Funding urgently needed to repair the roof of a Crickhowell church has materialised from an unlikely source…

Earlier this year St Edmund’s King and Martyr Church was told by its architect that the essential repairs would cost over £60,000 - news which came as a blow to its congregations on top of the recent need to renew both the heating and the electrical and lighting systems.

But help was at hand from the UK Government in the shape of a grant for £60,200 from its Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund - a fund set up to address roof repairs for listed places of worship across the UK that will ensure that church buildings are weather-tight, safe and open for use.

“We were amazed to find that the fund even existed, and then delighted that our application had been successful,” said Brenda Gooding, St Edmund’s Church Warden.

The successful application means that the congregations can focus on funding other projects that will improve the church building making it a safe and attractive venue for use as a place of worship as well as extending its use to the wider community.

Following the required tendering process, the contract for repairing the roof has been awarded to Taliesin Conservation Ltd.

Stefan Horowskyj of Morgan & Horowskyj Architects, Abergavenny has been appointed architect and project manager for the repairs.

The sum St Edmund’s will receive is one of 502 grants from a total funding package of £30million that has been announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The Fund is administered by the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) on behalf of the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS). More details are available at lpowroof.org.uk