Archive News

Previous newsletters will be archived here going back about 12 months so you can always refer back to what has gone on:

ARCHIVED NEWSLETTERS

5 December 2025

Dear Volunteers (and you might like to know that there are 183 of you!)

Things are getting very festive indeed here. I hope you’ve all had chance to see the decorations and visit the illuminations (known as Sparkle this year). Your lanyard entitles you to free entry for the illuminations so do come along to enjoy them (just make sure to remember your lanyard to show at the gate but pop it away afterwards so no one thinks you are on duty!). We have had a record number of schools taking part in the Eco Art exhibition this year and it brings quite a fun spirit to the palace.

All volunteers will be given new lanyards from 15^th Dec. This is because you will need to scan your lanyard in order to get past the new scanner in the visitor reception/shop from the beginning of January. Your new lanyard will look the same as your old one except it will have  barcode on the back which is what you will scan. We have used the generic name Volunteer welcomer for drawbridge, palace welcomers and VSVs just to make it simpler for visitors to identify your role. It will also mean that those of you who switch between those roles won’t need lots of different name son there!  Please collect your new lanyard from the shop. Thanks to Kai who has been working on producing 183 of these – no mean feat. Kai is on an 18 month placement from Yeovil College, studying T level Management and Administration and he is with us one day a week.

Would anyone like to help on our stall at the Wells Community Day in the cathedral on Sat 17 Jan 10-4? Just an hour or two would be great. We will be promoting what we do, mainly with volunteering. Please contact Gemma [email protected] if you can help. It is always a fun and relaxed event.

Just a reminder about the fire procedure. If you are in the inner gardens, drawbridge or palace please make your way to the centre of the croquet lawn. If you are in the outer gardens please remain there. It is important to keep your radio on as you cannot always hear all of the alarms (eg the gatehouse alarm cannot be heard if you are in the palace). Please can Palace Welcomers let the staff in the shop know that you are coming on duty. Please can drawbridge welcomers close the entrance gate on the way to the croquet lawn so that new visitors do not enter the site.

Please submit your travel expenses claim form as our financial year runs from Dec-Dec so any expenses need to be processed latest by the first week in Jan 2026. The earlier the better.

May I suggest that you sign up to receive The Bishop’s Palace monthly enews. This is a great way of staying up to date. Here is the link to the sign-up page:  https://preview.mailerlite.io/preview/133746/sites/88335443511216096/thebishopspalaceemailnewsletter

Thanks to all of you who have pitched in to make Christmas at The Palace such a success. The visitors really do appreciate all of our efforts. You might like to know that yet again this year, one local family will be visiting Father Christmas as our guests, each day that he is on site. Each of the families have had a tough year, one way or another, and it is wonderful to be able to share a bit of Christmas joy with them. Each family receives free annual passes too.

Last chance to sign up for the volunteer carol service which is at 2pm in the chapel on Thurs 18 Dec. You are welcome to bring a guest. Please book in with Gemma [email protected]   Mince pies and mulled wine afterwards in the undercoft.

The new visitor reception is coming along nicely. Do have a peep through the window od what used to be known as the stableyard room when you are next in. It will be up and running for when we reopen in January.

Best Wishes

Siobhan

Tuesday 11^th November

Dear Volunteers,

What a fantastic weekend it was at the Artisan Market, despite the rain! A huge thank you to all of you who made it happen. From welcoming and directing visitors to shifting tables and keeping things running smoothly. We sold a record 3,120 tickets, with two-thirds coming on Saturday alone. A real team effort, and Chris and the team are already planning how to build on the success and refine things for next year.

A few things to note coming up: 

🌺 Somerset Poppies

The Somerset Poppies are now on display near the Well House in the Outer Gardens until 19th November. Created by local school children in 2018, there were originally 7,986 poppies each representing a Somerset serviceman lost in WWI. Lots were sold to raise money for SSAFA and other charities so we now have around 1000 displayed. It’s a moving and beautiful tribute. Do take a look.

🫖 Bring a Friend day – Thursday 13th November

A lovely chance to introduce someone new to The Palace. Please bring your volunteer lanyard.

🎡 Wells City Carnival – this Friday 14^th November

Expect some road disruption and road closures around Wells this Friday mostly from 6pm. We will still open as normal 10 – 4pm. Full details here: Wells City Carnival | Road Closures

🚪 Site access and closures

• Monday 17th November – The Bishop’s Eye gates will be closed all day and no on-site parking is available. (No vehicle access from Market Place to Palace – pedestrians can still walk through)
• Monday 17th November – Sunday 30th November – East Gallery closure
• Saturday 22nd November – Palace building closure from 1pm
• Tuesday 25th November – Palace building closure all day
• Saturday 13th December – Palace and Gardens closure from 12.20pm
• 24th – 26th December – Full site closure
• 5th – 7th January 2026 – Full site closure

☕Volunteer Meet Up – Thursday 20th November 2pm

Join us for a relaxed cuppa on Thursday 20th November in the Laundry Room. A chance to catch up with fellow volunteers, we’d love to see you there.

