Wolfson Foundation support for Leicestershire Parish
last updated on: 27th Jan 2012
St Michael's and All Angels in Appleby Magna has been awarded £5000 as one of 39 parishes offered grants by the Church Buildings Council and The Wolfson Foundation to support essential repair works to their church buildings, making it a very happy start to 2012.
The works range from major re-roofing projects through essential repairs to towers and parapets to improvements to drainage and rainwater disposal. Funding these works can be a difficult task for small parishes, particularly in rural areas with tiny communities.
Each year The Wolfson Foundation offers small grants to Anglican churches across the United Kingdom, typically granting up to £5,000 for each project. Although a small sum set against likely costs, when added to other small grants, the awards help parishes reach required complementary funding for English Heritage/Heritage Lottery Fund support that they may have already secured. Importantly the grants help parishes to keep their buildings watertight, therefore protecting historically significant exteriors, interiors and furnishings, as well as safe, reducing the risk of accidents from falling masonry, for example.
Key criteria for Wolfson grant support are that the churches must be listed Grade I or Grade II* and normally pre-date the end of the Victorian period. The Wolfson Foundation’s grants provide a vital boost for parishes wishing to keep their buildings open, accessible and sustainable.
On hearing about his parish’s success, John Gratton wrote on behalf of Timberscombe Parochial Church Council, “Our sheer delight, from the churchwardens and the PCC, on receiving your news was overwhelming. This grant has made such a difference to our small church and it is as though you have given us a wonderful Christmas present.”
Simon Fourmy, Director of Grants at the Wolfson Foundation, commented "These are remarkable buildings, both architecturally and historically, and are much loved by their communities. We are delighted to be helping preserve them for future generations."
The Revd Tony Redman, the Church Buildings Council member who chairs the Church Fabric Repairs sub-committee, was delighted, declaring that, “As an inspecting surveyor for a number of churches, I have first-hand experience of the positive effect that a Wolfson Foundation Grant has for parishes. Both the Church Buildings Council and The Wolfson Foundation can be confident that the applications we have assessed will enable the churches to continue to make a significant contribution to the wider communities which they serve, especially where fund raising has proved particularly difficult in these recessionary times.”
