FRIENDS of Leamington Parish Church are preparing to roll up their sleeves to carry out multi-million repairs.
The Friends of All Saints’ Parish Church has been launched to help care long term for the historic building.
A report identified the Victorian church needed some £6.8million of repairs and with no central church maintenance pot available to pay for the work, the Friends will be aiming to raise the cash through grant applications and fund-raising drives.
All Saints vicar, Fr Christopher Wilson, said: “The objective of the Friends is to enable those who love the building and value its presence in the town to help make sure it’s here for their children and grandchildren to enjoy for centuries to come.”
District and town councillor Andrew Thompson is among those to have joined the Friends.
He said: “The church is hugely significant to our local community, both in terms of the services it offers, but also as a visual symbol of our town.
“It is an incredibly important part of Leamington’s heritage and history, and I’m excited at having the opportunity to be part of a group helping to preserve it for future generations.”
As one of England’s largest parish churches – with the earliest record of it dating back to the 12th century – All Saints rivals many cathedrals in size.
With its Gothic-style architecture, the eminent art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner described it as “a church as out of the ordinary for scale as for style.”
The newly-launched Friends group is keen to welcome more people on board.
Visit www.allsaintschurchleamington.org.uk/friends for further details.
