Getting Started

 So how did all this begin? Val, our over-worked and much-valued Treasurer, takes up the story.

The endangered west front
Back in 2017, the Church Of England ordered a routine Quinquennial (5 yearly) survey to be completed and specialist architects were appointed to complete that for us. The news was not good: lead sheeting had slipped and let in water (we have lots of that in the Fens) and the roof timbers had rotted. The drains were not adequate for the job and allowed more damp to get in. There were cracks in the masonry and parts of the west face were deemed to be unsafe. An estimate for £500,000 landed on the Treasurer's desk. The nightmare had begun.

Fast forward to 2018, further visits by the architects found this beautiful ancient monument on the At Risk Register for buildings. The only option was an application to the Heritage Lottery Fund as there was no way that the congregation (small but select) could raise that kind of money. Procrastination was the order of the day as the enormity of the mountain to climb became clear. "Just get on with it!" were the supportive words from the Architects.

The first decision was how to make our bid stand out. Ex-Head Teacher Val, ably assisted by Trevor and Angela, had the brainwave of involving local schools: buying the kids tablets and setting them loose to write and illustrate a church guide book by children for children. As a Town Centre church, St. Peter's has a key role in supporting the Homeless of Wisbech (yes this is a huge problem in rural areas too), so creating a kitchen area in the Church to allow for a "soup kitchen" to be run from there became a central part of the bid. In December, the phone rang to say that we had been successful and we had secured the Heritage Lottery Funding that we needed. Jubilation and prayers of thanksgiving!

Comments

  1. Unknown25 March 2022 at 04:40

    Great to hear you have funding for this, but shocking you have so few stone masons in this part of the country. I thought such traditional crafts and skills were making a come back? I studied carving for a decade, although only ever as a hobby - but it is very fulfilling, and leaves such a long term and valuable contribution to community assets and places of worship. All best wishes.

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