A GRADE II listed church in Camden, in north-west London, has been given greater than £600,000 for “urgent repairs” in order that it may “proceed to serve the local people”. St Mary’s, Somers Town, which faces threats of closure and demolition due to its poor condition, has been awarded £639,064 for urgent repairs.
The grant is a component of £15 million in funding announced by the Government and Historic England last Thursday through the Heritage at Risk Capital Fund. The allocation might be shared across 37 sites in England, with the aim to create “recent jobs and community spaces”.
The most pressing work at St Mary’s is the damage to the west front of the 1820s Gothic-style constructing, which is already under protective scaffolding. The project includes “repairs to failing masonry, brickwork and joinery in addition to repointing, cleansing and improved drainage.”
The parish priest, the Revd Paschal Worton, said on Wednesday that the grant was a “very generous gift which is able to help to preserve the heritage of this essential constructing within the lifetime of Somers Town. This parish has an extended history of deprivation and cramped living conditions, and the church has all the time been a beacon of hope for people here.”
The parish is related to the work of the Anglo-Catholic housing reformer Basil Jellicoe, who was a curate and the pinnacle of the Magdalene College Mission there from 1922 to 1931.
The money will help with phase one in every of the campaign to revive the constructing, Mr Worton said, ahead of the second phase which is more likely to run into several hundreds of thousands of kilos over the following decade. The parish is amongst probably the most deprived within the country (Comment, 29 November 2024).
Posting on social media, the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, said that Historic England’s funding “prioritises sites that serve disadvantaged communities and deliver strong local advantages, which St Mary’s does in abundance”, and that the grant would help “preserve the church for future generations”. She said that she was “delighted that the federal government recognises the timeless impact of our historic churches, which proceed to be treasured by the general public today”.
The Director of Regions at Historic England, Louise Brennan, said: “Thanks to the additional funding from the Heritage at Risk Capital Fund, we’re in a position to breathe recent life into neglected historic buildings that we haven’t been in a position to help through our existing grant schemes.
“This initiative is not going to only boost economic growth but in addition create amazing opportunities for people in a number of the nation’s most disadvantaged areas. We’re thrilled to support projects that harness the ability of heritage to make an actual difference where it’s needed most.”
Speaking for the Government, the Heritage Minister, Baroness Twycross, said that “our extraordinary heritage weaves together the stories that outline who we’re as communities and as a nation.
“We are delivering on our Plan for Change, through the Heritage at Risk Fund, by respiration recent life into treasured places, buildings and monuments across the country, helping to extend opportunities and ensuring that future generations have access to our wealthy heritage.”
