A £10,000 National Churches Trust Cornerstone Grant will help fund roof repairs at the Grade I listed All Saints Church, Old Buckenham, making the church watertight and preserving its historic fabric. The church is currently on the Historic England ‘At Risk Register’.
Broadcaster and journalist Huw Edwards, Vice President of The National Churches Trust, said:
“The UK’s historic churches and chapels are a vital part of our national heritage. But to survive, many need to carry out urgent repairs and install modern facilities. The cost of this work is far beyond what most congregations can pay for themselves.
“I’m delighted that the All Saints Church, Old Buckenham, is being helped with a £10,000 National Churches Trust Cornerstone Grant. The work on the roof repairs which will help secure the future of this historic building for future generations and help to remove it from the Historic England ‘At Risk Register’.”
63 churches and chapels in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will benefit from the latest grants from the National Churches Trust, the charity supporting church buildings of all Christian denominations across the UK.
In 2019, the Trust distributed over £1.2 million to help churches and chapels tackle urgent repairs, maintenance work and install modern facilities such as kitchens and toilets.
The church
All Saints is a medieval village church with evidence of Saxon and early Norman features.
It has an 11th Century nave, a 15th Century porch and an impressive 11th – 14th Century full height octagonal tower housing six bells.
All Saints stands in a fascinating heritage landscape as the village of Old Buckenham had an important position in the 12th to 16th centuries. There are the remains and ruins of two castles and an Augustinian Priory within the parish boundary and the church is central to the village’s history.
The project
The project will enable repairs to take place including the replacement of thatch on the nave roof of the church.
Francis Darrah, Churchwarden at All Saints said:
“We are very grateful to the National Churches Trust for their generous grant which, when added to a significant grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and our own energetic fundraising, will enable us to complete our project and replace the thatch on the church roof.
“When a church roof fails, the whole building is put at risk! This will not be the case at All Saints, Old Buckenham and it will continue to both serve and inspire us and also future generations.”
A wide range of grants from the National Churches Trust will be available to help places of worship in 2020 and full details can be found at www.nationalchurchestrust.org/grants