Church handed Heritage cash boost

St Andrew's Church in Blunsdon has received the cash for essential conservation work.

It will be spent on repair work for the roof and gutters, which are badly in need of attention.

But the grant will only take the church halfway to the total cost of the repairs it needs.

Now its vicar, the Rev Mike Haslam, has urged the community to rally around the church to match the sum and complete the work.

"We need to know where the money is going to come from by December," he said.

"We are looking into other grants to help church restoration as well as donations from local people and through the parish council.

"Not to forget good old-fashioned fundraising."

The grant comes jointly from English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund, and is part of the £15,067,355 given out to support urgent conservation work on Grade I and II-listed places of worship across England.

Eleven churches across the south west have benefited from the grants, which were awarded under the Repair Grants For Places Of Worship scheme.

Ian Morrison, from English Heritage South West, said: "St Andrew's is in urgent need of repair and this grant will help achieve that goal.

"The funding is not all that the church will receive, though, as our architect will also be on hand to give advice."

St Andrew's Church dates back to the late 12th Century.

In the 1860s it was extensively worked on by the Victorian architect William Butterfield The present roof was designed by him but many of his original hand-made tiles are coming loose and, as a consequence, the roof is leaking.

The grant will fund repairs with the original tiles being reused wherever possible.

The Rev Haslam thinks the church has a vital role to play in a rapidly expanding parish.

He said: "This parish has seen a growth of 20,000 people in the past eight years, and yet this is an area without local services.

"We can provide an important local service, as a focal point for the community, at the centre of this community."