Peter Roberts, Church Preservation Trust Chairman writes:

Every five years an architect is engaged to assess the condition of All Saints Church. A report is then produced highlighting areas of concern which need attention. The last report identified that flints on the outside of the building were becoming loose which had resulted in dampness inside the church. It was also noted that the stonework around the doors and windows was also crumbling in places and needed to be replaced.

The Trustees of the All Saints Church Preservation Trust met in February 2019 and agreed that a fund raising appeal was required to pay for these important repairs.

An Appeal Committee was set up and a strategy agreed during the year with a view to launching the appeal at Easter in 2020. Then COVID19 resulted in all our plans being put on hold.

The Appeal Committee met again in early 2022. All the planning that had taken place in 2019 was “Dusted Down” and it was agreed to launch the Appeal at the Whitwell Pavilion on 24th April 2022. It was further agreed that the Appeal Target should be £75,000 which together with £20,000 already raised following the filming of “Emma” would give the Trustees £100,000 to invest in the fabric of the church. We have now exceeded that figure thanks to the generosity of both individuals and other donations.

To summarise, we had a stall at Village Day in June and Bury Teas shortly afterwards, a Harvest Lunch in September, a Harvest and Flower Festival Weekend which included a music evening in October,  an Auction of Promises in November and a reading of 'A Christmas Carol' thanks to The Living Theatre in December. We are planning further events before closing the Appeal during the summer.

Having built up a fund-raising momentum we plan on establishing a fund raising group “The Friends of All Saints Church” as the repairs the church requires are ongoing and these need to be paid for. It is for example planned that the Harvest and Flower Festival with a music evening should become an annual event.

As chairman of the Church Preservation Trust I would like to thank all those who have helped us achieve a stretching target. This has been met by great teamwork from committee members and helpers. I must also thank the many donors who have generously contributed to the appeal as well as the grants we have received from charitable organisations.