Village church renovation complete

King’s Sutton church is restored to its former glory

A project to renovate the interior of St Peter and St Paul’s Church in King’s Sutton has been completed.

Two years ago it was estimated that around £60,000 would be needed to restore the walls inside the 12th century church.   Major damage occurred back in 2019 when lead from the church’s roof was stolen on the eve of one of the wettest weekends of the year.  

This severely compounded an ongoing problem with damp.  For around 200 years the walls of the church had been decorated using a number of different types of paint, many of which are today not seen as suitable for stone walls, which need to be able breathe.

After the roof was fixed villagers began a campaign to raise the funds to renovate the interior of the building.

Two years on and contractors have recently completed a two-month redecoration project.

The project was supported with grants from Valencia Trust and the Landfill Communities Fund, King’s Sutton Parish Council, Banbury Charities and the Northamptonshire Historical Churches Trust.   Villagers also undertook a number of fund-raising initiatives.

Speaking to Banbury FM at the start of the project Father Matthew Robinson told us the church plays an important part in village life.   He said: “It’s a remarkable place.   It stands in the old part of the village and is open every day.

“Apart from being a place of worship it’s a community space.   You often find people pop in just to take out five or ten minutes and enjoy the peacefulness of the building.”

St Peter and St Paul’s is a Church of England church but is also used for worship by the Roman Catholic community.   The renovation work was completed by Herridge Decorators and Hestia Architects.

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Published: 03/04/2024 04:29pm by Banbury FM Newsteam

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