As you can see from the press release below, sent to the local press, we have finally been awarded funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for the restoration of the church roof.
The saga goes all the way back to 2010, when the Quinquennial Report on the state of the Church fabric revealed problems of a leaking roof principally on the north face of the nave. The Restoration Committee, under Ashford Carbonel Parochial Church Council was formed.
Fund raising events were organised by locals over the next months to raise funds towards the restoration and it is heartening to see how much support the church has from the community of Ash-ford and beyond. All up, a big ‘Thank You’ has to be said to everybody who rallied round and indeed continue to support the Church.
At the same time it was seen that help would be needed from outside sources and we have since received grants from various charitable funds. However, our biggest source of funds needed to be from the Heritage Lottery.
Success finally came in October 2014 to start Stage 1, the Development Phase, involving lots of re-ports and work from architects. In December, we were able to submit the full, detailed application for Stage 2, which would provide the big funding for the Delivery Phase. NOW WE HAVE ARRIVED!
The Restoration Committee will continue to be heavily involved in the project for the next 18 months.
The Heritage Lottery Grant requirements include an obligation to run Heritage and Community Activities. Under this, during 2016, we are organising talks and events.
Look out for these in future Ashford’s magazines and elsewhere. Please support us.
PRESS RELEASE: St Mary Magdalene Church, Ashford Carbonel secures Heritage Lottery Fund investment
Ashford Carbonel Parochial Church Council has received a confirmed grant of up to £73,000 towards restoring the roofs of St Mary Magdalene Church, Ash-ford Carbonel, South Shropshire, it was announced today.
The project aims to restore the north slope of the nave roof and both slopes of the porch roof, using Herefordshire stone tiles. The actual roof restoration will not start until April 2017 in order to allow six months for the weathering of the Herefordshire stone tiles before the build and also ensuring that the winter bat roost is not disturbed.
In addition, a number of community and heritage activities will be held this year, including a 12 hour non-stop Entertainathon, Strawberry Tea Event, and local, historical talks. A series of illustrated leaf-lets and postcards will also be produced, providing information about the church and its history.
St Mary Magdalene is a small basically Norman church with 13th and 15th century additions and many interesting features. It is well used by our local community of all ages for worship, heritage and social events. Comments in our visitor’s book emphasise the church as a beautiful and peaceful place.
Peter Stretton, church warden, said, ‘we are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this grant. Restoration of the roof will conserve an otherwise sound and valued historical building so that it can continue to serve the village, parish and wider community into the future’.
Jun 11