His appointment follows the retirement of Sir Timothy Colman, who for six years was head of the organisation that looks to protect the county's churches.

 

Lord Dannatt, who lives in Norfolk, retired from the army in 2009. He said: “Norfolk is blessed with many fine and historic churches but some are in need of financial and professional help and I look forward to helping the trust in assisting these churches and their congregations.

 

Norfolk Churches Trust chairman, Bolton Agnew, said: “We are delighted that Lord Dannatt has agreed to be our next president. We are indebted to Sir Timothy Colman for his commitment to the trust over the last six years and for being so generous with his time and for taking so much interest in the work of the charity.”

 

The Norfolk Churches Trust exists to protect – through financial aid and advice – Norfolk’s religious monuments and churches.

 

Norfolk contains the greatest concentration of medieval churches in the world – built as a result of the vast wealth created by wool. Of the 921 that were originally built, 659 of the churches remain. In 2010/11 the trust awarded £259,792 to 58 churches in the county.

 

As well as being church warden at All Saints in Intwood and Keswick, Lord Dannatt is also president of YMCA Norfolk, The Soldiers' Charity Norfolk and patron of the Norfolk branch of the Royal British Legion.