When the quinquennial inspection at St Nicholas Church in Bishops Sutton found that its roof was in a very poor state, parishioners thought they faced an insurmountable problem. Now, just over two years later, the work is almost complete thanks to community support, multiple grant applications and of course lots of prayer. The work has also helped engage more of the community in church life and added to numbers in the congregation – the new roof has given the church a sense of renewed purpose!
The inspection in May 2022 reported that the roof was coming to the end of its life and a more thorough investigation that September revealed that the problem had been discovered just in time. The tiles were deteriorating, the roof batons were rotten and held together with rusting nails. However, the church only had enough money in reserves to repair just one side of the roof.
James Caldwell is PCC Treasurer and said, “Initially it was very worrying because we knew that if we didn’t solve the problem that ultimately the roof would collapse and the church would become unusable. It seemed to be an insuperable problem, but we went about it in a systematic way. We had a lot of support from the parish, we had a lot of support from one or two grant givers and then you can start to see your way clear. In the end it has worked very well. There was a lot of prayer and it was very much at the forefront of many services. Although the church never stopped being used throughout all of this process, you’re very much aware of it because of the scaffolding and the planks all around the building.”
St Nicholas Church was built in the 12th Century by the Bishop of Winchester Henry de Blois and has been a big part of this small community. In May 2023 the church held an event in the village where they laid out the extent of the problem and asked for help. £60,000 was raised in a village of around 200 homes. Throughout the work, the church kept the community informed and this has led to growth in the church family.
James Caldwell added, “This whole project has raised the profile of the church in the village. I think people always realised the church was there and they use it when they want it. We do have a regular congregation, but the interest in the church has grown a lot and there’s been a definite increase in numbers. We’re going to have an event probably in February to celebrate the new roof and hopefully we will fill the church up.”
As well as support from its local community, the team put a lot of effort into the time-consuming task of applying for grants. Seven different applications were made, including to the National Lottery.
All of the grant applications are different, so you can’t really recycle very much material between one and another. I think the Lottery application was over 20 pages, but all I can say is that it was worth it.
James Caldwell, PCC Treasurer
The National Lottery granted the roof build project £101,000. This enabled work to be carried out on both sides of the roof including new batons, new felt and new tiles. The whole project cost £230,000.
James Caldwell said, “I think we see this very much as an enabler for the future of the church. We are very fortunate to have a young and energetic vicar and she has a lot of plans for the things we can do. We run a variety of services including the BCP and we are actively encouraging families to come as well. So, we’re trying to appeal across the whole parish. A year ago, we would never have thought we could be in this position, we are so blessed.”
Aside from fundraising, much time was spent getting quotes from roofing companies, working with architects, drawing up a schedule of works and carrying out essential bat surveys. As part of grant applications, the church began building links with the local primary and secondary schools to promote the educational potential of the church in art, history, religious education and music.
Revd Amber Beresford said, “This roof tells of the extraordinary work that has been done by the team over this past 18 months with the fundraising, the communication and involving the community in this amazing work. We had no idea if we were going to get the funding, but we were able to do both sides of the roof, which was extraordinary. We were really blessed, especially by the team and how well they put it all together.”
“It’s enabled us to be more outward looking and we’ve really thought outside the box of what we can use the building for in terms of welcoming in secondary school pupils and local community groups. We’ve thought about what the building has to offer and what the church community has to offer. There’s been a lot of prayer and a lot of big questions as well, asking what will this building mean to the community? What will this church family mean to the community for centuries to come? It’s a real legacy that’s going to last and be for the community for centuries to come. It’s such a beautiful church and is a real gem in this area, a real place for many events, and the community love it as well.”
A timeline banner in the church serves as a reminder of the journey towards the new roof and inspiration to others. Since the completion, James Caldwell has been invited to talk at an upcoming Diocese ‘Meet the Funders’ event to share his expertise.
His advice to others is: “I think planning is everything and we were lucky that we did have some reserves. All of the funding rests on three legs, on reserves, on what you can raise locally, and on what you can raise from the grants. There are grant givers out there who will help. The Lottery told us that as a medieval church, we were an under-served area of the community for them. They hadn’t awarded a lot of money to such projects. The frustration about grants is that you have no idea about whether you will be successful or not. You have to fill in the form as best you can. It’s important to provide as much detail as possible and to understand the grant givers’ objectives and reflect that in your application. Just be aware, it’s going to take a long time. We did most of our grant applications at the end of 2023 and early 2024. We started to get the answers in March/April time, which then enabled us to decide to do both sides of the building before the roofers planned to start in September.”
Angela White, the churchwarden, added, “It really is a dream come true because the church is much loved and we do need to keep it going. It’s been a great effort by the community and others and the lottery has helped us, but you don’t get the grants unless you work really hard for them and the team have been amazing. We have so much to be grateful for and with this done, so much to look forward to as well.”
The ‘Meet the Funders’ event takes place on Tuesday 20 May at St Paul’s Church in Bursledon. Bookings to attend can be made via parish.support@winchester.anglican.org. More details will be available in the New Year.
