Delight as historic church is awarded funding for repairs
12TH-CENTURY BUILDING IN NEED OF ROOF AND GUTTERING WORK
A 12TH-CENTURY church steeped in history in East Yorkshire has been awarded funds towards vital roof repairs.
Rain has been getting in at the grade one-listed St Germain’s, Winestead, which has received £6,000 towards guttering and roof work.
The church is one of six across Yorkshire celebrating the awarding of grants totalling over £32,000 from the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust (YHCT).
Located next to the moated remains of an early manor house, St Germain’s houses some of the only remaining fragments of medieval glass in Holderness.
After a spate of lead thefts in the 1980s, a new roof was added, but over the years water has been getting in and the guttering and roof is now in need of repair to prevent further damage.
The church is the only community buildings in the village, and acts as an important focal point for the local area.
St Germain’s has signed up to take part in the digital heritage apprenticeship scheme run by the trust, which sees students from the University of York working with churches to help them harness the power of digital technologies to share their history and heritage with visitors and local communities.
Nicholas Hildyard, of St Germain’s, said: “We were excited and delighted to receive this grant from the YHCT towards the vital roof repairs needed to stop water getting in and causing further damage to the interior.
“St Germain’s is a much-loved church and plays an important role as the only community gathering place in the village.
“The building is grade one-listed and dates back to the early 12th century, with a fabulous interior, a romantic atmosphere and much history, being adjacent to a noted medieval moated site to the west.”
The future of many churches is under
threat due to crumbling roofs, windows and stonework.
The YHCT works to ensure these places of worship are kept in goodrepair, recognising the contribution they make to society at large and the support they provide to local communities.
The funding provides a vital lifeline to places of worship which have been unable to carry out their usual fundraising activities over the past couple of years, and at a time when many are increasingly providing a number of essential services to local communities, such as food banks and credit unions.
Grants were awarded to a range of places of worship across the region, from the large grade two-listed St Mary the Virgin in urban south Leeds, to the small early 19th century St Mary’s Church in Hutton Magna, a rural hamlet in Richmondshire.
Tom Ramsden, chairman of the YHCT, said: “Thanks to the generosity of our friends and donors, we have been able to support a wide range of places of worship.
“Over the past couple of years we have witnessed the important role churches play in bringing their local communities together and helping them thrive.
“Now, more than ever, they need our help to ensure those churches continue to support their communities for many years to come”.
You can become a friend of the trust and help support local places of worship – visit www.yhct.org.uk to find out more information.