Bill Bryson backs Britain's church buildings

Bill Bryson

Source: National Churches Trust

Bill Bryson OBE, best-selling author of books on travel, the English language and science, has been appointed a Vice-President of the National Churches Trust, the UK's church buildings support charity.

Bryson said: "It is impossible to overstate the importance of churches to this country. Nothing else in the built environment has the emotional and spiritual resonance, the architectural distinction, the ancient, reassuring solidity of a parish church."

"To me, they are the physical embodiment of all that is best and most enduring in Britain."

Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust said: "Bill Bryson is one of our national treasures, as are the UK's 42,000 churches, chapels and meeting houses. Churches are important in so many ways. They inspire us with their beauty, allow us to find spiritual solace and are an indispensable hub for community activities."

"I'm delighted that Bill Bryson has become a Vice-President of the National Churches Trust and look forward to his support for our work over the coming years."

Bill Bryson's best selling travel books include The Lost Continent and Notes from a Small Island, which in a national poll was voted the book that best represents Britain. Another travel book, A Walk in the Woods, has become a major film starring Robert Redford, Nick Nolte and Emma Thompson. His latest number one Sunday Times bestseller is The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island.

His acclaimed book on the history of science, A Short History of Nearly Everything, won the Royal Society's Aventis Prize as well as the Descartes Prize, the European Union's highest literary award.

Bryson was born in the American Midwest, and now lives in the UK. A former Chancellor of Durham University, he was President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England for five years, and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society.

The National Churches Trust is the national, independent charity dedicated to supporting and promoting places of worship of historic, architectural and community value used by Christian denominations throughout the UK. The Trust does this through the provision of grants for repairs and modernisation, support, advice and information and campaigning to highlight the cause of church buildings and the value they provide to communities.

For more information see: www.nationalchurchestrust.org