WORK has begun to repair the roof at St Giles Church thanks to funding from the National Lottery.
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of Leigh on Mendip with Downhead has received £180,000 after a successful stage II bid submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), resulting in the award from the National Lottery.
As well as helping towards the repairs at St Giles Church, the money will contribute to the community heritage hub project.
The work at the church will involve structural assessment and repair of the roof; repairs to clerestory windows; repair of high level stonework including the parapets; repair of leadwork; recording of graffiti which survives in the leadwork and restoration of key pieces.
Commenting on the award, bid leader and chair of Friends of Leigh Church, Graham Harris said, “We’re delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support for stage II of our application and we offer them our sincere thanks. When the Friends of Leigh Church was set up to aid the PCC in their efforts to save St Giles Church, we came to the critical conclusion that a successful repair programme needed to be underpinned by a strong approach to community involvement. We are delighted with the support that the community has shown this project; there is clearly a strong desire to maintain the church asset for future generations, both as a place of worship and a centre for the community as whole.”
In addition to the repairs, work will also take place with Leigh Heritage Group and Otter Software to produce a photography-based heritage exhibition within the church; film all the building works, including drone footage and worker interviews, to produce a documentary of the project.
A new leaflet will be prepared for visitors, together with two trail leaflets describing the listed buildings in the village, and the churches of East Mendips linking to the Sustrans day cycle route map.
Volunteers will be trained to act as hosts for visiting groups and deliver a programme of organised visits, including local schools.
It is intended that the project work will complete in December 2019.