Church of the Week
Brighton, Sussex
A grant from the National Churches Trust helped bring our #ChurchOfTheWeek, St Peter’s church in Brighton, back to life. The tower at Grade II* Listed St Peter’s Church was a huge concern for the community, with eroding masonry, crumbling stonework and rust landing the church on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. Due to the ongoing issues with the tower, the church had been wrapped in scaffolding for many years. A community consultation found that 48 per cent of people could not tell if the church was open because of the scaffolding. A grant from the National Churches Trust was instrumental in the church being able to complete repairs at the end of last year and remove the scaffolding – but that almost didn’t happen, because of the UK Government’s announcement about changes to VAT exemption for churches. The news created a funding gap, as well as difficulty finding heritage contractors as churches scrambled to complete work before the changes came into effect. The team at the church rallied, and the work was completed at the end of last year. “The removal of the scaffolding was a deeply significant and emotional moment,” explains Sandy Matthews, Project Lead at the church. “After more than a decade behind steel poles and protective sheeting, St Peter’s finally emerged into view again. The restored stonework and the newly repainted and reactivated clock instantly changed the feel of the building, reinstating its civic presence and giving the city back one of its most recognisable landmarks."
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