THE PARISH CHURCHES of
NORTH MARSTON and GRANBOROUGH
St John the Baptist Church
TOWER RESTORATION PROJECT
St John the Baptist Church has been at the heart of the Granborough Community for over 700 years. It is a place of sanctuary, peace, love and faith, open to everyone. This past year we have embarked upon Tower Restoration Project to ensure that this church remained for many, many years to come as a special place for the community. We hope, that the information on this page, will give you a good picture of what has been achieved. We are grateful for the support of many from our village community as well as many grant giving organisations, who played part in supporting this project financially, with prayer and practical help.
INTRODUCTION
Our church is at the heart of our community and our community is at the heart of what we do. We are a small church with a committed congregation which represents our local area: people of all ages, circumstances and backgrounds use the church and worship here.
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As a church, we completely self fund our ministry, community activities and maintenance, including the churchyard upkeep. We do not receive any money from government, central or local, including the parish council. Neither do we receive any money from any central fund within the Church of England. All costs have to be met by the local church and village community.
THE START OF THE PROJECT
We know that for churches to ask for money fits a stereotype that can be very off-putting. However, we also know that as a Church community, we are custodians of a building that welcomes and is valued by everyone who lives in the village, whether they share our faith or not.
This very historic building we care for needs more resources than we as a small faithful group can provide. The Grade II* listed church was originally built in the 14th Century and was altered in the 15th Century when the tower was added.
Built from local Oving limestone, notable for being friable, the church is now in need of urgent work to restore the stonework and prevent the ongoing risk of falling masonry. Such work comes at considerable cost. Quotes received give a restoration cost of around £160,000 - a lot of money to find in a small village. VAT is payable, but can be reclaimed, via a grant scheme, so has not been included in the total amount.
HOW ARE WE DOING SO FAR?
Tower fund including local pledges : £55,250
Grant awards and pledges £69,500
Total £124,750
Target ex VAT £164,622
Funding gap £39,871
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We have received many donations and pledges from members of our community and are very grateful to all those who made contribution. This commitment means that we can now start planning for the work to start. We are not quite yet there with all the funds but we see the gap gradually closing.
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so far, we have also received grants from the following organisations:
Bucks Historic Churches Trust
Francis Coales Charitable Foundation
The Gladiator Trust
Anson Charitable Trust
Ian M Foulerton Charitable Trust
Garfield Weston Foundation
Beatrice Laing Trust
Congregational and General Charitable Trust
Benefact Trust
Sabina Sutherland Charitable Trust
CAN YOU HELP?
If you are able to support our Tower Restoration project, please contact us via our Get in touch page. We would like to hear from you.
