12th century Alvediston church appealing for renovation support
St Mary's Church Tower needs restoring
St Mary’s Church in Alvediston is appealing for support to restore it’s Church Tower.
The tower, built in the 17th century, has a crack running from the parapet to the ground and the trio of historic church bells cannot be rung as they too need restorative work.
The work isn’t limited to the tower, as there are plans to install a disabled toilet in the vestry, which would move to the other side of the alter, as well as improved heating facilities.
So far, £70,000 has been raised towards a target of £300,000.
Tower a 'catalyst' for further improvements
We spoke to Churchwarden Pen Milburn, who took our reporter up the tower to see the state of affairs.
She told us the tower is the catalyst for the other plans.
“Mercifully (the crack) doesn’t go all the way through, so we don’t think it’s absolutely critical, but the church architect wants us to mend it as soon as possible.
“That leads to other things, the state of the staircase going up the tower is terrible!”
Pen said the added heating would enable more concerts to be held at the church, especially during winter as you can currently see the performers breath.
The only public space in the village
The church is currently fulfilling multiple roles in how it serves the Alvediston community.
There’s no village hall and the only pub burnt down in May this year, which leaves the Church as the primary space for community events.
“We use it for a variety of things, like exhibitions, concerts, talks, anything anyone wants to do, they can do it here,” Pen explained.
Pen added: “I love the fact that it’s used for those kinds of things, we like it being used for everything!”
Support for the appeal has come from a notable figure in Wiltshire, with the Wiltshire Lieutenant circulating the appeal on social media.
And while £70,000 has so far been raised towards the £300,000 pound target, Pen told us the parish is applying to the national lottery for extra funding.
“It’s always tricky,” she said, “We hope that they will support us.”