Where is the money coming from to replace the tower and nave roof tiles?
The Heritage Lottery Grant of £181,100 represents 65% of the projected total cost of £279,213.
The remaining funds will be met by:
- The Friends of All Saints’ generous offer of £50,000.
- Reclaiming VAT from the Government scheme, Listed Places of Worship – but this is not guaranteed.
- PCC funds.
The Steering Group is trying to obtain grants from other sources which, if successful, will offset the amount that The Friends will contribute. It should be borne in mind of course, that this is only the beginning of the roof project and when the contractors make a start we may find that additional costs arise.
There are also other plans to refurbish the bells, clean the stained glass and internal walls of the church and renew the Old Boiler House which was deemed ‘unsafe’ in the 2013 Architect’s QI Report .
We will keep you informed with progress reports.
The Bolton Percy Steering Group are delighted to announce that our Second Round Application to the Heritage Lottery Fund has been successful. Champagne and cake to celebrate!
Please see official Press Release below.
PRESS RELEASE: Thursday 15 September 2016
All Saints’ Church, Bolton Percy secures Heritage Lottery Fund investment
Urgent renovations to All Saints’ Church can now be undertaken thanks to a grant of £181,100 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
Situated in the small village of Bolton Percy, just South West of York, the magnificent 15th century building, known locally as “The Cathedral of the Ainsty”, is in need of urgent work to its leaking nave and tower roofs. Confirmation of the grant is the culmination of three years of hard work by villagers working to conserve the heritage of their much loved church building.
An architect’s report in 2013 brought the unwelcome news of the poor state of the nave and tower roofs, which were described as being “in a perilous condition”. The local community rallied round and, tapping into the existing spirit within the village, a team of volunteers launched a project to raise funds for the extensive works that were required. They labelled the project ‘Dreaming Dreams’ and their work succeeded in obtaining a Development Grant from the HLF last year, at which point the project evolved to ‘Turning Dreams into Reality’.
The HLF grant represents 65% of the total cost of the roofing project and the villagers still have to provide over £50,000 through their own endeavours. Their own fund raising activities continue this Saturday with 150 people attending a harvest supper and jazz night in the grounds of the local D’Oyly’s tea rooms. Thanks to the support from National Lottery players the renewal of the roofs is expected to start next spring. However, this is seen as just the first stage in an ambitious longer term project to restore the church interior, windows and memorials and to refurbish the 17th century bells. The energy and enthusiasm of the villagers involved, which has brought success to the first part of the ‘Dream’, should ensure that the remaining dreams will also become reality.
Rev’d Geoff Mumford, vicar of All Saints’ said: “I am delighted that, after several years of hard work by our dedicated volunteers, our 600 year old church has received the grant funding from HLF for this important restoration work which will help conserve our magnificent building for generations to come.”
Explaining the importance of the HLF support, Fiona Spiers, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund, Yorkshire and the Humber said, “This project will start to rejuvenate a much loved building, securing its place in the heart of the community and safeguarding it for future generations.”
The majority of our fundraising is currently going towards the fund for major repairs that are required to the roof of All Saints Church, in addition we also require repairs to bell tower and restoration of the bells. In total we need a huge £280,000 to carry out the full repairs.
Our first application for funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund was rejected, however we have since submitted a second application and were granted an award of £22,300 towards the Development Phase of our project. This money is to fund the investigative works necessary to specify the full extent of the re-roofing works but it does not guarantee that we will receive the final award of over £200,000 required to complete the project.
It is very important that as many people as possible – both local and from further afield – support our efforts and help to maintain All Saints’ Church as an important centrepiece of the Bolton Percy community.
We have set up a giving page to help ‘Save Our Roof’. If you would like to donate please visit our donation page. Any donations no matter how small are very welcome. Thanks for your support.
New or reclaimed?
After much deliberation and consultation with Historic England we went with new tiles to be made with stone from Ladycross Quarry in Northumberland. The church building is Grade I listed and it was important that our choice reflected that and also satisfied the requirements of Historic England.
The stone that provides the best match is described as level bedded sandstone and is quarried and formed entirely by hand. Subject to the approval of our grant application by Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) we are hopeful the stone tiles will be available in sufficient quantities for our roof from early spring 2017.
D’Oyly’s Tearooms – Harvest Supper Fundraising Event 17 September 2016
A big thank you to D’Oyly’s Tearooms who held a Harvest Supper in their grounds on the evening of 17 September and raised an amazing £1,127 towards the Roof Fund. Around 150 people attended and we were treated to a lovely supper with scrumptious puddings to follow, and all homemade. A jazz band played in the background and a good evening was had by all. Thanks again to the D’Oyly’s team