Work has commenced this week at St Philip & St James Church, to restore the 160 year old spire.
The church is receiving a grant of £286,100 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, as well as raising over £100,000 locally and receiving support from the Alderley Edge Institute Trust Fund. However, as the scaffolding is constructed, fundraising is ongoing as an additional £40,000 is needed to complete this phase of the restoration.
The spire restoration involves a major remodelling of the inside of the church. Pews are being replaced by chairs at the back of the church, to give maximum flexibility and allow for a new Heritage Centre, kitchen area and toilets.
The church will deliver a programme of learning resources and cultural activities to engage a wide range of people with the heritage and history of the parish church. The Alderley History Group is working with the Church on the heritage centre, and will have the opportunity to display their archives.
Additionally, students from Macclesfield College are including the project in their studies. The IT students are working on a new website, the tourism and travel students are producing leaflets and posters promoting Alderley Edge and the Church which will be displayed at this year's May Fair, on a stall the Church is sharing with the Alderley History Group.
Whilst other students will be looking at the stone work and re modelling of the pews during visits to the Church, once construction has commenced.
In addition to carrying out work on the building, Revd Jane Parry, Vicar of St Philip & St James, said: "We are absolutely delighted with this outcome and are very grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for their generous support.
"We are looking forward to progressing our plans to maintain the fabric of our Grade II* Listed church and to developing it for wider use drawing in the local community and others from further afield, for community events and for the study of the historical resources which will be on display."
Sara Hilton, Head of HLF North West, said: "The North West has such a diverse range of places of worship, each one reflecting the social history of its community, as well as its faith traditions and architectural influences.
"The spire at St Philip & St James is a distinctive Alderley Edge landmark, the church providing many community activities as well as a venue for worship. HLF is pleased to support this project."
Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund aims to make a lasting difference for heritage, people and communities across the UK and has supported almost 35,000 projects with more than £5.3bn across the UK.
St. Philip and St. James' launched their fundraising appeal in July 2013, following an inspection which revealed that a substantial portion of the spire needs to be taken down because the metal rods, which hold the spire together, have corroded and need replacing.
Since then there has been another inspection, which highlighted the plaster on the ceiling has cracked, some of which has already come off. An additional £18,000 has to be raised to cover the ceiling with netting, to meet H & S standards.
Fund raiser Mandy Parr says "St Philip & St James is an iconic building on the landscape of Alderley village, it is the parish church, and plays an important part in the life of the village, we are preserving Alderley's heritage."
The church needs to raise £450,000 to carry out these and related works to the Grade II* listed building, which was built in 1853 and designed by the famous Victorian architect JS Crowther. To make a donation please contact Mandy Parr 01625 586761.