🎶 Volunteer Carol Service 

Our Annual Volunteer Carol Service will take place at 2pm on Thursday 18th December in the Chapel, followed by mulled wine and mince pies in the Undercroft. Please RSVP to me by the end of November if you’d like to attend so we can get an idea of numbers. You’re very welcome to bring a guest.

Thank you again for your time, energy, and enthusiasm, especially during a busy period. We truly couldn’t do it without you!

Warm regards,

Gemma

22nd October

Dear Volunteers

I thought today would be a good day to send out the volunteer news as it has been announced that a new Bishop of Taunton has been appointed, Fiona Gibson (more info at the end of this email). So that is very good news and I am sure you will see her around and get to know her over the coming months.

Reminder that the clocks go back at the weekend so from Sunday we will be open 10-4 until Spring! This means the daily briefing will be at 9:45 and many of the volunteer sessions change accordingly (see supersaas).

We are going to repeat some talks about the most well-known Bishops who have lived here over the centuries. These talks will last 1hr and will be on Mon 10 Nov 11-12 and Fri 21 Nov 11-12. If we have a lot of interest we will use the conference room, but if numbers are small we will use the Laundry room. In any event the talks have been very popular in the past. Each one covers three Bishops. The first one will include Bishop Jocelyn, Burnell and Ralph of Shrewsbury and then the second talk will cover Beckynton, Law, and Bagot and The talks will be presented by Brian Roberts-Wray, who has just retired from his role as volunteer guide after many years. Thank you to Brian for sharing his well-researched knowledge with us. Please book a place by emailing [email protected]

The Somerset Poppies will be going on display from 6^th Nov. Please let me know asap if you would like to help put them up (on 6^th Nov at 9am) or take them down (on Thurs 20^th at 9am). There will also be a Remembrance Service in the Chapel on Tues 11^th Nov at 12 noon. All welcome.

You may recall the Playing Card Photography Competition back in the summer. Well the cards are now on sale in the shop! They look great. We were very fortunate to have some really excellent entries from our community, staff, visitors and volunteers. There is a sample pack to look at in The Bevy Room and Gardeners’ Mess.

Works are still ongoing in The Dragon’s Lair but most, but not all, of it is now open again. Works are progressing nicely with the new shop. Do you and have a peep from a safe distance next time you are in! Should be up and running early Jan.

More info regarding the new Bishop of Taunton

The King has approved the nomination of the Venerable Dr Fiona Ruth Gibson, Archdeacon of Ludlow, in the Diocese of Hereford, to the Suffragan See of Taunton, in the Diocese of Bath and Wells, in succession to the Right Reverend Ruth Elizabeth Worsley, following her translation to the See of Wigan.

Fiona was educated at Homerton College, Cambridge, and trained for ministry at Oak Hill Theological College. She served her title at Christ Church, Bedford, in the Diocese of St Albans, and was ordained Priest in 2012. Fiona was appointed Vicar of Cople, Moggerhanger and Willington in 2014.

In 2021, Fiona took up her current role as Archdeacon of Ludlow, in the Diocese of Hereford, and was installed as a Prebendary of Hereford Cathedral.

Fiona is married to David, and they have two adult children.

Best Wishes

Siobhan Goodwin

Community Engagement Manager

(Mental Health First Aider)

Wednesday 9^th September 2025

Dear Volunteers,

Thank you for your hard work over the summer. We have been very busy and having your help and support makes all the difference. I hope you have had chance to go to see the wonderful costumes in the Wolf Hall exhibition upstairs in the conference room. The public seem to be very excited about the exhibition and we have had a very good attendance. It will be there until the end of this month.

