Funding to repair water-damaged church

News imageSandra Pratt Interior of the church building looking at a wall and two windows with stained glass. The walls surrounding the windows are showing signs of damage and damp. The walls are light pink in colour.Sandra Pratt
The building is used as a space for the community, as well as being a place of worship

A water-damaged church has been awarded £10,000 for repairs, a charity has said.

The National Churches Trust said "extreme wet weather over the last six years" had "severely damaged Grade II Listed Cornerstone Church in Torpoint, Cornwall".

The Reverend Alistair Lowe, minister at the church since September 2021, said the building was "shabby" as a result of the damage.

The charity said its funding would ensure the church was watertight again.

News imageSandra Pratt Inside the church building. Tables and chairs have been placed around the round the room. A group of people are scattered around the room, socialising. They are sitting on chairs and are chatting. They appear to have raffle strips on the table in front of them. The room has pink walls and large stained-glass windows.Sandra Pratt
Repairs will ensure the building is watertight, the charity says

The charity said patch repairs would be made to the roof, and the north and south elevations required most work to repair all 14 windows and to fix the downpipes and gutters.

The charity said the funding would come out of a shared pot of £900,000 to help keep UK churches open and in use.

It said the church, which was derelict about 30 years ago, was used as a space for the community in addition to being a place of worship.

Claire Walker, chief executive of the trust, said: "The National Churches Trust is delighted to be able to support Cornerstone Church to enable them to carry out urgent repairs to their beautiful building.

"Not only will this protect this important heritage, but it will help to keep the church building open and serving local people."

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