St. John’s Church has been added to the Heritage at Risk Register this year.
The church, in Upper Hopton, Mirfield, is receiving support from Historic England to help restore its damaged church tower.
Source: George Jenkins | All Rights ReservedThe church tower, which is over a century old, was built in a Gothic style out of “not the best materials”, according to St. John’s vicar, Hugh Baker.
He said: “The main problem that we’re facing at the moment is the tower, and for a number of years we had issues with the base of the tower, which was bulging outwards due to water damage.
“The top part of the tower still needs a lot of work, the spiral staircase inside as well, and whilst we have put money into restoring it, there is a lot that still needs to be done.
“Historic England doesn’t actually provide money, but they give a lot of aid in applying for grants and getting funding from elsewhere.”
The tower has been causing issues for a number of years, particularly the base, which was restored recently by local builders at an estimated cost of £50,000.
Despite these works, more still needs to be done, with damage to the louvres and the internal staircase causing further problems, causing the building to bulge out and potentially collapse.
Vicar Hugh Baker believes the total cost of the project could end up at around £150,000, and is grateful to Historic England for their support.
Event organiser at St. John’s Church, Christine Shedd, said: “The register makes more people aware of the issues at the church, and with that comes more interest and more donations.
“The church always needs help, there is always work that needs doing, and once this has been done, we can get St. John’s back in one piece.
“I love it here, the kettles always on and there’s always cake.”
St. John’s joins its sister church, St. Mary’s Church, as well as over 400,000 others on the Heritage at Risk Register, all of which are looking for support and donations to restore their sites.
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