ONE of Warrington’s most historic churches is in line for a renovation thanks to the National Lottery.

All Saints’ Church, Thelwall, has been awarded £162,700 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The money will support its project ‘175: Legacies in the Landscape – past, present and future’, allowing urgent repairs and conservation work as part of the church’s ongoing 175th anniversary celebrations to ensure the building continues for another 175 years.

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Rev Douglas Black, from All Saints, said: “It’s just like we won the Lottery ourselves.

“Thanks to National Lottery players we are going to be able to repair and restore our beautiful church and continue to serve the community in Thelwall and beyond.

Warrington Guardian: Improvements at All Saints Church Thelwall

“There is so much local history tied up with our church – the enthusiasm for the building shown during the heritage weekend in October year was truly inspiring, and resulted in a Thelwall History Group being formed.”

The delivery phase involves planned capital works in four areas:

  •  The exterior of the building will be extensively renovated, re-pointed with Lime mortar and where needed stone blocks will be replaced, or faced with new stone where they are badly worn
  •  The 1894 Shrigley & Hunt mural above the chancel arch will be restored to its original condition, varnish removed and paintwork touched up. In some areas this will involve considerable work by an expert conservator.
  •  The stained glass windows will be cleaned and repaired – some of the windows are in need of a lot of work, and may have to be removed from the church for a time while they are repaired
  •  The marble altar steps will be replaced with new stone. The two sets of steps have been crumbling for years.

Mike Horne, project manager said “Although we know that the delivery phase of the project will cause considerable disruption through 2019, with scaffolding and workmen around the church and graveyard, we also know that the people living in Thelwall and using the church will appreciate the long term view, and put up with the dust and chaos to make the building eve more beautiful in the long run.”

An educational programme will train church guides and will investigate and record the graveyard and crypts, and schools will be invited in to learn about conservation processes.

All information gathered will be published at allsaints.org.uk and thelwallheritage.org.uk.