Kingsclere church to undergo £150,000 refurbishment

Church to temporarily close during works

An historic Kingsclere church is to close temporarily so that £150,000 restoration work can be carried out.

The historic St Mary’s Church, which dates from the 12th century and is Grade II*-listed, is cared for by the 130-member group, the Friends of St Mary’s (FoSM).

Chairman Peter Turner said the group had raised £130,000 to refurbish the church over the last 13 years.

The cash, which has been raised from grants and donations, and various events, such as plant sales, quizzes, guest speaker events and fund-raising visits, will go towards a major repair project, which will take place in various stages.

The project is now focusing on rewiring the church, which has high-vaulted ceilings, at a cost of £110,000.

It will replace an electrical system dating back to the Second World War and install new floodlighting, according to Nick Selsey, the FoSM member overseeing the repairs.

He said: “The contractor asked for a photograph of the switchboard, which dates from World War Two.”

Mr Selsey emphasised that the current wiring was safe, but needed replacing.

After obtaining five quotations, Mr Selsey had found a contractor who specialised in work on old churches across South East England, and who had produced drawings and plans for rewiring the church, which have been approved by both the church congregation and Winchester Diocese.

Mr Selsey said: “It means we can now get a formal tender.

After the wiring work has been completed, the church is also to be redecorated, at an additional cost of £40,000.

The work will force a temporary closure of the church, for a period of approximately four weeks, at a date to be confirmed.

Mr Selsey said: “We are to apply to the Bishop (of Basingstoke) for permission to close the church, except for funerals.

“Other services, such as weddings, we can plan in advance.”

The new LED lighting system is expected to reduce running costs by two thirds and will enable wider community use of the building.

The FoSM are hoping to make up a shortfall of £40,000 towards the total £150,000 costs through additional grants and donations, received from religious and non-religious villagers alike, including a donation from an unnamed villager who wanted the church to look lovely for her daughter’s wedding.