PROGRAMME

The Chapel is a meeting place for independent minds and home to a diverse programme of social, creative, educational and religious events that bring people of all ages together to experience this unique setting.

There is a lively summer programme of musical and literary performances by local and internationally acclaimed artists being planned – from early music on authentic instruments to folk and contemporary music; from spoken word to operatic arias (see below).

Workshops, artist residencies and collaborations in this evocative setting, stimulate the creation of new site-specific works.

CHAPEL OPENING & SERVICES

The Chapel will be open to the public from 4th April 2026 and then on Saturday and Bank Holiday afternoons from 2pm to 4.30pm until the end of October. Anyone wishing to arrange a private or group visit outside these times should contact us.

The Chapel holds two ecumenical services annually and remains a place of worship and religious ceremony. It is available for celebrations, commemorations, memorial events and dedications. The Chapel can be hired for weddings and blessings and is licensed for same sex marriages.

2026 EVENTS

After last year’s enforced break, FWOC is delighted to offer a rich programme of cultural events over summer and autumn this year. In addition to an exciting programme of words and music, we shall also have an Artist in Residence, Grace Adam, working in the Chapel between March and October. Please view her programme of workshops and exhibitions . And for the first time in more than fifty years, a Harvest Festival Service will be held in the Chapel, led by the Rev Dr Catherine Ball, on Saturday 19th September at 4 p.m.

PLEASE NOTE: Tickets for events between 7th June - 9th August, and 23rd August - 6th September may be pre-booked on Ticket Source Walpole Old Chapel £12; on the door £15. The Heritage Open Day, Harvest Festival and Carol Service are free.

Sunday 7th June 3.00pm – 5.00pm The Dollard Collectief ; Voices through the Trees: the Northwestern Seaboard Down the Ages. A fundraiser for the Chapel. A programme of literary and musical footprints from northwestern Europe – Sweden, the Netherlands and the British Isles.

Sunday 12th July 3.00pm – 5.00pm Blake Morrison & The Hosepipe Band; ‘Scenes From a Life’ features poems from Blake Morrison’s new collection Afterburn, accompanied by The Hosepipe Band.

Sunday 9th August 3.00 – 5.00pm ‘Here’s the Summer’; The Lovekyn Consort celebrates the natural world in seventeenth-century music by Purcell, Croft, Lanier, Hume and others.

Sunday 16th August Sing the Chapels Weekend with Brendan Taaffe & John Harrison, hosted by the South Norfolk Community Choir. Information and tickets on the Walpole Workshop or the entire weekend from Sing the Chapels at Snappy Tickets.

Sunday 23rd August Rob Gildon.

Sunday 6th September 3.00pm – 5.00pm Tin Foil Aliens; A popular five-piece band of local musicians playing original music

Saturday 12th September Heritage Open Day 10.00am – 4.00pm; Exhibition on Everyday Lives

Saturday 19th September 4.00pm Harvest Festival – A service of thanksgiving and celebration followed by tea and cake. Gifts for the Halesworth Food Bank welcome from 3.00 pm

Saturday 19th December – 3.00pm Carol Service by candlelight