"We must maintain these ancient buildings, they're part of our a history and tradition - of East Anglia, of England - a tradition of which we should be proud," says Mike Hughes.
He recently started Friends of Titchwell Church, and the day we meet outside St Mary's to chat about the charity, the sunshine and blue skies do the beautiful building justice.
"Round towers are so typical of Norfolk," he continues, "The great majority in the world are in Norfolk. The bottom of our tower, the bottom 15 feet, is certainly built before 1000 AD.
"It was on the orders of the first King of England at the time, who required all land owners in Norfolk to build circular towers, we think as defensive towers against Viking longboat invasions.
"They soon became associated with the local community, and a church sprang up with the tower as the starting point - it took about 500 years to build the rest of the church."
Mike leads me inside, and if you haven't been, it is simply charming.
"The whole church is small but peaceful - it feels loved. The Victorians made improvements, in particular they put in lovely stained glass in the chancel windows.
"I love it, particularly when the sunlight comes through, and is reflected onto the walls." Which it is today.
For all its charm though, being more than a thousand years old, St Mary's needs maintenance.
Since gaining charity status, the organisation has raised more than 10 thousand pounds in a few months alone. The first project will be to refurbish the 19th century organ.
"It's a chamber organ and produces a beautiful sound. It was installed about 130 years ago, so really nothing has been done for it since then."
And the list of work is long. The last quinquennial inspection, which is carried out every 5 years on UK churches (in use), highlighted a number of issues.
"Defects relate very much to damp, keeping the water out, making sure the water can drain away, a lot of money will have to spent maintaining the fabric of the church."
"Also undoing what was done in the past. Often inappropriate materials were used, often with the best of intentions, but they will have to be undone and redone.
"Even the steel frames of the stained glass will need replacing. So there's plenty to do, in the last inspection there were at least 20 different items, when you add them all up - you're getting into 5 figure sums."
Mikes Hughes, at St Mary's, Titchwell
As we walk outside I ask why Mike's so passionate about maintaining the building.
"If nothing is done, the church will soon become uninhabitable, leaving nothing but a picturesque ruin.
"It's why churches like Titchwell need friends, and why Friends of Titchwell Church was formed.
"To us, this church matters more than just the weekly services, it matters because we are our past, and we must maintain that."
Thank goodness for people like Mike and his friends. Helping maintain a much-loved legacy for future generations to enjoy.
To find out more: https://www.friendsoftitchwellchurch.co.uk, or email info@friendsoftitchwellchurch.co.uk
