'Much-loved' church given £17k for urgent repairs

A centuries-old church which has a decaying roof has been awarded £17,000 to help it carry out urgent repairs.

The Grade I-listed St Nicholas in Dormston, Worcestershire, is to receive £4,000 from the National Churches Trust and a £13,000 grant from the Wolfson Foundation.

The trust said the move was a "vital first step" to getting the church off Historic England's Heritage at risk register, where its "slow decay" was noted.

"It is great news that this much-loved local church will not need to go through another wet and stormy winter, which could have damaged this quaint church even further," it said.

The trust said the front of church was failing and if not repaired could have caused "untold devastation to the roof timbers", which were inhabited by resident bats.

The money will mean major repairs can be carried out to the front roof, moss removed from other roofs and patch repairs to the tower.

The repairs will all help keep the church in use. The trust explained it was open daily, it had a permanent book sale and held events throughout the year.

After the work, it aims to hold more events and offer its grounds as part of the Quiet Garden Movement.

The Revd Ian Perry, the priest in charge, thanked the trust and foundation for their support and said it meant its fundraising target of more than £50,000 had been reached.

"Work can now go ahead before winter preventing further damage, which would have been catastrophic," he said.

"Bats and the local community can sleep soundly this winter knowing that the building is sound."

The oldest parts of the church are the Norman foundation stones. Its nave and font date back to the 14th Century and it has a rare Tudor half-timbered bell tower, the trust added.

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