I am pleased to report that the two

• Please find attached a summary of the results of this year’s volunteer survey. It will also be uploaded onto the volunteer website in due course.
• As many of you know we have been involved in the Wells Environment Week, in October, for the past few years. Most of the talks, events and workshops are free except for one panel event. Do have a look at this link if you would like to book in for anything. https://www.wenvironment.org.uk/events
• A reminder that the Harvest Service is in the chapel during the Tues at noon service on 23^rd Sept
• We are taking in part in Heritage Open Days next week with a tour on Architecture at The Palace (this year’s theme). This is fully booked. Many thanks to Malcolm for his expertise and for agreeing to run the tour.
• Update on the new ticket office and shop which will be in the old stableyard room. We are now hoping to make the move in January as there has been some unexpected plumbing work that needed doing. This will mean that the new Welcomer role (currently VSV role) won’t start until the New Year. Please do speak to me or Jeremy if you have any comments or questions.
• Playing Cards Photography Competition. I am pleased that some of the winners were our very own volunteers! The standard of the photographs was excellent. The playing cards will be on sale in our shop from mid-October.
• Thank you to whoever dropped off some lovely tea towels in the Bevy Room. And on the subject of the Bevy Room I just wanted to say that it is great that everyone keeps it looking so tidy and puts their cups in the dishwasher, does the recycling etc. Particular thanks to Jennie who comes in once a week and makes sure it is ship-shape and shiny. For a communal space, it is of a very good standard.
• The Bishop’s Eye gateway from the Market place will closed for 24hrs from 8:30am on 17 November. This is to comply with the requirement to deny access to vehicles for a whole day so it continues to be a private road and doesn’t become a public highway. The little door in the gates will remain open so you can still walk through
• And lastly a date for your diaries. This year’s Volunteer Carol Service will be at 2pm on Thurs 18^th Dec in the chapel. We will be in touch again a bit nearer the time so you can RSVP.

Very Best Wishes

Siobhan Goodwin

Friday 20th June

• Nigella (Love in a Mist) or Poppy seed heads – Do you have any long stems with seed pods?
• Golden Syrup, Treacle, or ‘Posh’ Tomato Tins (like the “Mutti” brand) – These make amazing little planters for succulents and other plants.
• Label-free Baked Bean Tins – If you’ve got any of these lying around, they’re perfect for the flower stand.
• Little Cardboard Trays – The kind that Riverford veg boxes use to pack things in.

8th May 2025

Dear Volunteer,

I hope you are well and still enjoying the bright, although chillier dry weather we are having this week. ⛅🌞

We wanted to let you know that we’ve had had a really successful 2025 so far, in terms of visitor numbers to the Palace and Gardens and lots of visitors to the cafe so really positive news. 📈 The Palace has also recently been awarded Museum Accreditation which gives us various benefits such as being able to loan items from other museums, receive sponsorship and donations etc so watch this space!

Volunteer Visit to Wells Cathedral:  Friday 4^th July 2 – 3pm. Come along for a guided tour of the Cathedral. Email Gemma if interested in signing up – we have 20 spaces available. Meet at the entrance to the Cathedral at 1:55pm. ⛪

Volunteer Visit to Wells Museum: Wednesday, 28^th May 10:30 – 11:15. Guided tour of Wells Museum. Email Gemma if interested in signing up – we have 20 spaces available. Meet inside the Museum at 10:25am. 🏛

Volunteer Gardener: Would you like to volunteer in the Main Gardens here? We are looking for a reliable volunteer to help out every Tuesday for a full day eg. 9 :15 – 4pm. Previous gardening experience desirable.  Email Gemma if interested. 🌳🌲

Signing in: A reminder to please print your full name on the sign in sheet in the Bevy Room at the start of your shift. We record all volunteers hours and it can be confusing if you only put your first name. 🖊📝

Lanyards: One of the many benefits of volunteering here is that your Lanyard acts like a membership card for entry so you are entitled to all the benefits that members enjoy. This includes all the Palace Lectures and attending certain events for free such as the Country Fair this weekend! 🎪🐶

Car Park: Do you volunteer every week and live outside of Wells? If so, we have space in our small on-site car park to accommodate a volunteer so email Gemma if you think you may qualify. If the same day is wanted by more than 1 volunteer the space will be swapped every 3 months.

Tins to donate – Do you have any clean, label free tins please AND / OR any empty golden syrup, treacle or posh tomato tins? (Tomato brands like Mutti have designs printed directly onto tin, not on paper wrap.) If so, please hand in at Ticket office for Jo Stevenson, Community Gardener. They will be used to pot up little succulents for sale. 🍅🌱

Sad cygnet news: Sorry to end on a sad note but I wanted to let you know we are now down to 6 cygnets. One has been missing for a few days and we don’t know what happened. Let’s hope the remaining 6 all keep well.

That’s all for now. Enjoy any VE celebrations if you are having them. 🍰🍵

Warm wishes,

Gemma 

24th April 2025

Dear Volunteers,

I am delighted to report that we have seven fluffy cygnets that hatched at the weekend (I won’t mention the other two mature cygnets that are still hanging about!) There will be our usual cygnet naming competition next week so please email suggestions to [email protected] any time after Tuesday. You can watch them 24/7 on the swan cam which is on our website. By all accounts it can be very addictive!

