Grosmont church gets £100,000 restoration bid backing (From Free Press Series)

Grosmont church gets £100,000 restoration bid backing

5:10pm Friday 14th September 2012 in News By Kath Skellon

AN AMBITIOUS project to carry out urgent repairs at a village church in Monmouthshire has been given a financial boost.

A restoration group, which formed three years ago to raise funds for the restoration of St Nicholas’ Church in Grosmont, near Abergavenny, has been awarded almost £100,000 by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The church dates back to the early 1200s and has one of the largest naves in a village church in South Wales.

In 2009, the church closed for nine months while repairs were carried out to its leaning spire and leaking roof, after the group raised £65,000, together with grants from HLF and Cadw, to pay for the £250,000 of work needed.

Other essential repairs included rebuilding the drains and soak away to stop water entering the building at ground level, together with replastering the internal walls affected by damp and reconditioning the floor and providing heating in the old nave.

Some sections of the roof were retiled ten years ago but the latest grant will enable repairs to the remaining sections to be carried out, including reroofing the nave, transepts, chancel and vestry without disturbing the ancient timber work.

Work is expected to start before the end of the year and be completed by spring.

The Rev Jean Prosser said the award is the ‘icing on the cake’.

“This award is crucial support for this go-ahead community who are working hard to put everything in place to ensure that we do the urgently-needed repairs to the rest of the roof before another winter. We have ambitious plans for the church to be the hub of the community, so it is essential the building is water-tight.”