Tick Tock Appeal

What it is

Our church needs a lot of work and we made a serious start on this in 2021 with our Tick Tock Appeal. This is a cornerstone of our collective effort to keep our church at the heart of our community - to repair the structure of the tower and some windows, to restore the bells to full working order and to bring the clock back and get it telling the time again. That’s why it’s called the Tick Tock Appeal - because we wanted to hear our clock ticking again, and chiming out the time for us all!

We had been very fortunate to receive a legacy from a resident who loved the clock. For many years he clambered the tower each week to wind it up. He asked that his generous gift be used to restore the 1897 clock, but when it was removed for restoration in Spring 2017 it became immediately clear that much work to the tower would be needed before it would be safe to re-install the clock. We were delighted to have the clock mended with electrical winding added to replace the need for people to climb the cramped staircase to wind it manually, and it all back in and working in 2021. In September 2021 we celebrated with a gathering, a peel of bells and a new leaflet about the clock, its history and its importance in the village.

Since launching the Tick Tock Appeal in 2018 we have been able to contribute funds to:

  • Repairs to tower roof flashings and parapet stonework
  • Structural repairs to the tower roof to prevent structural failure of a decayed beam
  • Work to stop corrosion of steel beams in the tower
  • Temporary repairs to splits in lead roofs to mitigate leaks
  • Permanent and substantial repairs to windows
  • Repairs to a floor in the tower which would otherwise have been immediately deemed unsafe for access.

What more needs doing

Within the Tick Tock project
Much of the work has been done – what remains is still important. This includes final weather-proofing of the external walls of the Tower and we need to remove and reinstate the bells in order to repair one that is cracked and take out the ‘staples’ from others (stapling was done during an era which believed this would preserve bells – the reverse is now considered to be true!). We had to delay further fundraising for these works while we supported the Parochial Church Council’s (PCC) need to do some more urgent works on the main church ceiling. Once the remaining tower works are complete we promise that any remaining funds in the Tick Tock pot will be put towards the next phase of work within the church and churchyard. This will be informed by the next five-year structural report (called a Quinquennial Inspection Report) from our architect which the PCC will receive in late autumn 2021.

Meanwhile, the PCC is working hard to set out its vision for the church in our community. This will then lead to a plan for how to realise this vision - a key part of which will be to continue the repair works in the main body of the church and start to add facilities needed in any church that today aspires to contribute to its wider community. The most urgent of these requirements is an accessible kitchen and toilet alongside more work that opens up our church’s magnificent heritage to a wider audience. This, in turn, will require a renewed fundraising project.

This is one part of our repair works, as recommended by our specialist church architect.

What it will cost

Back in 2018 we estimated that £80,000 (including VAT) would be needed to complete these tower works. This was made up of the contractors’ costs, a 20% contingency for unexpected items that arise during the work, architect’s and surveyor’s fees and a 5% reserve for future maintenance of the works. Of course, it all cost more than that!

However, we also knew that being able to show real community support, significantly through the funds contributed by people in our community and supporters beyond, that we could also attract grant funding. We have been pretty successful with this - the Tick Tock Appeal raised just over £50,000 and, to date, we have secured over £8,000 in external grants to contribute to the £26,000 that has been spent so far on the tower and window repairs.

If you can help, please click here now.

Should we exceed our target, we promise your contribution will be put towards the next phase of the work. Not a penny will be wasted. It will be used only to open up access to this lovely building, for now and the future.

How you can help

If you can, please make a donation. Every £1 helps - as does more of course. Please give what you can.

People give for lots of reasons - because they love the church buildings, because they want the church to be able to play a bigger part in our community, because they want it to be a comfortable place to worship, because their family has long connections with the church, because they find solace in the church…and many other reasons.

Raising funds is important, but there are also other really valuable ways in which you can help – with your time and with your connections:

  • You could help with fundraising events - having ideas and/or helping to organise them, running stalls at an event, making cakes or other food, serving food and drink, helping set up or clear up after an event. Yes?
  • You could promote our appeal, and help to raise its profile of the appeal amongst others who may, in turn, also help to raise funds. Yes?
  • You could introduce us to others you know who may be able to help. Yes?

If you could help with any of these we would be delighted, and the Appeal so much more successful.

If your answer is “Yes!” then just contact us using the form here or email us or talk with someone in the Fundraising Group in the village.