Making a Difference ….
A message from David Knight
Vicar of Fletching, Piltdown and Sheffield Park
Over the last two years there has been extensive repair work on the church following the regular architect’s report that we receive every five years. You will have seen scaffolding and ladders and different firms working on the building. They have repaired the south transept roof, which was leaking, installed a roof alarm because of the valuable lead there and, last year, completed two very large projects. The first of these was the repair and repainting of rainwater gutters and downpipes, and second, the repointing and repair of stonework. These two items alone cost over £50,000.
Meeting this financial challenge has been made possible by very generous gifts made by individuals in our parish. We are very grateful for their generosity, not only for the gifts themselves, but because this shows how much the church is loved and appreciated. Alongside our own local efforts, we have also been approaching grant-awarding bodies. We are delighted to report that we received a grant from Sussex Historic Churches Trust towards guttering and ironwork repairs. This follows on from another successful application to the Garfield Weston Foundation, whose trustees gave towards the stonework repairs. We are extremely grateful to the trustees of both charities.
Looking forward to the rest of this year, our main target is to replace our heating boiler. Our current
boiler is heroic but is not energy efficient and has reached retirement age. The project has now gone out to tender and is planned to be completed by the end of September. The cost is estimated to be in the region of £48,000. Once again, generous individual donations are being supplemented by applications to grant-awarding bodies.
With the new boiler in place, 2024 will be the year of redecorating the interior of the church.
As custodians of one of the most beautiful and important ancient churches in the country, we know that work will be on-going and the building will continue to need care.
Thank you for your support and for the widespread affection for our lovely church
Your local village church needs your help
more than ever
There was a terrific response from the parish to our Parish Giving Scheme (PGS) publication last year and our thanks go to everyone who has started to make a regular gift to the church as a result.
Partly, thanks to your generosity, we have been able to undertake several essential building projects over the last 2 years however, we still have significant works to fund.
These included a replacement boiler system which cost shy on £50,000 - redecoration
to the nave and transepts, and the repointing of church outer walls and removal of vegetation from the tower.
SCROLL DOWN below to see the breakdown of figures
under the Ancient Building heading
I am sure you will agree, Fletching Church offers an unsurpassed location for those all-important ‘life events’ - a beautiful place for christenings, the picture-perfect venue for weddings, and a peaceful final resting place, when the time comes.
Whilst we have a structured programme of fundraising in place, at the same time it is important for us to continue to grow the number of regular donors. So, if you do not already do so, we would ask you to kindly consider making a regular donation to our church – whether monthly, quarterly or annually – via the diocesan recommended
Parish Giving Scheme (PGS).
Please watch the short video below to find out more about how to sign-up to the Parish Giving Scheme.
It is very simple and straightforward to sign-up and make your gift at www.parishgiving.org.uk.
Please remember to tick the Gift Aid box as this will increase the value of your donation by 25%
if you are a UK taxpayer.
Should you have any difficulty online, contact the PGS helpline on 0333 002 1260 or if you would prefer, please contact our Treasurer, John Shaw for alternative methods of donating.
John can be reached by email at johnekshaw@yahoo.co.uk or by telephone on 01825 761 699.
Our sincere thanks to all those who contribute towards the upkeep of our church.
You will know how beneficial your donation is to us.
Thank you
Revd. Dr David Knight
Vicar Fletching, Piltdown & Sheffield Park
Fletching Parochial Church Council of St. Andrew & St. Mary the Virgin
Registered Charity 1132321
Caring for our Ancient Building
There have been a number of calls on your generosity to keep our church in good repair. We thought we should explain the need behind these calls.
Every five years there is an inspection of the church
and surrounds (the quinquennial) by our architect.
The last one in 2019 identified items to be attended to,
and our fabric officer, John Gould, worked out a
programme of required repairs stretching from
2020 to 2026.
The major items include:
repointing and repair of stonework - £18,400 - WORK COMPLETED
repairs and redecoration to gutters and downpipes including some gutter renewals - £24,600 - WORK COMPLETED
repointing of church outer walls £6,000 and removal of vegetation from the tower £2,000
redecoration of nave and transepts £20,000 - CURRENTLY WORK UNDERWAY
there are also a number of smaller repairs to be undertaken including internal stonework
and the big one ….. NOW COMPLETED
a replacement boiler at £48,000+
You now see why we are seeking your generosity.
We have received a grant from the Friends of Fletching Church of £18,000 towards the repairs to the south aisle roof, for which we are very thankful, and we have recently successfully received grants from three charitable trusts.
We have also gained three significant anonymous donations for which we are hugely grateful. Additional grant applications are currently being applied for and we will continue to pursue other available opportunities.
We claim back VAT where we can, but this is often offset by architect fees and the cost of
scaffolding which is now mandatory.
Visitors say we have a welcoming and wonderful building in our village.
Let us keep it that way.
John Shaw for the PCC