Our current project is to build a cloakroom with a toilet on the side of the church building. It will be built sympathetically to blend in with the existing building and will therefore be expensive. We are in possession of a faculty and have raised half of the money needed. We have been seeking grants and donations to raise the remaining £30 000.We are delighted to announce that we have been successful with our application to the Heritage Lottery Fund and they have now awarded us a grant of £30,065.00. Tenders will now be sought with a view to beginning work at the beginning of 2025.
Do you have family connections with Cradley? Are you thinking of paying us a visit as part of your research? On our website https://www.cradleychurch.org.uk we now have a plan of the inside of the church and a map of the churchyard, together with a searchable index which will enable you to find gravestones and other memorials . Our thanks go to all National Lottery players whose support has made this possible.
Run by the National Churches Trust in partnership with The Pilgrim Trust, these new awards reward local people for excellence in planning the maintenance of a church or chapel. Good maintenance practice, including annual maintenance plans, regular inspections and small preventative repairs stop many minor problems from escalating into large, expensive repairs that can threaten the future of a building. At St James we have developed a bespoke computer database for planning and monitoring our maintenance.Georgina Nayler, Director of the Pilgrim Trust says“I am very impressed by the commitment and professionalism of this small church congregation. They have shown real initiative and implemented what they have learnt. The use of photography is a really easy, yet really useful tool in monitoring the condition of the building.”
