A plan has been unveiled to give a historic church in Bridport a new lease of life.
St Swithun's Church is a Georgian building which was built in 1827 built in Allington and is a Grade 2 listed building.
It has recently secured a £33,000 grant from the Benefact Trust which will go towards its long term project to repair and renovate the church in time for its 200th birthday in three years. The trust’s grants further its charitable objectives of promoting the Christian faith and other charitable causes
The project was announced in 2022 and was expected to cost up to £1 million. It aims to fix the building's damp problems and address concerns over its lack of disabled access.
READ MORE: £1M plan to renovate and repair St Swithun's Church, Bridport
It is designed not just to secure the physical nature of this heritage building but also to make it more available as a community resource.
Canon Deb Smith, the Rector of Bridport said: “This is much more than a bricks and mortar undertaking: it is a visionary undertaking to put the church at the service of its community."
Together with other grants, the church has received almost £225,000 since November 2023 but fundraising continues due to the high cost of external works alone.
Mandi Sturrock, a Churchwarden in the Parish, said: "We are incredibly grateful to the Benefact Trust for their generous gift. Not only does it add to our resources but it is a mighty validation of our project and encourages us to approach others too”.
The church already is home to the Glut (community fridge) stall on Thursday mornings, alongside the community clothing stall.
It has also recently been donated an Estonia grand piano and is welcoming members of the public to show up and play, taking inspiration from TV show ‘The Piano’ hosted by Claudia Winkleman.
The main church with its absence of internal columns is also increasingly used by orchestras and musical groups.
Every first Thursday of the month the church also hosts a community coffee morning for anyone who would like to drop in.
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