Please find attached an invitation to come to a Garden Party on Sun 1^st June 6-8pm to celebrate National Volunteers Week. Please let Gemma know if you would like to attend by emailing [email protected]

The Book Nook is looking a little empty so please bring any good quality second hand books you can spare and drop them to the shop.

Back by popular demand is the Fun Facts & Anecdotes talk. It will run on Fri 6 June 11-12 in the stableyard room. This is a good one to attend if you are new and you would like to pick up some light hearted information to pass on to visitors. If you would like to book a place please email [email protected]

If you missed it here is a lovely video of our tulips this year   https://youtu.be/iR4D1uyRhNM?feature=shared  Well done to all the garden volunteers who helped plant them. Back breaking work half way up a steep slope!

We have decided to turn the volume down slightly in the palace after visitor and volunteer feedback. It is great to have music and information but some of it has been a little overwhelming recently especially for people who struggle with their hearing or who have sensory sensitivity.

It really feels like Spring has arrived now and the number of visitors has certainly reflected that. Thank you for all that you do to make their visit so special.

Best Wishes

Siobhan

10th April 2025

Dear Volunteer,

I hope you are all well and enjoying this beautiful sunny weather.. As many of you know, our Easter Trail for families is in full swing here and lots of children going away happy, especially with their chocolate gift at the end. 🙂 🍫

One of our lovely volunteers Janet and I have also been busy lately doing Outreach workshops with local Primary schools before the Easter Holidays. The children have had enormous fun learning about the Great Hall and its 700 year old floor tiles, creating their own stamped tiles onto cards and dressing up as a Bishop, peasant or medieval woman! 🤴 We will continue to run them in the summer term.

Volunteer Future Strategy Brainstorm! 🧠As you may or may not know 2025 marks the end of our current strategic cycle and we have begun the process of looking to the future. We would love to hear volunteers thoughts and ideas for the coming years ahead. You have the option to either fill in your thoughts in our online survey here:  https://forms.office.com/e/YQ5mtS8XLt  or if you would prefer, attend an in person session with Merryn Kidd (our CEO) from 10am-11:30am on Friday 2nd May in the Stable Yard Room. Please reply to Gemma if you would like to attend the session on 2nd May – [email protected]

Moat Boat Race – 26th August Bank Holiday Monday: ⚓Calling for any volunteers who would like to take part in this enormously fun activity for charity. We have the raft already set up so you just need to come along on the day to take part! When else do you get a chance to row a raft on the moat? We need a team of 8 altogther made up of staff and volunteers. Don’t worry, I did it last year and didn’t fall in or get wet! Please contact Gemma if interested.

Length of service: 🥇If you have been volunteering here for 5 years or more please could you reply to Gemma letting us know how many years you have been a volunteer.

Joe Gilmer’s photography exhibition “Inspired by The Bishop’s Palace” – 📷 There is a new video up on our website talking to artist and member of the volunteer team Joe Gilmer about his work.https://youtu.be/j3T7sHETNoU?feature=shared The exhibition which is currently up in the Stable Yard Room windows will be moving to The Conference Room by 11th April. Please do have a look at the exhibition if not seen!

Palace Lecture Tonight! (10th April): ‘The History of Fencing in the 15th to 17th Centuries’ 6-7pm: All volunteers are welcome to attend for FREE

That’s it for now.. Have a wonderful Easter if I don’t see you around the site 🐔🥚🐣

Gemma 

31st March 2025

Dear Volunteers,

We have had an excellent weekend, sun shining, alomost 200 people enjoying afternoon teas on Mothers’ Day and lots of happy visitors. Nothing like a bit of sunshine to cheer everyone up. Long may it continue.

To celebrate National Volunteers Week 2025 we will share our celebrations with other volunteers across Wells. This will be in the form of a Garden Party with Fizz n Nibbles 6-8pm on Sun 1^st June (not 2^nd June as previously advertised). Date for your diary. Invitation and chance to rsvp to follow a bit nearer the time.

A reminder that all volunteers are entitled to 10% off purchases in the cafe and shop, just show your lanyard. You can also claim travel expenses of up to 45p per mile. Please do take advantage of the excellent volunteer website which has so much practical and interesting information. Here is the link  https://bishopspalace.org.uk/about/volunteers/ just click the ‘click here’ box at the top of the page for existing volunteers and the password is Wellpools246 . You can also join the Palace Singers, a fun group who get together to enjoy singing and occasional performances (please email [email protected] for more info) This year we are going to introduce the opportunity for you to bring a guest for free. This will be part of the new Friends of The Palace offer and there will be one day every quarter where you can do this. You will just need to show your lanyard when you accompany your guest on the following dates.

