Well, we’ve done it!St. Andrew’s Althorne Parochial Church Council is delighted to announce the success of an application to The National Lottery Heritage Fund for plans to stabilise and celebrate its beloved, but at risk, Grade II* Listed medieval church.Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, development funding of £145,761 has been awarded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to enable St Andrew’s Althorne Parochial Church Council to progress their plans and apply for a full National Lottery grant of £1,300,344 at a later date.Dating from the late 14th century, St Andrew’s is a key part of local history and a focal point of the community, but urgent repair needs saw the church listed as Priority A on Historic England’s Heritage At Risk Register in 2023. The development grant will be used to develop the heritage project which, if the full grant application is successful, would see works commence in 2026 to stabilise and restore the beautiful church. The exciting heritage project would also create a range of heritage and legacy assets including video anthologies of local residents, war memorial research, research on people buried in the church’s graveyard, a sensory garden and reflection space, drone footages of the local footpaths and rights of way, a village heritage centre and website, a village website and a village IT centre. There will also be opportunities for volunteers and skill training around dementia, epilepsy and mental health.These quotes from the church’s 2023 community survey sum up its potential:“St. Andrew’s has stood there for over 700 years and is the centre of the community where many social as well as religious events were held until it was deemed unsafe. It is a lovely old building with a lot of history which should be preserved.”-Lorraine Collins“The heritage project will enable us to rebuild our church but also to better serve and share our heritage with the wider community”-Tony BatesMr. Lucien Taylor said: “We are very excited about our heritage project. The continued support of our community is needed to complete this project for the benefit of our local people and others.”About The National Lottery Heritage Fund National Lottery Heritage Fund grant applications over £250,000 are assessed in two rounds. St. Andrew’s, Althorne, has initially been granted round one development funding of £145,761 by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, allowing it to progress with its plans. Detailed proposals are then considered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund at second round, where a final decision is made on the full funding award of £1,300,344. As the largest dedicated funder of the UK’s heritage, The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Over the next ten years, the Heritage Fund aims to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to bring about benefits for people, places and the natural environment. The Heritage Fund helps protect, transform and share the things from the past that people care about, from popular museums and historic places, our natural environment and fragile species, to the languages and cultural traditions that celebrate who we are. The Heritage Fund is passionate about heritage and committed to driving innovation and collaboration to make a positive difference to people’s lives today, while leaving a lasting legacy for future generations to enjoy. Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund www.heritagefund.org.uk. Please contact the following spokespeople for further information:Peter Ingram 07854 217941 Lucien Taylor 07958 574271Your help and generosity is still needed!If you are interested in contributing to our match funding for our National Lottery grant, you can do so by: 1. Setting up and account with easyfundraising and choosing St. Andrew's as your nominated charity. Then shop online via them and the church receives a small donation from them. Go to https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/how-it-works/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwrMKmBhCJARIsAHuEAPTv5km_GOOC9AsCNNlcpspJdZp0cutoaKntAZQ-wccHnL4i4b4dDhgaAiJbEALw_wcB2. Donate or do a fundraising activity for the church. Go to https://www.peoplesfundraising.com/wall/st-andrews-church-althorne-essexOr scan the QR code on the church website: https://www.crouchvalleychurches.com/st-andrew-althorne3. Donate via Parish Giving. Go to https://www.parishgiving.org.uk/donors/find-your-parish/We would like to thanks the following organisations for their generous financial support:Benefact Trust -grant towards church hall kitchen roof, windows and door repairs
We have weekly services on a Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m. We also have one family themed service once a month on a Sunday afternoon.
