Grade II listed St Leonards church wins Government grant to save its spire

Falls of stone and metal onto the pavement of the busy London Road highlighted the need of repairs estimated at £120,000 - with any immediate risks having been addressed by steeplejacks in a recent inspection.

A sum of £89,000 has been allocated from funds donated to the Church of England for urgent repairs. A condition of the grant is that repairs must be undertaken by the end of March 2021.

Christ Church is listed by English Heritage as a ‘particularly important building of more than special interest’.

To obtain the grant the Church had to show its significance to the local community, such as accommodating homeless people in the winter as well as being open by day for visitors to pray and appreciate its beauty.

The clock faces in the tower will be taken down for safety reasons. It is hoped as part of the second phase of the restoration of the Church to restore this historic landmark but this needs separate fundraising.

The wider purpose of the grant is to safeguard jobs and offer training opportunities for development of heritage skills.

The conservation specialists, Heritage Stone Access, have a young man who is currently being given a year of familiarisation with all aspects of heritage work before he is offered an apprenticeship. For HSA the Christ Church job will provide greater security for the entire team during the current pandemic.

Bishop Peter Wheatley, Priest-in-Charge, commented: “This is a wonderful start to our £600,000 programme to restore Christ Church in time for our 150th anniversary in 2025.

“The building is especially vulnerable to the salt winds off the sea but we are determined to restore it for the benefit of the community for another 150 years.”

The Archdeacon of Hastings, the Venerable Dr Edward Dowler, comments: “For 150 years, Christ Church has stood as a beacon of faith and hope in a wonderful but very deprived part of St Leonards.

“I am delighted that such a generous grant has been awarded, and grateful to all those whose hard work has made it possible.”

The Christchurch parish centre, crypt and main church building are all used extensively by the local community, providing emergency shelter for the homeless, and facilities for social support groups and a variety of recreational and cultural activities.

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