St Alban the Martyr church on Hall Road in Hull, is celebrating after receiving £7000 from the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust , to enable vital repairs to the roof to get started.
The community minded church, which dates back to the 1930s, has had a leaking roof for almost a decade, and had reached the stage where buckets had to be used to catch the drips.
The church has been successful in securing substantial donations from a number of funders, including English Heritage and the Garfield Weston Foundation, and the local congregation have held a number of events, but the final piece of the jigsaw was missing.
But now, thanks to this latest grant from the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust, the essential repairs can get underway.
The award was made by the YHCT at its recent grants committee, which saw £23,000 being awarded to churches from across the region, for essential repair, preservation and maintenance work on some of Yorkshire’s most vulnerable places of worship.
Father David Jago, Vicar at the church said: “We are delighted to receive this award. We had got the stage where we were starting to see evidence of water in the timbers, and the leaking was where the baptisms take place, so it was vital that this work got underway”. He continued “The church is an important part of this community and it is testament to the local congregation, who gave generous donations, and other funders, that the money has been raised so that the damage can be fixed before it becomes structural”
David Quick, Chair of the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust said “St Albans contains many interesting features, including an exposed brick arch, that was referred to in Pevsner’s recent architectural guide on buildings of interest. We are therefore delighted to be able to make the award, to ensure this magnificent building remains standing for the local community and visitors alike.” He continued, “Many of the counties much loved places of worship have long been in need of urgent repair and restoration, and through the generosity of donors and Friends, the YHCT can continue its important work to ensure other treasured churches, chapels and meting houses will remain standing for centuries to come”.