Bats in Churches LIVE Series Two

Welcome to the second season of Bats in Churches LIVE, our free online discussion series. Join our fabulously well-informed, expert guest speakers to delve into the wonderful world of bats and churches.

There's even more Bats In Churches LIVE content in season one, click here to see more!

Church Roofs: Beauty, Bats and Building work

Church roofs are very often more than just a way of keeping out the rain. They are a miracle of carpentry. Their construction over all periods is astonishing, spanning vast spaces using ingenious engineering solutions and displaying beautiful angels, hammer-beams and fan vaulting.

They are also home to bats and the Bats in Churches project is looking into mitigation methods and techniques in church roofs.

This session will look into how interesting church roofs can be and how we can protect bats and the church fabric, while carrying out roof repairs and bat mitigation.

Speakers: Sam Wheeler (Building Surveyor), Andrew Derrick (Heritage Consultant), Jo Fergusson (BCT)

Chair: Rachel Arnold (BiC Heritage Advisor)

Location: Zoom

Date: Wednesday 28th April, 12pm GMT

Community, Heritage, Bats: Finding common ground

Get deep with us this lunchtime and find out how the Bats in Churches project is helping church communities to find common ground between their bats and their historical heritage.

We'll be showcasing the pioneering bat mitigation and community work that has been marching on through a year of lockdown and you'll have the opportunity to ask your burning questions to our determined and unshakeable Engagement Officers.

Speakers: Rose Riddell (North & West), Honor Gay (South & South West), Diana Spencer (East Anglia)

Chair: Ione Fitzpatrick (BiC Communications Officer)

Location: Zoom

Date: Wednesday 17th February, 12pm GMT

A Date with a Church

Join our panellists while we explore churches, their architecture and interiors. We will look at how they changed over time, how to date them and how to spot ancient survivals.

Churches are fascinating and ancient buildings. Having been constructed, extended and adapted over hundreds of years, a single church can contain styles, materials and interior decoration, from Saxon right through to the twenty-first century.

Looking at and trying to understand a church can be an adventure of investigation. But where do we start? How do we tell the different styles like Early English and Perpendicular or identify a Victorian restoration from a medieval original.

Guest speakers: John Vigar (Ecclesiastical Historian & Author), Dr Louise Hampson (University of York), Jonathan Cerowski (Chartered RIBA Architect)

Chair: Rachel Arnold (BiC Heritage Advisor)

Location: Zoom

Date: Wednesday 31st March, 12pm GMT

Bats & Disease: Untangling truth from myth

Join us for a lively lunchtime talk on bats and disease when we'll be untangling truths and busting myths and you'll have the opportunity to ask your burning questions to a panel of top experts in the field.

Our guest speakers will be sharing the science behind bats and coronaviruses, bats and disease in the UK, and we'll be covering some of the most common questions that we've had over the first two years of the project.

Rumour has it there may even be an appearance from a LIVE bat!

Guest speakers: Dr Tom August (Centre of Ecology & Hydrology), Lisa Worledge (BCT), Gail Armstrong aka The Bat Lady

Chair: The Venerable Dave Middlebrook (Archdeacon of Bedfordshire)

Location: Zoom

Date: Wednesday 10th February, 12pm GMT