Thanks to a Heritage Lottery Fund Development Grant, we have finally been able to take the first visible step in the long-awaited restoration of Shefford's oldest structure - St Michael's tower.
This massive project needs careful, considered and detailed planning, so a scaffold has been erected on the west face of the tower to allow loose masonry to be removed and emergency patching to be carried out as necessary.
The scaffold will also give access for a survey by our architect and stonemason, allowing them to produce a detailed plan and costings for the full restoration.
This is just the first phase, and is likely to result in things actually looking worse for a while.
The scaffold will only be there for a short time though - the full restoration will follow later, once the planning, costing, and funding have been confirmed, but we are looking to have the tower fully restored by late summer/autumn 2018.
Your prayers and continued support will be most gratefully received over the coming months...
Diary Date!
On Saturday 10th June we will have a display of information about the tower restoration as part of the annual Shefford Prince and Princess event. Everyone is welcome to come along - 11am - 1pm - for lots of fun events (including a free teddy bear zip wire - bring your brave bears!), and to find out how this challenging and exciting project has become a catalyst to finding opportunities to open our church even wider, and to shape the future Shefford as a heritage venue.
Date: 7th June 2017
Source: Webmaster