On the 20 July last year thieves stole the lead from the vestry roof of All Saints’ Church. This was discovered the following Sunday when opening up for the 8am service. The floor was flooded, and everything was soaked after heavy rain the previous night. The vestry had to be cleared completely and the contents dried out and cleaned. Many items were too far gone to be saved and had to be thrown away.
All Saints’ Church is a Grade I listed building and so organising any repairs are a lengthy and costly business. The church now has permission to go ahead with replacing the roof but this time with steel which is less attractive to thieves.
The repairs to the roof are estimated to cost around £25,000 plus the additional costs of repairing the internal damage. Due to the increasing cost of lead thefts, insurers do not pay out the full cost to repair the damage and will only cover just over £7,000 of the costs to replace the roof so the congregation are left with a shortfall.
There is a small amount in the maintenance fund, but it is not enough to cover all the expenses. The Church is applying for grants from external sources, but these are not guaranteed and take time to be processed. The congregation of All Saints’ are asking the people of Westbury to support them with donations towards the repairs.
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Help us to raise the roof by making a donation to support our campaign. You can donate online at: https://givealittle.co/c/3xe5D3Ga3kGPopHbuoilSX If you are able to add Gift Aid the government will add 25p for every pound making your gift go further. Once the funds are in place the roof repairs should only take a few days to complete when the contractor is ready and then the church can tackle the internal works. Revd Rebecca Harris said: “All Saints’ Church, its congregation and ministry team are available to everyone in Westbury whether or not they attend church. We hope that the community will lend us their support to repair the roof.”
The theft was reported to the Police but despite CCTV footage the culprits have not been caught. Sadly the amount that they will have got for the lead is nothing compared to the cost of the damage caused as the floors, ceilings and doors have also been affected by the water that continues to penetrate the building.
Churchwarden Ruth Hann said: “The congregation of All Saints’ Church funds the cost of its ministry team, activities and maintenance of the church building donations and fundraising. It does not receive any funds from the Church of England or the government so having to find the extra money to fund these repairs is a real headache for us.”
Since July the church, which is normally open daily for anyone to visit, has only been open for services. Revd Rebecca Harris the Team Rector said: “It is a great sadness to us that we have not been able to open the church every day since the theft. We know many people appreciate the ability to call into the church for a quiet moment, to say a prayer or just explore its beauty and discover the story of the people of Westbury through its monuments and windows. The last few months have been very difficult with the additional work and disruption that the theft has caused.”
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