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St James' Church Fund raising

2nd February 2020 @ 6:06am – by Helen Chantry
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St James Church Fund Raising 2020 update

The people of our village community have been very generous especially in recent times, particularly when we were faced with unforeseen, emergency repairs to the tower last year, and it is very much appreciated.

The work undertaken in 2019 was work identified initially by our Quinquennial (5 yearly mandatory) inspection by our architect and we have to prioritise what is most urgent for attention. The initial estimate for the work increased considerably (over double the budgeted figure of £23,000) as a result of issues found by the contractor during preparation work for the repairs – hence our appeals and fund raising events throughout 2019. Amazingly thanks to the response from church goers and the wider community we raised almost £50,000 sufficient to complete the emergency work to stabilise the tower.

However, there remain other outstanding works from the 2014 quinquennial inspection which have to be done as soon as possible; and only this month the architect has carried out another such inspection, which no doubt will identify the need for further maintenance or repair.

A church like St James constantly needs maintenance and repair, its sandstone structure will always erode with weathering and being built on a hill also contributes to building problems. Another example would be the repair to movement cracking on an internal support column and archway which had to have metal braces and pins installed at a cost of £2500.

Issues over and above the annual servicing and maintenance of things like the church clock, the bells, the organ, our electrical and heating systems, lightning conductor, insurance and general wear and tear, come at a cost which is exacerbated by the Grade 1 listing and is beyond the ability of regular churchgoers to provide year after year.

Sadly the responsibility for many Church of England Buildings has always fallen to the local people. The Church of England's income covers many aspects of day to day running including things like clergy salaries and pensions and some retired clergy live a long time!

In an ideal world it would be good if we didn't have to ask the local community for money but the reality is that we do. The grants for this type of maintenance and repair are few and far between and not always available for the work needed. (We did in fact receive £3000 in grants towards our urgent repairs last year however.)

Fortunately, at this point, we still have a beautiful and historic building at the centre of our village and we see our role as stewards to protect and maintain it for future generations, a sentiment understood and supported by many villagers. We hope therefore this helps explain why were are continuing to fund raise, currently through Ralph Warburton's help by sponsoring a plaque to be displayed in church and Rodney Cottrell's concert featuring the Cheshire Constabulary Band

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