Pledge to help fix crumbling church, appeals vicar

THE vicar of a church in Henley has started a fundraising campaign to help maintain it.

Father Jeremy Tayler has launched the Friends of St Mary’s to raise more than £300,000 in the next three to four years to preserve the church in Hart Street.

The initiative encourages individuals, businesses and organisations to help with the cost of essential repairs and restorations to the listed medieval landmark, which was first recorded in 1272.

Fr Jeremy said: “The idea is that people can sign up and donate any amount. We have suggested amounts but if a person can only afford to give £5 a month, then that’s fine. If a person can afford to give more, then that’s also welcome. We’re open to monthly donations, like a subscription.

“They will receive email updates from time to time about how the money is being spent and what the next priorities are. As a subscriber, they will also get invitations to things like a regatta or a Christmas carol service and other social things, so people can get something back as well as supporting the heritage of the church.”

Fr Jeremy says the first priority is fixing the lighting in the church, which has been quoted to cost around £250,000.

This includes using as much of the existing wiring as possible but upgrading the lights to be LED.

Fr Jeremy said: “We’ve had a consultant in to draft a new scheme and some of the technical specifications but we haven’t started replacing them yet because we don’t have the funds.”

Another issue that needs tackling is damp, which has meant the crêche is no longer usable. Fr Jeremy said: “The glass barricade was installed around 30 years ago and we think we need to remove that to improve the air flow in that corner to replaster and paint. It’s hard to say exactly how much but we think it’s around £30,000. There is damp in the boiler room too.”

Water ingress has been spotted in the south and north aisles, possibly caused by a leaking roof, which also needs to be inspected.

Fr Jeremy said: “A lot of work was done up there by my predecessor, so we’re relatively confident with most of it. But we know there is an issue on the south side and possibly a little bit on the chapel on the north side.

“To carry out any inspections or maintenance on the roof we need to install a safety wire, so that people can go up there with a harness.”

While the church does have some reserves Fr Tayler said the money would not be enough to cover all of the repair costs.

He said: “We’re not completely broke but we can’t just spend all of our money. Even if we spent every penny we had to do the lighting, how would we run other things?

“The number of outstanding building jobs has just piled up until it has got to a point where it’s obvious that we need a different approach, rather than just relying on our regular congregation for funds. The other thing that’s changed is that we used to be blessed with quite large legacies when a person would die but we can’t rely on that for funding essential maintenance anymore.

“There are lots of people who live in Henley who, for whatever reason, don’t wish to come to church, but value having the beautiful building in the town.

“There are generous people in Henley and in the surrounding area and we can also apply for grants, so it’s not like we’re solely dependent on the scheme but we’re hoping it can play a significant role in getting some or all of these things done.

“There are a lot of people who have been baptised in the church or who have been there for funerals, weddings or Christmas services, so a lot of people have connections to it, even if they’re not in church every Sunday.”

To become a friend, visit: www.stmaryshenley.org/
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