Wednesday 14^th May

Friday 18^th July

Sunday 21st September

Thursday 13^th November

Bishop Ruth is to become the new suffragan Bishop of Wigan in the Diocese of Liverpool and to serve as the Interim Bishop of Liverpool. Unlike her secondment to Coventry, this will require her to lay down her role as Bishop of Taunton. We’re delighted that Bishop Ruth has been appointed to this role but sad to see her leaving us. In Bishop Ruth’s words “I shall miss Somerset and the wonderful people and places here and, as I follow God’s call for me, I will be praying for all of you, and for all that is to come.”  Bishop Ruth’s last service in the diocese will be the Chrism service at Wells Cathedral, on Tuesday, 15 April at 10am. If you would like to attend this service please let Gemma know [email protected] and she will book a place for you.  A new Bishop of Taunton will be appointed in due course.

There are currently 8 eggs in the nest. There are also two mature cygnets still hanging around! Do keep an eye on the swan cam on our website which is now live.

You may have noticed new labels on bins and new food waste bins around. This is to comply with new legislation. If you’re eating at your desk, please dispose left over food in the nearest food bin (bevy room, stable yard room, brewery kitchen). Please try to help us by putting your waste in the correct bin.

This weather is certainly giving everyone a spring in their step. Let’s make the most of it!

Best Wishes

Siobhan Goodwin

18 March 2025

Dear Volunteers

Spring has definitely sprung here around the Gardens, and we are seeing sunny daffodils and primroses popping up everywhere.

Did you know, officially Spring starts this Thursday with the Spring Equinox, where the Earth’s axis is tilted neither towards nor away from the Sun making an almost perfect balance between day and night! We all need more balance in our lives from time to time so this can only be a good thing…

Just a few updates for you:

• This Thursday 20th March : 6 – 7pm Palace Lectures ‘A short history of the Longbow and its use in the Hundred Years War’ https://bishopspalace.org.uk/event/the-palace-lectures-history-of-the-longbow/ Please let Jeremy Coles or Adam Saunders know if you’d like to come to the lecture and they can book you on. [email protected]
•  We have a new Quarterly update from Roger and Merryn in our “3 minutes with a chair” Trustee video. Please do have a watch! https://youtu.be/Bm5rUJL4mPE
• Jeremy would like to put together a list of VSV, Palace Welcomers, and Tour guides, who we can call on at very short notice. If you are happy and willing to be called at the last minute for shifts please email Jeremy: [email protected]
• The 2025 Volunteer Training programme has begun but there are lots of talks still available if you haven’t yet booked on. Please see attached timetable and email Gemma your preferred sessions if you still want to book a place.
• Volunteer Induction and Safeguarding: Thursday 28^th March 10 – 2pm and Tuesday 15th April 2:15 – 4:15pm in the Stable Yard Room. If you would like a refresher or still need to complete this please email Gemma to book.
• Radios – You will all be pleased to know we have 10 new shiny radios available to use when you are next in. If anyone needs help using the radio please let Gemma / Siobhan / Jeremy know.

Have a great week and happy Spring Equinox

Gemma

28 February 2025

Dear Volunteers,

There’s a lot in this email, too much really, but it is all quite pressing info that I felt you needed to know about asap. Brace yourself!

Firstly it was good to see so many of you at yesterday’s annual briefing. The stableyard room was full to bursting! We will put a summary of the presentation on the volunteer website in the next couple of weeks. I am probably going to be off next week as I have been called for jury service. I will be checking my emails on my usual working days though.

Now for some excellent news: each year an assessor from Quality England visits anonymously. This year we got an outstanding 94% (our best ever mark) and may be nominated for awards (watch this space!) We will put a summary of the report on the volunteer website in the next week or so. Thanks to everyone single one of you for helping us to achieve this fantastic result.

We have only had one person sign up to attend the team meetings this year. Ideally we would like two more volunteers please. It is a 30 min meeting held first thing on the first Thurs of the month. If we have three volunteers who take it in turns that works out at only one meeting per quarter!  It is a chance to hear from all departments about what they are up to and of course to share any updates you may have. Please email Gemma (cc’d) if you are interested.

A reminder to please have a practice at using the radios if you haven’t done so for a while. We all need to know how to use them. We have ordered an additional 10 radios so there will be plenty available. Also a reminder of the fire procedure. Please exit the building immediately and assemble on the croquet lawn. On your way out please remind any visitors that they also need to leave the building. You are not expected to search for people, just those you happen to pass on your way out. Report to the duty manager on the croquet lawn and let them know if you saw anyone who was not leaving the building. A member of staff will be appointed fire marshall to each area of the palace and grounds in the event of a fire alarm going off. If you are in the outer gardens when the alarm goes off please stay out there and wait further instructions on your radio or assemble by the willow bridge.

