Vital new funding enables unsafe village church bell tower to be repaired
Vital repairs are now being carried out on the unsafe bell tower in an 800-year-old village church near Melton thanks to a lifeline grant.
The Grade One listed St Peter’s Church at Wymondham was on the Heritage at Risk Register and visitors were prevented from walking in the churchyard due to the dangers posed by the structural issues.
As well as the bell tower being unsafe, the roofs on the northern elevation have also been decaying for some time and now water is coming through, endangering the timber pews underneath and presenting an unacceptable health and safety risk to people attending church.
But members at St Peter’s are delighted that the historic building has received a £6,500 Wolfson Fabric Repair Grant from the Wolfson Foundation on the recommendation of the National Churches Trust – the grant completes the money needed to start this important repair work.
Roof coverings will be replaced with terne-coated steel, and the stonework can be repointed, marking an important step in making this church waterproof and windtight once more.
Ladders in the tower will also be replaced to provide better and safer access, making maintenance easier.
This is a major step in the church being removed from the Heritage at Risk Register.
Tim Bonham, treasurer at St Peter’s, who is leading on the church restoration project, commented: "This grant will be of enormous help in enabling us to undertake and complete this project.
"It will mean that the good work of St Peter’s, which is closely linked to our Church of England primary school in the village, will be able to continue rather than the church becoming a crumbling historic monument.
"St Peter’s stands in the centre of the village and is used by our local residents for not only regular worship, but also festival events such as Christmas as well as Christenings, confirmations, weddings, thanksgiving services and funerals.
"Our wonderful set of six 17th century bells which are regularly used by visiting campanologists, will be able to continue to be rung.
"We hope that in time some residents in the village may wish to become bell ringers themselves.
"In addition, three footpaths cross through and around the church some of which would have had to be closed due to the danger of falling stonework. "