Historic Bicker church planning series of community events as work set to start to repair roof damaged by lead thieves

St Swithun’s Church in Bicker was hit by criminals last summer when thieves stripped lead from the roof, leaving it exposed to the elements.

The Friends of St Swithun’s Church, a team of fundraising village volunteers led by Dr Martin Salisbury, has secured a £100,000 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) which means the roof can be restored.

Work is due to start on the roof, which will be repaired using Terne-coated steel instead of lead, as advised by Lincoln now for all church roof repairs because of the increasing problem of lead roof thefts.

Dr Salisbury said: “The lead thieves don't realise that the heritage is irreplaceable. They were doing terrible damage but I'm told the net has closed in on them thank goodness.”

He said they were extremely grateful to the NLHF for the grant.

“The church roof lead was 200 years old and leaking, which severely disrupted our very active village activities.

“We could not repair without £100,000 from NLHF so it was vital. We are incredibly grateful to NLHF for the opportunity to save our precious heritage and get young people involved in Bicker. Big thanks too to Heritage Lincolnshire and The Lincoln Church Build Team for superb support.”

He said the way the community had got involved in the Friends of St Swithun’s Group, which he started two years ago and quickly grew to almost 200 members, was a big factor in getting the grant.

“This helped demonstrate to NLHF our vibrant community activities. It was a huge factor !!”

The Friends are now running a programme of community events and open days to celebrate the restoration.

Dr Salisbury said: “We now have the opportunity to preserve the precious heritage of our church and promote it to the wider community.”

Video interviews played in the church will show villagers telling Bicker’s story in their own words, while panels will bring alive the village’s tale from prehistory to the present day.

Local schoolchildren have been involved, interviewing villagers about life in Bicker.

The next event is on Saturday, March 14 with the first of the Living History Open Days, from 12 to 5pm.

The Open Days are all free of charge, and the History Talks are £5 and with wine and refreshments on sale.

A full list of events and how to buy tickets will soon be online at the website www.bickerchurch.com or at the "Friends of St Swithun’s" public group on Facebook.