We are about to start new guide training. Have you ever thought about it? If so please contact Siobhan to discuss. It is a very rewarding role.

If you have any spare good quality books please bring them in for the book nook.

Guides: during Sunday lunches and days when weddings are set out in the undercroft (not when guests are there of course!) we will have a roped off section at the top end, away from the kitchen area, that you can take groups  into, to show the undercroft without disturbing anything.

Would any garden volunteers be prepared to come along to a meeting on Thurs 13^th March 2-4pm in the stableyard room about your volunteering experience? We need at least one as all the other departments are represented now. Please contact Siobhan if you are interested.

Would you like to be part of The Palace Singers? It is an informal group, more of a fun sing along than a choir really. There is a range of music and an opportunity to do public performances at Palace events if you wish. Please contact Jeremy (cc’d) if you are interested.

Staff and volunteers went to a quiz night last week to support Wells Community Network. While we didn’t win we did clean up on the raffle prizes!

We have put the 2025 training programme on the Volunteer website and added in the 2025 social events in the Social Event page. (Please note that the Other Side of Moat tour is not taking place on 21 April as first advertised, it will now take place instead on Thurs 24^th April 2-3:30.)

In addition, we have also added the following to the volunteer website:

• An updated guide to the History of the Gardens bringing it fully up to date.
• An analysis of who commissioned the Dutch Style garden. This is questioning the normal attribution to Bishop Ken and Garden Guides in particular may want to take a look at this.
• Research looking into the demise of the Great Hall in the mid 1500s – this includes a timeline and summary. It would appear that Bishop Barlow was, in all probability, the instigator of the Great Hall being taken down. The research explains why.

Here is the link to the volunteer website  https://bishopspalace.org.uk/about/volunteers/ and the password is Volunteer2018  . This password will change to Wellpools246 on 27th Feb. I thought it was about time after 7 years!

Best Wishes

Siobhan Goodwin

10 February 2025

Dear Volunteer Team,

After a very helpful suggestion from one of our team, I thought I would share these interesting figures about the impact of the volunteer team: In 2024 volunteers contributed just over 17000 hrs here, the equivalent of just over £200,000, roughly the equivalent of  8 full-time members of staff. Nationally, in 2024, an incredible 14.2 million volunteers dedicated their time to giving back to society, contributing an estimated £4.6 billion to the economy. Pretty impressive I am sure you will agree. Thank you for playing your part. We just couldn’t do what we do without you.

Bishop Ruth, Bishop of Taunton, returned on to our diocese on the 3 Feb after working up in Coventry over the last year or so. It is wonderful to have her back.

There is new research on the Great Hall on the volunteer website, listed under ‘Palace’. Many thanks to the research team and in particular Stuart Moore for his hard work. This will form a new exhibition in the Conference Room in May.

It may be helpful to know that RHS made a mistake in their recent handbook, listing us as a free entry for members until March. In fact this is only the case on Fridays. Should you encounter a visitor who is understandably unhappy about this, please direct them to a member of staff in the shop who have a letter form RHS they can show them.

A reminder to please use the correct bin in the Bevy Room for waste (recycling/general waste/food waste). Thanks.

Guides – there are now five locations in the palace where there is music/audio playing. Can I suggest standing by Bishop Ken’s table to talk about the entrance hall as the introductory video up the other end is pretty loud (cannot easily be turned down). You can easily turn down the music in the Coronation Room with the remote control. It’s a bit trickier in the study but if you need to just, please use the volume control on the kindle which is tucked away under the wireless. In the chapel the volume control is in the cupboard by the entrance, above the stereo on the slider. I suggest you familiarise yourself with how to do it before you take a group around. And please don’t forget to turn it up again on your way out of the room! I don’t recommend taking groups in the East Gallery, but if you do end up in there then you can use the remote under the telly.

Expenses are usually reimbursed every two weeks. Apologies for recent delays but all should be back to normal from March.

Training, Talk & Tours: I plan to send out the programme for 2025 next week. Watch this space!

