D.A.C.’).

He is a Trustee and Director of the Rural Community Council of Essex and a Vice-President of the Essex Society for Archaeology and History. He is also a former Trustee of the Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome and the Victoria County History of Essex Trust.

He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for services to Heritage, Charity and the Community in Essex. He is also a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Essex and a member of the Court of the University of Essex.

Martin is Churchwarden of the small Essex church dedicated to St. Gregory and St. George at Pentlow.

John Pickthorn

Hon. Secretary 

John has lived in Saffron Walden since 2012 and has a longstanding interest in East Anglian churches. A Cambridge graduate, he worked in the City with investment banks, including, most recently, HSBC. Following his late father-in-law, Thomas Gepp, he became involved with the Friends of Essex Churches Trust in 2014 and was elected Hon. Secretary at the 2021 AGM.

Jo Pimblett

Hon. Treasurer

Jo was appointed Hon. Treasurer in 2022. She has been a member of the Events Committee since 2015 and served as Chairman from 2020 to 2022. Jo also follows in her mother’s footsteps in actively supporting the work of the Friends of Essex Churches Trust.

Jo and her husband James have two children and live on their family farm in Henham. Jo is a keen bell ringer and has been a member of the Essex Association of Change Ringers since 2008. She can regularly be found in her local parish church ringing bells for weekly services, weddings and touring the county ringing in other churches great and small.

James Bettley

Chairman of the Grants Committee

James Bettley is an architectural historian, whose publications include the 2007 edition of the Pevsner Architectural Guide to Essex. He was first elected to the Executive Committee of the FECT in 1999 and served as chairman from 2012 to 2017. He is a member (and past chairman) of the Chelmsford Diocesan Advisory Committee for the Care of Churches, and Chairman of the Chelmsford Cathedral Fabric Advisory Committee. He is chairman of the Rural Community Council of Essex and a trustee of the Essex Heritage Trust. 

Rachel Grainger

Ride+Stride Organiser

Rachel has been a member of the Events Committee for many years, firstly organising the annual Gift Fair and then becoming its chair. She joined the Executive Committee in 2016 and served as Vice-Chairman from 2021 to 2025.

Rachel is responsible for the annual Ride+Stride, which takes place on the second Saturday of September. In addition to being a significant fund-raiser, this event provides an excellent opportunity each year for Essex churches to open their doors to visitors, and for Riders+Striders to appreciate how fortunate the county is to have such a remarkable wealth of fascinating buildings.

She grew up in a small rural village, with a beautiful parish church at its centre, and is passionately committed to raising funds to sustain these wonderful buildings for future generations to use and enjoy.

She is married with three children and has lived in Essex for over three decades.