St Peter’s Church in Horningsea have been awarded £104,000 in Grant Funding for major restoration work
Replacement of Victorian floorboards and new safety features will improve service to the community, including local events and worship
St Peter’s Church, Horningsea, which is one of Cambridgeshire’s oldest places of worship, is pleased to announce over £104,000 in recent grant funding for major restoration work. The project, to be completed over the next three months, will see rotten Victorian floorboards replaced and making the historic church tower safe for future generations. This includes critical funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Golden Bottle Trust, and the Ely Diocesan Association of Church Bell Ringers Bell Restoration Fund.
St Peter’s – From Vikings and Saxons, To Today
St Peter’s Church, Horningsea, is of uncertain origin. Documentary evidence points to the existence of a Saxon Minster on the site prior to 870 AD. The church’s current fabric includes pillars, a porch, doorways, a font, and a tower, all dating from the 13th and 14th centuries. The oldest surviving artefacts are tomb lids from the 10th century. Victorian-era works included the reconstruction of the north wall and aisle, and the laying of floorboards. Those floorboards, now approximately 140 years old, have substantially deteriorated and require replacement.
Revd Canon Nick Moir, Vicar of St Peter’s Church, Horningsea says:
“St Peter’s Church Council is so grateful to everyone who has contributed to providing these funds: National Lottery players, and The National Lottery Heritage Fund for awarding the grant; the Diocesan Bell Ringers; the Golden Bottle Trust; the Friends of Horningsea Church, those who worked so hard and organised fundraising concerts and exhibitions. We will no longer have to worry about someone tumbling down from the tower or their foot falling through the floor.”
Pre-restoration Celebrations and Community Events
Before work began, the Friends of Horningsea Church hosted a singing, dancing, and picnic event for younger members of the local community - the future custodians of the church. The Cambridge City Young Bellringers arrived by boat the same day in order to ring the bells before they fell silent during construction. The group will be invited back for a special bell-ringing celebration and open event once the project is complete. Throughout the period of the upcoming works, celebrations of Horningsea’s heritage will continue. An exhibition entitled 1766 and All That is planned for 28 June, showcasing an altar cloth embroidered in 1766.
In September, following completion of the project, there will be a re-enactment of the Viking raid of 870 AD, with longboats arriving by river. Further details will be announced closer to the events – stay tuned!
The Project: Further Details
The £130,000 project has two main elements:
FLOOR RESTORATION
Replacing the collapsing Victorian floorboards throughout the church, funded principally by a £100,293 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
TOWER ACCESS
Installing a new ladder, balustrades, and handholds, and replacing broken louvres; essential for safe maintenance of the bells. Funded by grants from the Ely Diocesan Association of Church Bell
Ringers Bell Restoration Fund (£1,197) and the Golden Bottle Trust (£3,000).
Pictures (clockwise L-R): Collapsing floorboards in need of repair; St Peter's Horningsea external view; Work has already recovered the remains of a 12th century wall between two pillars. (Picture credit: Lyndsay Davies)
