St. Nicolas Church Pevensey has been told by the Heritage Lottery Fund today (24 September) that it will go through to ‘second round funding’ for the total required to see that the fabric of the historic church can be repaired.
The church fund raising venture has a target of £212,000 to see that the fabric of the church structure can be maintained for the community. The news today sees £88,600 offered by the Heritage Lottery Fund as a step towards the total needed, with a move to ‘second round funding’ for the essential project.
St. Nicolas Church was cautiously welcoming news from the Heritage Lottery Fund today with the official word that they have been offered the sum towards their venture. The church has been placed on the Heritage at Risk register, which ultimately, say fund raisers, could lead to the structure of the building becoming unavailable to the public.
Talking to Bay Life today (24 September) Deputy Churchwarden, George Stephens, said ‘it is almost three years to the day since we started our fund raising’ adding, ‘we have reached the second stage funding and the offer is for close to £90,000.’
He explained that the total needed to secure the future of the church was £212,000 which includes ‘not just roof repairs’ but ‘the internal fabric of the building which is a large part of the structure’.
The church will celebrate 800 years service to the community in 2016, with a series of high profile events planned.
These events include a ‘line-up’ of history based performances, exhibitions and talks.
George explained, ‘there will be some big names, international and local performers and historical talks focusing specifically on Pevensey and its historical role in medieval England.
‘The year also marks 950 years since the Battle of Hastings. He added, ‘an archaeological exhibition is planned to mark 2016 as a momentous year for the church and village at a local level, within the nationally significant Battle of Hastings anniversaries’.
He praised the local community which has seen £40,000 raised within the locality towards the necessary £212,000, suggesting that there had been ‘fantastic local support’.
Talking about the other sources of funding necessary to see the programme of works begun, he said, “the hope is that other funders will now see what has been done’.
Asked about how he felt with regard to the news today that the fund raising project can now move forward, he said, ‘we are very grateful, it has been nearly three years work and it is only just the beginning’.
The news today is to feature on BBC Radio Sussex in the Drive at 5 programme, together with a feature this evening.
The announcement today by the Heritage Lottery Fund that the church is through to consideration of ‘second stage funding’ is a tribute to all the work done by the fund raising team at St. Nicolas Church and their efforts over the last three years.
The news is also a tribute to the local community that has supported the project with such commitment and with the level of contributions offered.
