AN APPEAL has been launched to repair a church roof after water began pouring through onto its historic organ.
All Saints Church on Priory Terrace was badly damaged during a rainstorm last year leading to water falling onto the organ pipes, which date from 1926.
Holes in the slate-covered roof have been covered with plastic but repairs to the grade two listed building will cost £80,000.
A fund-raising page has been set up in a bid to raise money and save the organ.
Rev Christopher Wilson said: “If we don’t re-roof, we risk losing the instrument altogether as damage spreads. That would be a huge loss to our town and beyond, as the richness of our worship and our concert programme would be diminished for ever.
“We must do the work this autumn, before the plastic fails and another winter of rain and snow takes its toll.”
And while keeping the church dry this winter is still a work in progress, keeping it warm will not be a problem after it received a £4,800 donation to upgrade its heating system.
Leamington Round Table, who organise the Wright Hassall 10K Regency Run, funded upgrade to the church’s meeting room.
The event has been rescheduled until next year due to coronavirus, but the organisers donated the money from runners’ entry fees from previous years.
Rev Wilson said: “We are extremely grateful for this generous donation from the Leamington Round Table.
“The meeting room we have is a key focal point for the community and accommodates hundreds of people every week, but their stay is short-lived in the winter because it is so cold in there, so we are really pleased to be able to do something about this now thanks to this donation.
“Young mums, vulnerable people and elderly members of the community rely on using the meeting room for weekly gatherings, and once we are able to open the meeting room again we know this will make a big difference as they will be able to stay longer, and will encourage even more members of the community to socialise.”
Visit justgiving.com/campaign/allsaintsleam-organroof to donate to the church roof fund.
