£175,000 bill for church (From Gazette & Herald)

£175,000 bill for church

A VILLAGE which has raised £25,000 towards the £40,000 restoration of the tower of its Saxon church, has now been told necessary work will cost a massive £175,000.

However, English Heritage has agreed to contribute £127,000 to aid the restoration work at the historic All Saints' Church, Terrington, says churchwarden Dr Peter Barber.

The bill for the extra work resulted from a detailed investigation into the state of the building which revealed that rain water from the parapet at the top of the tower was working its way down into the main structure, said Dr Barber.

As a result, the gutter is having to be raised with timber and covered in lead.

"It has become a much bigger job than we originally envisaged," said Dr Barber.

Detailed estimates for the restoration work are still awaited, said Dr Barber. He said the project will be helped as a result of Chancellor Gordon Brown reducing the VAT on renovation work on historic buildings from 17.5pc to 5pc.

"We have had a marvellous response to our fund-raising appeal locally," said Dr Barber.

Among the many events held to swell the appeal fund has been the sponsorship of the tower's estimated 9,470 stones for £1 each.

The next big money raising event for the tower appeal is a special pre-Christmas concert and supper being given by Terrington Choir on Saturday, December 20, in the church.

Updated: 09:30 Wednesday, November 05, 2003