Shrewsbury’s 18th century civic church – which dominates the town’s skyline – has been handed more than £300,000 in grant funding to carry out vital repairs to its tower.
St Chad’s Church has received the cash from English Heritage. The money will go towards an estimated £900,000 project to repair lead sheets high up the church’s tower which have been damaged by weather and through wrought iron pins rusting and expanding, with work expected to start early in 2011.
It’s a major boost for the church, which is in the process of raising cash towards a total of £4.5 million needed for further church repairs, including extensive work on the roof.
It is hoped a new community building will be built as part of the scheme and that existing church facilities will be extended.
Members of the congregation have also been doing their part to contribute to the work, with a series of ‘five figure pledges’ already made by individuals.
St Chad’s plays host every year to major services such as Remembrance Sunday and the Mayor’s Service, and has also appeared on television screens on the BBC’s Songs of Praise programme on three occasions in the past 18 months.
Adrian Richards, chairman of the church’s finance group, said: “This vote of confidence in how important St Chad’s is is terrific news, and it means we are virtually halfway towards raising the cash for the tower repairs. We have also had some five figure pledges too. The lead sheets in the tower were designed too big and there’s lots of stress on them.
“The stone is pinned on to the tower using wrought iron pins that have a tendency to rust and expand in the holes they are set in.
“In terms of the wider work, we have called in a team of professional fundraisers who have been helping us with initial assessment and working out how likely we are to attract funding form various sources.”
By Peter Kitchen