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Grant to St Mary’s to protect against risk of future flooding
11/11/2020
£25,000 grant given to improve historic building’s rainwater disposal system
St Mary’s Church in Banbury has been given a £25,000 grant to help improve the building’s rainwater disposal system. In June this year the Church was damaged during a storm when a ceiling collapsed and water seriously damaged the historic organ.
The water brought the ceiling down in two places in the clergy vestry. Water from the vestry went through the floor and flooded the toilets below.
The force of the water on the church roof above the organ loft swept debris into the hopper. This couldn’t cope and resulted in water pouring into the organ loft which became saturated. This area is made of wood and leather.
The church’s insurers covered the cost of the flooding repairs. The additional funding will be used to guard against a recurrence of the issues that led to June’s problems.
The grant has been funded by the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund through an Emergency Heritage at Risk grant scheme, administered by Historic England.
The pandemic has led to the Church’s income for the upkeep of the building being considerably reduced. Prior to the outbreak they hosted around ten major concerts each year. A number of workshops for art, crafts, music and poetry had also been introduced together with developing links with Oxfordshire County Music Service, local schools and TEDx Banbury.
St Mary’s is Banbury’s only Grade I listed heritage building: a late 18th century classical church with a distinctive tower designed by English architect Samuel Pepys Cockerell with additions by his son, Charles Robert Cockerell, in 1818-22. The church organ pre-dates the current church having originally been installed in the previous church on the site in 1765.
Across England, 77 organisations have received grants between £10,000 and £1 million to keep them stable and save specialist livelihoods in the sector. Historic England has allocated £3,971,513 in awards from the Heritage Stimulus Fund, part of a £120 million capital investment from the Culture Recovery Fund, to restart construction and maintenance projects facing delays or increased costs as a result of the pandemic.
Duncan Wilson, Historic England Chief Executive said: “Historic places across the country, from Durham Cathedral embodying more than a thousand years of history to the Crystal Palace dinosaurs, much loved by children and grownups alike, are being supported by the Government’s latest round of grants awarded under the Culture Recovery Fund. This funding is a lifeline which is kickstarting essential repairs and maintenance at many of our most precious historic sites, so they can begin to recover from the damaging effects of Covid-19.
“It is also providing employment for skilled craft workers who help to keep historic places alive and the wheels of the heritage sector turning. Our shared heritage is an anchor for us all in these challenging times and this funding will help to ensure it remains part of our collective future.”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam