A Passion for Churches

The film examines churches in the Diocese of Norwich.

Following the success of the 1973 film Metro-land, which documented life in suburban London, Edward Mirzoeff was commissioned to create a new documentary with John Betjeman. Mirzoeff noticed that aside from suburban themes, the Church of England was the other major influence on Betjeman's poetry.[3] His proposal to the poet was for a study of the Church of England to be titled Failed in Divinity, a line derived from Betjeman's poetic autobiography Summoned by Bells, in which the poet relates how he was sent down from the University of Oxford after failing a compulsory examination on divinity.[4] In Mirzoeff's first treatment, Betjeman would have embarked on a journey around Britain studying fine cathedrals, churches and their congregations. Betjeman ruled against the title, but liked the idea, although he was keen that the film should be primarily about the Church and its people, and not himself.[4][5]

Following this early proposal, Mirzoeff and Betjeman realised that a study of the whole Church would be too ambitious, and instead decided to set the film within one diocese.[5] Betjeman initially suggested the Diocese of Southwark, owing to a friendship with the then-Bishop of Southwark, Mervyn Stockwood.[6] Mirzoeff was not keen, given that Southwark was primarily an urban diocese. A disastrous meeting with the bishop (who was "high-handed, arrogant and very, very rude") led to that idea being scrapped.[7]

Film editor Ted Roberts suggested the Diocese of Norwich, as Norfolk is noted for the density of its medieval churches in a variety of urban, coastal and rural locations. In addition, Betjeman was close friends with Lady Wilhelmina "Billa" Harrod (to whom he had once been engaged), who resided at The Old Rectory, Holt. She was greatly involved with saving redundant churches and was personal friends with the Bishop of Norwich, Maurice Wood, and was also able to provide the crew with accommodation.[7] Early location-scouting proved fruitful, and the production was bolstered by a meeting with Bishop Wood in March 1974, during which the bishop, after initial reluctance, gave the production his blessing.[8] Filming began in April 1974.[9]

The documentary was shot on 16 mm colour film by cameraman John McGlashan, who had also worked on the BBC's M.R. James series of adaptations A Ghost Story for Christmas, of which the early installments were entirely filmed in Norfolk (Betjeman was a fan of Jamesian ghost stories, and often read them to the crew while travelling to locations).[7] McGlashan was also a part-time priest for a Liberal Catholic church, and was able to bring to the production additional knowledge of the Sacraments.[9]

After deciding against the original "Failed in Divinity" preface, it was decided to open the film with Betjeman remembering a Norfolk rowing holiday from his youth in which his father pointed out the tower of St Peter's church in Belaugh. This moment, he said, led to his lifelong "passion for churches", a phrase that would eventually form the title of the film.[11] The crew decided to film Betjeman revisiting this location on the River Bure, although on several occasions the poet nearly capsized his rowing boat.[11]

The production work was exhaustive, involving the filming of numerous churches in Norfolk, both ancient and more modern. Many of the clergymen featured in the programme were discovered by accident or by word-of-mouth. For example, the production researcher managed to find, on request, a vicar who had an extensive model railway in his rectory, another whose ministry was based on water (the Chaplain of the Broads) and a vicar whose congregation at the time numbered zero.[8]

Several of the services featured in the film were one-off events. For example, the wedding was shot at Lyng, where the bride's father was the rector. The bridegroom, Nigel McCulloch, went on to become the Bishop of Manchester.[12] The production encountered difficulties with obtaining some footage; while filming a Seaman's Mission from Great Yarmouth, a wave flooded the boat, ruining the sound-recording equipment, and a sequence featuring an open-air service taking place at daybreak on Easter Sunday at the most easterly point of the UK – at Ness Point, Lowestoft – was nearly missed after the sound recordist overslept.[13]

The commentary alternates between blank verse, free verse, and prose.[5] Although Betjeman had accompanied the production on most of its shoots, his poetic commentary was only written in the weeks after the film had already been edited by Roberts. According to Mirzoeff, he would run sequences from the film for hours, searching for inspiration in the rhythm of the editing, sometimes sitting in a small cupboard to help himself concentrate.[14] Betjeman's daughter, Candida Lycett Green recalls that "JB put everything into it that he could muster: the film was about all that he loved about England - its people, its church and its architecture. Throughout his life he had been able to find poetry where others had never thought to look."[15]

Mirzoeff notes that he found writing the text for A Passion for Churches more of a strain than for his previous film since he had to take into consideration both his own beliefs and those of his friends. Sometimes members of the crew would help him by writing their own verses for him to use or modify.[16] One particular sequence proved so difficult to write that Betjeman flew into a rage after the director pressured him to hurry the composition along.[16] Mirzoeff suggests that several sequences, such as the scene about redundancy and death, provoked verse of much greater "complexity and depth" than any heard in his previous screen appearances.[14]