Work goes on to keep up church revamp
When an historic church was re-opened after 14 years following a community campaign, that was just the beginning.
Thousands of pounds have been spent over the last year at St John's Church in Kates Hill, Dudley as officials continue to bring it back to its former glory.
The St John's Preservation Group fought a long battle to gain control of the church, which had fallen into disrepair after more than a decade lying empty. It was closed in 2002 as it was deemed to be unsafe.
They were handed the keys last year and have been busy since bringing the building back up to scratch.
A special event was held at the church to mark both its 177th anniversary and a year since it was re-opened. Group members also used the occasion to appeal for more donations to continue to restoration of the church.
Insurance for the next year will cost almost £10,000 alone.
Chairman of the group Deb Brownlee said: "We needed to stabilise the building urgently, there was water ingress causing great damage, years of pigeon waste, overflowing gutters and boarding up that was letting weather in.
"Now the building is almost completely waterproof, there is daylight streaming through the windows, the building has been deep cleaned and is drying out well.
"We really need a good supply of funds to be able to carry on work at this pace, and regular giving means we can rely on an income and plan accordingly. Fortunately, we had saved up opening funds to see us through the emergency works, but now we need to raise more."
Visitors have been streaming into the church since its re-opening, from all corners of the globe.
Mrs Brownlee said: "One of the things we were most determined to do was to open the building up, and never let it be closed again.
"We see at least a hundred visitors every week, and they come from all around the UK and from as far afield as Australia, many seeking family graves, and we help to locate them."
