Repairing and Renewing our Church
How our historic church building and churchyard were repaired and renewed, with support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
A wonderful old building, in need of care
Caring for a listed medieval church is an ongoing challenge for our small community. This project – generously funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund – allowed us to complete vital stonework repairs and transform the wooded area at the bottom of our churchyard into a haven for wildlife. At the same time we have updated our Heritage Resources, engaged with the local community, and taken another step in our Eco Church journey.
The Damage
Every five years, churches undergo a formal quinquennial inspection. This is a detailed survey carried out by a specialist architect to identify problems before they become serious.
Our most recent inspection showed that the east wall of the chancel needed urgent attention.
The coping stones at the top of the wall had open joints, allowing water to penetrate. Cracks had begun to appear in the stonework above the east window and the upper part of the wall was bulging. Left untreated, the structure of the wall could eventually have been at risk.
The inspection also identified problems with the stone tracery in the east window and with the mullions in the north nave window. Rainwater running down the face of the wall had gradually worn away the carved stonework over many years.
Damaged east wall bulging
Damaged east window and wall
tracery before
mullions before
What Has Been Done
The damaged coping stones have now been carefully reset and repointed to stop further movement.
The delicate stone tracery in the East Chancel Window was carefully measured and the damaged outer face of the stone was removed from the outside, right down to the glass. New stonework was then hand carved to match the original profiles exactly and fixed into place around the existing glass.
The north nave window was repaired in a similar way, with carefully cut stone indents shaped to match the existing mullions.
All of this work was carried out by local stonemason Stephen Anstey and his team, and overseen by our architect Mark Parsons.
Watching the tracery being removed and replaced without a single piece of glass being damaged was, as one of our church members put it at the time, “truly remarkable”.
Tracery midway through-2
Tracery midway through-1
Tracery After
North window new mullions
This vital work cost over £20,000 and was generously funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Huge thanks to all National Lottery players who made this possible.
Developing Our Green Space
At the bottom of the churchyard we’re lucky to have a small wooded area with the Kniveton Brook running through it. Before the project, this space was overgrown, the pathway through was in disrepair and the Ash trees had developed Ash dieback. As part of the restoration we set out to turn it into a haven for wildlife, and a more welcoming, accessible space for visitors and our local community.
Bridge before repair
The impacted Ash trees
Path and bridge before repair
Bridge and overgrown stream area
Clearing & Rebuilding
Initially the ground was cleared and the diseased and dead trees were removed. Then paths and steps were laid, the bridge was repaired, and benches made from recycled plastic were installed.
Removing the Ash
Cleared area
Building paths and bench base
Repaired steps and bridge
Planting for Wildlife
We then planted rowan, hazel, crab-apple and oak trees donated by the Woodland Trust and congregation members. Bug hotels and a hedgehog house were built, and wildflower seeds were sown.
Adding bug hotels
Sowing wildflowers
Planting new trees
Planted saplings
Spring in the Churchyard
In Spring 2026 we started to see the space take shape, we were attracting wildlife, and more members of the community were using the route through the churchyard.
Snowdrops
Spring blossom
Spring path to bench
Stream and snowdrops
Thank You
This work was made possible through the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Lottery players, and many people contributed time, money, skills and encouragement to the project. Community events, fundraising, volunteer work and individual donations all played a part.
Caring for this wonderful listed building is an ongoing challenge for our community. This support has allowed us to complete vital repairs now, and continue saving towards the next round of work which will include replacing our heating, repairing graves and monuments in the churchyard, addressing damp on the north west wall, and ultimately a new roof.