Grant for St Swithun’s

St Swithun’s Church has been offered a grant of £178,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The money will help pay for major repair works to the roofs of the tower and transepts.

This will complement work done with the help of English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2010 on the nave and south aisle roofs, and is another significant step towards making the building weather-proof.

Canon Tony Walker the team rector said: “This is a huge boost of confidence for the members of the church.”

“Together with the Friends of St Swithun’s and members of Retford Civic Society, who have been working desperately hard for several years to raise the necessary funds to enable St Swithun’s to continue into the future as a place of Christian worship as well as a versatile centre for community use.”

Church warden John Coates added: “This is very good news for St Swithun’s, but we mustn’t get carried away.”

“The total cost of the work is expected to be £235,000. That means that even when we have received a grant of £34,000 to cover the cost of VAT, we will still have to find £23,000 locally from other sources.”

“A great deal of effort and financial support will be needed to supplement this grant and to ensure that the future of this important cultural and heritage building is secured for the people of Retford.”

Offers of assistance should be made to John Coates, 8 Strawberry Road, Retford, DN22 7EL. Cheques should be made payable to East Retford PCC.

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