Church members at St Mary’s Wath in the Ripon area celebrated the New Year with the official opening of their new glass doorway and the completion of a major renovation project on the surrounding stonework.
Recent generous bequests enabled the ambitious scheme to replace the old wooden doors and dark draught box with a glass porch and doors to go ahead.
In addition, the work included repairing the worn stonework at the entrance, following a Buildings for Mission grant from the Diocese of Leeds, and a grant from the Yorkshire Historic Churches Trust.
The Buildings for Mission funding project supports small-scale repairs and improvements essential to sustaining worship and mission, including small works that prevent larger more costly issues in the future.
Meri Snowdon, Church Treasurer, said: “The old wooden doors meant that visitors to St Mary’s were unable to see inside the church and those with mobility challenges found access difficult.
“Now you can see right inside the church as you approach, and it has made the interior much brighter as well.
“In addition, the new stonework will significantly cut down the draughts and help stop unnecessary heat loss.”
As he officially declared the new doors ‘open’, the Revd James Gwyn-Thomas, Vicar at St Mary’s, said that in addition to improving access for visitors, the new entrance design would also encourage the church to be outward looking and would be of real benefit to his plans for encouraging more people to services.
Buildings for Mission grants are part of the Diocese of Leeds’ Church Buildings Grants and Loans Scheme, which also includes our Net Zero Carbon Quick Wins grants, supporting projects top help churches reduce their carbon footprints; and the Diocesan Church Buildings grants, which support churches with maintaining and improving their church buildings as vital centres of worship, community and mission.
The deadline for the next round of applications to the scheme is Saturday, February 28.
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