The Church
Dunston is one of only six churches in the country dedicated to St Remigius, either a French Saint from Rheims, or possibly a Remigius who was the first Bishop of Lincoln.
One of the most striking features of this tiny church is the alabaster carving around the east window. There is also some medieval glass featuring St Remigius and a carved 15th rood screen.
The church has no power or running water so is rarely used at the moment, but we hope that working with the project will mean that it can become a more regular host for services and events.
Our Work
Despite only being home to a small number of Brown Long-eared Bats, this tiny church suffers heavily from droppings and urine as the bats regularly use the entire church as flight space throughout the night.
Our camera surveys have shown that the Brown Long-eared Bats are regularly using the voids on the wall tops in the nave as roosting and flight space and in spring 2023 we were able to carry out blocking work to contain the Brown Long-eared bats in the wall top voids.
The initial signs are that ths blocking has been very sucessful and the church has been able to reopen for events for the first time in many years. We will continue to monitor this work until at least 2025
We have also created a further roosting space in the tower silence chamber by blacking out one of the tower windows, removing a small pane of glass to allow easier entry and adding a range of bespoke bat boxes. This should provide a roost space for Common Pipistrelles and discourage them from needing to try and enter the church.
Dunston Case Study Poster
Dunston Bat Management Plan June 2020
Upcoming events
If you’d like to contact or find out more about the church, visit their page on A Church Near You