Campaigners in Loppington face a race against time to raise £10,000 in six months to repair the roof on their Grade I listed church – or risk losing a major grant.
The 800-year-old St Michael and All Angels Church is in urgent need of repair, and restoration totalling £74,000 is necessary to tackle a crumbling ceiling and bring the building up to standard. Already villagers and local businesses have promised £3,500 to go towards the church’s fundraising efforts.
English Heritage have pledged to oversee a detailed investigation of the work and issue a £41,000 grant towards the cost of the work. Campaigners estimate they can fund £64,000 themselves, which leaves them £10,000 to find before December to comply with a deadline imposed by English Heritage.
Plaster from the church has been falling from the ceiling panels for some times, while the remaining panels are cracked.
Initial investigations have shown that the plaster is faulty and new lath and plaster ceiling must be put in place.
Fundraisers have come up with the idea of finding 50 sponsors for ceiling panels and have published a sheet with over 30 ideas for people to raise money in their village magazine.
These include a barbecue, cake sales, coffee mornings and sponsored walks.
Every sponsor will receive a laminated poster to display all their fundraising events, and will be included in a commemorative book in the church.
Helen Lopez, church warden, said: “How can a small church like Loppington hope to raise £10,000 in six months?
“We can only accomplish this with help from the community. We hope that all the village organisations, businesses and individuals will join in with this campaign.
“Amazingly, we have already been promised £3,500 from local people. One family – Tony, Ivy, William and Henry Dyson – who caught wind of our idea have already run a bingo night in Wem and raised £400 as their sponsorship. Our sincere thanks go to the Dyson family for their support.” If anybody would like to sponsor this project, contact Helen on 01939 233685.
