On Tuesday 18 August, we gathered to give thanks for the repairs that have made the nave roof watertight once again. The Right Reverend Libby Lane, bishop of Derby, took a day from her holiday to join us and blessed the repairs as part of the ceremony. Bishop Libby relished the chance to climb up onto the roof and view the town.Topping Out is a ceremony that originates from Scandinavia, but has been adopted in this country. We chose to include tying a bough of oak- a symbol of endurance and strength- to the apex of the nave roof. Before it was hoisted up, we decorated it with coloured tape made at the town's historic Haarlem mill. The bough was supplied by local company Full Grown, who have gained an international reputation for their grown furniture.With lead being so important to the town of Wirksworth, as well as the fabric of the building, we were delighted that the T'owd men- ghosts of lead miners made an appearance.You can hear a report on the celebration on BBC Radio Derby. Move the timer to 3.40.18 to find them. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08mlbkd
As repairs to the nave roof are completed, we are grateful to reach this major milestone in preserving our beloved church. <span style="font-size: 1rem;">The project has been made possible by National Lottery players through the National Lottery Heritage Fund, who awarded the church a grant of £120,000.</span>‘Unfortunately, there’s a short fall in match funding, as other grant sources were diverted to emergency funding to help in the Covid Crisis continues David. ‘We’ve launched a crowd funding campaign to make up the difference- and tackle other parts of the roof that will ensure the church is there for future generations to enjoy.’Historic England put St Mary’s on its ‘Heritage at Risk’ register last autumn. The list identifies grade 1 buildings in poor condition, that if allowed to deteriorate may be lost altogether. The nave roof was just one of the reasons the church was deemed ‘at risk’. The team is dedicated to ensuring they can do the remaining essential repair works for to make the building water tight<span style="font-size: 1rem;">You can donate to St Mary's repairs on the Just Giving website:</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/stmaryschurch-wirksworth</span>
Members of the church and the community gardeners made a socially distanced visit to the churchyard to look at the DWT report and discuss possibilities for the church. They considered ideas that would enhance biodiversity, the use of the church as a community space and setting for a historic building. We want to make sure we are in tune with what the town want for the space, so are consulting as best we can in these times- with an online questionnaire. We know the church yard is important to local people- we had over 100 responses in the first 24 hours of releasing the link on social media. You can share your thoughts here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2BZvcJzpxESlQBA5SWWN8b2zuU9AO8lQ52vUJbaWg1N9VVA/viewform?usp=sf_link
St Mary's churchyard is a green space for the community in the heart of Wirksworth. We know that it could be doing more for plants and animals to thrive there too. With that in mind we asked Kieron Huston from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to provide us some suggestions for making it a better home to wildlife.Kieron's report was buzzing with ideas, but we also need to consider budgets practical and management constraints (It's going to be challenging to plant the recommended trees amongst the gravestones). The report is linked here for you to read.We also want to check in with the local community to see what they think about any potential changes, so we'll have a questionnaire coming up soon. When we've gathered that input we'll come up with a manageable plan to enhance biodiversity that balances the needs of the community, and respects the heritage of the site.