Here is a link to a write up on Wolf Hall (filmed here last Spring) which may be of interest to you https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/magazines/somerset/24795173.wolf-hall-mirror-light-somerset-locations/

Last but not least there will be a talk in Frome about the new Shoemakers’ Museum in Street (due to open later this year I believe). Rosie Martin (former CEO here who I am sure many of you remember) is giving a talk on the Shoemakers’ Museum and the history of the Clark family on Saturday March 8th at the Frome Society for Local Studies, Memorial Theatre, opposite Christ Church at 2.30pm. Non members £5, includes tea and biscuits

Best Wishes

Siobhan

31 January 2025

Hi,

Our first meeting about the Investing in Volunteering Accreditation (Iiv) took place on Wednesday this week. Thank you to those of you who were able to take part. We had about 15 participants from our team for the meeting with Janet Lewis Jones, our mentor from Iiv. Janet explained the accreditation process and we took at look at the self assessment tool. The process is that we do a self-assessment, then we work on improving our practice, then we are assessed, then we receive the award (fingers crossed!) which is valid for three years. So the next step for us now is to start the self-assessment process. This will involve volunteers, staff and trustees forming a working group and should be completed over an 8 week period. Would you like to be on the working group? It will involve 2 x 2hr meetings, at least initially. One will be online in the evening and one will be in person in the stableyard room. It would be good to have at least one volunteer from each team eg archives, guides, gardeners etc. Please let Gemma [email protected]  know if you would like to be on the working group, your volunteer role, your availability and whether you would prefer an in-person or online meeting.

Jo Stevenson, Community Gardener would be most grateful for clean, label free jam jar donations please. ‘Standard’ size (not the big gerkin/pickle jars or the teeny ones). Please give to Jo at briefing or give to Ticket Office. Thank you.

Expenses: Just a reminder that the deadline for claiming expenses for 2024 has now passed. Apology to those who have experienced delays in receiving your expenses over the last few weeks. Our finance department has been short of staff due to illness.

A reminder that the next Induction & Safeguarding session will be 13 Feb 2-4pm in the Stableyard Room (3-4 safeguarding only). You are welcome to come along as a refresher, just let Gemma know so she can book you in.

Last but not least, all volunteers can join the Palace Lectures. They are listed on our website. All you need to do is book with [email protected] as there are limited places, and then bring your lanyard along on the night (no need to wear it). The next one is on 13^th Feb.

I thought you’d like to know that the new multi-media guides have been going down very well with visitors. Thank you to all of you who have had a go with one and given your feedback. Do pop in and try it if you haven’t already had the opportunity. They are available from the entrance hall of the palace building all day, every day!

Best Wishes

Siobhan Goodwin

10 January 2025

Dear Volunteers,

Let me start by wishing you all a happy and healthy 2025! Christmas events here went very well and thank to you all for your hard work. We will certainly return a healthy surplus for 2024 which can then be used to make various improvements in 2025. To hear all about the plans for this year please come along to the Volunteer Briefing on Feb 27^th 2-3pm in the stableyard room. Please let Gemma know if you are planning on attending [email protected] .

Firstly I want to let you know that this year we are working with Investing in Volunteering https://investinginvolunteers.co.uk/ to achieve a quality standard award for our work which is nationally recognised. This will obviously involve you all and the first online meeting will be 2-4pm on Wed 29^th January for any of you who would like to participate. I will send a separate email about that in the next few days but I just wanted to alert you about it for now.

There have been some changes to ticketing and prices. We now have a day ticket!

Annual Pass is now £25 per adult (now includes rare plant fair)

The new Day Ticket is £14 per adult

Joint Cathedral Day Ticket remains same at £20 per adult.

Membership has been relaunched as Friends of the Palace at £65 individual / £100 joint. It’s worth saying that all adult Friends can now bring in two children each for free. It doesn’t matter what it says on the membership card because existing memberships (i.e. those bought last year) have the same benefits as the new Friends of the Palace. There are also a number of great new benefits included.

There’s an info sheet inside the lodge with the new prices, and the Friends of the Palace benefits; also all prices and ticket types can be found online: (https://bishopspalace.org.uk/visit/tickets-and-opening/)

We have a second Anna Chaplain called Gill Goodall who will be working alongside Fran who most of you already know. Gill and Fran’s role is to be here for visitors, staff and volunteers in more of a pastoral role and they volunteer for the Diocese of Bath & Wells rather than The Palace Trust, but we all work together.

On 17^th Jan there will be training 2-3:30 on the new digital devices (audio guides for use in the Palace) . If you would like to learn more about them please book in with Jeremy [email protected] . This is essential for Palace Welcomers and VSVs. For everyone else, especially guides, it is a good idea to familiarise yourself with the content at some point.

You may have noticed the Bishop Ken’s table has a new glass top (to showcase the original legs from the late 1600s) and has been relocated to the other end of the entrance hall of the Palace. That is so visitors can watch a short video which will be displayed up at the other end of the entrance hall in the next few weeks.

There have been a few changes lately with the portraits upstairs, one or two have been rotated / stored away and may undergo some conservation, Wynne Willson’s is now in the study and of course Bishop Peter Hancock’s and Bishop Bradfield’s are in the Coronation Room. The order of them in the Long Gallery also changed a few months ago so now the newest are at the far end.

