<div>The award and a prize of £7,500 was presented to Peter Henry, Church Warden of Christ Church at the National Churches Trust’s Local Treasures event.</div><div>Judges were impressed with how maintenance was a well-organized team effort at the church involving the architect, Parochial Church Council, churchwardens and volunteers, and the impact this had made on keeping the church well maintained. </div><div>In addition, the maintenance team use social media to share news about maintenance with the congregation, making sure that the whole church community is aware of key issues.Peter Henry, Church Warden said: “On behalf of the PCC I would like to thank you for this award. It means a lot to us and our congregation."<div>"Without them a lot of the work that we have undertaken here would not have actually happened. </div><div>"Next year sees our five-year quinquennial inspection, where we will put our maintenance plan in place to take us through the next five years.</div><div>"The grant that we received today will help towards carrying out maintenance work highlighted in this.”The vicar, Canon Angela Dick said "As a church family, here at Christ Church, we are all delighted to have won the 2020 Nayler Award for Excellence in Church Maintenance. Together we have all worked hard over the years to take care of our building so that we can be a beacon of hope in the heart of our community. I’m grateful for the dedication and commitment of our Churchwardens, the PCC, the whole church family and members of our community in Sowerby Bridge. Most of all we are thankful to God for being faithful to us as we always seek to put Him at the centre of our plans."<strong>Claire Walker, Chief Executive of the National Churches Trust said:</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem;">“Congratulations to Christ Church in Sowerby Bridge, deserving winners of the 2020 Nayler Awards for church maintenance. The work of the team shows the benefits of having a good maintenance plan in place which helps to prevent costly repair bills in the future. We are delighted that The Pilgrim Trust have partnered with us in these awards, so that we can celebrate the unsung heroes who maintain church buildings.”</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">More information as well as an opportunity to watch the awards can be found on </span>https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/news/christ-church-sowerby-bridge-uks-best-maintained-church</div></div>
Can you find the graves of two of our former vicars (they are within the central section at the front of church) or how about the the makers of steam powered engines Pollit & Wigzell (located at the side of the tower) or if you can manage the path, why not head out to the East Gate and look at the memorial stone from Ellison Memorial School on your way you may notice the old font which we believe may have come from the Old Brigg Chapel.Our churchyard is open: a calming space just yards away from the town centre. Enjoy the distant view of hills, or get up close to urban wildlife whilst sitting on the benches. Self guide leaflets available to download with short tour & nature notes.Step away from the bustle of traffic and back to when the town boomed in the Industrial Revolution. All around are memorials dated from 1821 until this graveyard reached capacity and was closed to new burials from 1 March 1859 by the Principal Secretary of State to Queen Victoria. Since then it has been a place to reflect and a haven for wildlife. Trees and shrubs were planted in memory of loved ones, the old font is now a bird bath, and the gaps between graves are home to wild flowers and insects.Feel free to sit by the planted tubs and enjoy the natural world around you. Reflect on all those who have loved this place for almost 200 years but lived in a very different town to what you see now. Please stay socially distant!Why not try our prayer walk or try and find the diffrent plants, shrubs and trees we have within the churchyard or take a look at the hidden nature. The prayer walk is approx. 10 minutes with extra time to reflect, our plant survey and hidden nature can be done at the same time.Prayer walkPlant surveyHidden NatureAs part of the heritage within the town we have the annual rushbearing. This year it was a little diffrent, why not watch the video and listen to the sound of Sowerby Bridge Morris Dancers. While you're in the area why not visit more local sites of hidden nature. . From the canal basin opposite take the towpath walk towards Halifax to see the urban nature reserves being created as part of the Calder Valley Greening project managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust or visit Crow Wood ParkFor anyone wanting to see inside the church, this can be arrainged, please use our contact us form and a member of our team will be intouch with you.Should you have any issues on the day, please contact our Churchwarden Peter on 07720 745 230
Thanks to Sarah and Robert at ROSA's Furniture and Gifts of Sowerby Bridge who have kindly sorted the planters outside Church. They have planted Lavender, geraniums and trailing plants, which should be in full bloom soon.
With Summer just around the corner, and the hottest spring in a long time, and with the relaxing of Social Distancing we have been able to put our church benches back out for everyone to sit and enjoy the sun. Whilst the church it's self has been closed, our churchyard has looked a little unloved, but we have now been able to make a start on clearing up the church yard. Last week we started to weed the main path and across the front of church. The main path has been swept of all the fallen blossom and we have even reset the clock to show the correct time.Over the course of the next few weeks, we will continue to make the churchyard more pleasing to the eye.If you feel the urge to pull out a few weeds, or do a little gardening, please feel free to do so, we really don't mind, the church is there after all for the community.
