£350,000 bid for vital repairs to Barnard Castle Parish Church tower

A CHURCH is bidding for hundreds of thousands of pounds to do vital repairs on its tower.

Victorian builders are being blamed for the serious damage being caused to the west wall of St Mary’s Church, in Barnard Castle.

The huge cracks running down the wall are believed to be caused by pressure exerted by the church tower that was built in Victorian times.

A previous Lottery bid for a £250,000 grant fell flat, but now church officers are making an even more ambitious bid for cash.

Church treasurer Robert Stenlake said: “We need £350,000, of which the building works is about £250,000, and that leaves £100,000 for the other part of the project, which is engaging visitors and the community.”

Previously, the church had applied to a Lottery scheme for historic places of worship, but the scheme, which had an upper limit of £250,000, was over-subscribed and St Mary’s lost out.

Mr Stenlake said part of the new funding scheme, which the church is applying to, included a need to involve the community in some way. He added: “In some ways, for us, this is a better grant stream.”

Among the ideas are to get schools, local historians and interested groups such as English Heritage and The Bowes Museum involved in uncovering the church’s heritage.

Mr Stenlake said the church not only has strong connections to King Richard III, but was also heavily involved in a cholera outbreak in the town and the banners of many regiments, including the Durham Militia – a precursor to Durham Light Infantry – hang from its walls.

Mr Stenlake said: “If you walk in the door there is nothing to tell you that. There is a story to tell.”

Part of the plan is to use “photogrammetry” to create a three-dimensional image of the church and put it on the church’s website. This will allow people to see parts of the church they would not otherwise be able to access.

However, the most important part is the repairs.

Along with the gaping cracks on the west wall, many of the stained glass windows are at risk and some have cracked from the pressure being placed on them by the tower. The plan is to have conservation work done on the windows. Steel grids protecting the windows are rusting and this is staining the walls below.

All of the grids need to be replaced. Stonework that has corroded needs to removed.

Mr Stenlake added that steel rods need to be inserted into the west wall to pin it and prevent further damage.

The cracks in the wall are letting in damp which is damaging the interior of the walls and putting the church’s £100,000 organ at risk. A further problem is the pointing in the tower.

Mr Stenlake said: “The stones are just holding it together – everything above the clock needs re-pointing.”