It’s that time of year again when you can apply for free onsite parking when volunteering. We have one space each day for volunteers and if you live outside Wells and volunteer on a regular weekly basis for at least a morning or afternoon please contact Gemma [email protected] if you would like to put your name down. We allocate the space quarterly. If you have a blue badge you can pre-book parking any time.

Now we are in to 2025 we are looking for three or four volunteers to take it in turns to come along to the monthly team meeting on the first Thursday of the month at 9:15am. If you are interested please email Gemma Palmer [email protected] . The meeting lasts 30 mins and is for each department to update everyone on what they are up to. You are not expected to represent the whole volunteer team but rather just put in what you think is helpful and useful feedback for the team.

Here’s to a wonderful 2025!

Best Wishes

Siobhan

13 December 2024

Greetings,

I thought I would start my email with a couple of seasonal photos (see in Gallery Page) from the Eco Art Exhibition which you can see up in the Conference Room. The ‘mural’ is over 7ft tall by the way! I hope some of you made it to see the Christmas Lights last week. Sorry I wasn’t there in the end (I had to make a dash to Basingstoke before the storm kicked in).

Please click on this link   https://youtu.be/AENuQZfVmDE      to see the quarterly update from the Chair of our Trustees Roger Hawes and our Chief Executive Merryn Kidd

I thought you might like to know about some of the community engagement work we have been up to in the last few weeks:

• Over 500 children from 12 different schools and nurseries took part in the schools’ Christmas Eco Art Exhibition. Six of the schools have come to visit to see the exhibition and yesterday St Cuthbert’s school got to meet Father Christmas when they were visiting too!
• Twelve families have received free tickets to come and meet Father Christmas. These families are all going through difficult times for one reason and another (health, financial, caring responsibilities, family member in prison) so we are fortunate to be able to share a little joy with them this Christmas. Each family also receives free annual tickets.
• We have given over 100 free annual tickets to people who use Wells Foodbank.
• Golden Oldies singing group has their Christmas Party here and did some singing in the chapel. A great time was had by all.
• Museum To You (a local community interest company that we employ to do outreach work for us) has visited 6 care homes and day centres for learning disabled adults. 50 people have enjoyed dressing up as bishops, making printed cards from stamps of tiles form the Great Hall and doing a puzzle of the tiles too!
• YMCA had their Christmas get together here and their staff and volunteers were able to enjoy the Christmas lights too.

You can imagine the difference this makes to people, especially at this time of year, when feeling included and cared about is so important. Thank you for all your hard work all year round, that means our charity is in a position to do this.

I am away 17 Dec-8 Jan (longest holiday of my working life!)

Do you, or someone you know, want to work on a really special project? The cathedral have just ‘gone live’ with advertisements for three new roles to support the delivery of the Vicars’ Close project in Wells. Application packs for each of the roles is available on the Cathedral website: Vacancies – Wells Cathedral  Closing date for applications to all roles: 12.00 on Wednesday 8 January 2025

That just leaves me to say a massive thank you for going the extra mile lately to get everything ready for Christmas here, and for making our visitors feel so welcome.  I wish you all a wonderful Christmas time and look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Best wishes

Siobhan

Monday 2nd December

Dear Volunteers,

A busy week last week getting things ship-shape for Christmas inside The Palace (as many of you are well aware having helped out – thank you for your hard work and skill). Do go and have a look next time you are in. Have you been spotting us in Wolf Hall? Visitors are asking lots of questions about it so do have a look on BBC i player if you haven’t seen it yet.

Please find a letter here from our Chief Executive, Merryn Kidd. A summary of the year and of course a thank you to all of you.

Carol service readings – would any of you who are coming to the carol service on 16^th Dec like to do a reading please? If so just let me know and I will email you it and make sure I have it ready and waiting for you on the day (don’t forget your specs!)

Present wrapping – there is still quite a bit to do so if you would like to help please email [email protected]

Since I mentioned the new digital devices that will be coming in January, for our visitors to use inside The Palace, I have been asked by a few guides if they will still be needed. The answer is a resounding YES! There will always be a place for guides, who can share their love and knowledge of this unique place, answer questions and make that personal connection with visitors, that a device will never be able to provide (however marvellous it is!).

A reminder that we are opening between Christmas and New Year for the first time. I am sure lots of folk will want to get out of the house and come here for a breath of fresh air.

This Fri evening is a members only evening for a preview of the Christmas Lights. You are very welcome to come along but please remember your lanyard to show at The Lodge (not to wear around the site) If you are coming on your own and would like someone to go around with then why not meet in The Bevy Room? If my car is not still in the garage (don’t ask!) I will be in there at 5pm.

Best Wishes

Siobhan