Church restored to former glory

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As many of you will have noticed, Alderley Edge Methodist Church has been undergoing restoration since November 2010. Now, eleven months later, work on the £275,000 project is nearly complete.

The clock and bell in the spire at the Church have been out of service since last November but, as the workmen move to restore other aspects of the church building, they are ready to ring out the time for Alderley Edge residents once more.

Built in 1863 the clock and bell are original features of the building and both are highly unusual pieces - the clock is one of three in the country and the bell is one of only two cast iron bells in the UK.

With grants from English Heritage, National Churches Trust and the Historic Churches of Cheshire Trust, along with many kind local donors and much fundraising by the congregation, the work has been successfully completed.

On Sunday, 2nd October, at the Church's Harvest Festival service, the clock will be restarted to open the act of worship. The congregation will be meeting, weather permitting, outside the church for some opening prayers and readings at 10.50am and will await the first striking of the clock for 11 months at 11am. The whole congregation will then proceed into church to give thanks to God for his provision in the harvest of the land and in the hands of the workmen on the spire. This celebration will be followed by a Harvest Lunch for all attending.

The contractors have now moved on to deal with a water ingress problem on the East Gable of the Church sanctuary. English Heritage has awarded a grant of £105,000 towards the restoration of the East Gable and the exquisite Rose Window, a project which is estimated to cost £160,000 in total.

With a requirement of about £36,000 still to raise, there is still a lot of fundraising to be done, but the Church will take the opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved so far as well as what is left to do as they work towards celebrating their 150th anniversary in 2013.

Rev Ben Clowes said "Everyone at the Methodist Church is delighted with the craftsmanship on the tower and spire and we're all really excited about hearing the bell chiming once more. The project has all gone very well and we are thrilled that the damp at the front of the church is now being sorted.

"We know though that we've still a lot of fundraising to do but at least on Sunday, for our Harvest Festival, we can celebrate all that God has provided for us."

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Alderley Edge Methodist Church
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