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Church Restoration Scheme

In association with National Highways

Our Church is beginning to show signs of serious disrepair, due to the lack of care and maintenance it has received over a number of years. At Upton Community Council, we're 100% committed to protecting Upton's Heritage Assets for the community and others to enjoy. We're stepping in to undertake a major restoration project, in partnership with National Highways, to restore and protect our church for future generations to enjoy!

Latest Project Update - 16/06/2023

The Quinquennial Inspection Report for the Church has now been received & processed by Upton Community Council. The report lists around £90k worth of urgent repairs as well as many necessary repairs which will need to be completed. We're now awaiting the Architect's Work Specification, which will give us the accurate figures needed to progress with our application. Once we have this information, we will have everything we need to submit our application.

For further information on this, contact our team on: upton.community.council@gmail.com

Upton Council's December 2022 Surveying Work,

In December, we completed essential surveying work to understand the current condition of the church building itself. Using the 2018 QI Report, we re-visited all of the issues raised in the report to understand what repairs are needed and to see if the condition had deteriorated. The surveying work will be used to plan our restoration and improvement work in the future.

Our team were shocked to find that none of the recommendations in the report had been addressed. Although a lack of funding prevented the completion of repairs, which is understandable, issues which required their condition to be monitored were not carried out, leading to further deterioration.

What work needs doing?

Re-roofing Works,

Much of the roof will need to be replaced as part of the project, the repair of the roof is the highest priority for the project. The south side of the roof has deteriorated to such a severe condition that there is now a visible hole from inside, allowing rain into the structure, causing untold damage. The valley gutter and adjacent slopes were re-roofed in recent years, but the quality of the work is of concern, meaning additional work may be required.

Cracks and signs of an insect infestation were discovered in the church roof, which could require additional works. Access to maintain the valley gutter and sloped roofs is currently difficult and access leads to damage to one of the lower roofs, so improvements to this access could be made, such as by providing a ladder rest.

Wall & Masonry Works,

Much of the external walls need to be repointed, over the years the existing Mortar has cracked and fallen out of the joints between stones as well as damage caused by masonry bees, which should've been monitored, though has deteriorated over recent years. This has left joints exposed to the elements for a pro-longed period, which has the potential to cause further damage if not rectified soon.

The repairs would involve erecting scaffolding/raised platforms around the church to allow contractors to safely complete the work needed.

Pew Repairs & Internal Works,

The wooden pews in the building are deteriorating at a rapid rate, due to the lack of proper care and maintenance over recent years. In the Nave, the pews on the North side of the building appear to be suffering from an insect infestation and the overall appearance of them appears to be worsening. mean while on the south side, some of the pews appear to have become unstable and loose.

In the North Isle, many of the pews and furnishings are deteriorating to a similar condition, meaning many of them will require restoration and parts replacing.

Boundary Wall & Gate Repairs,

The boundary of the church grounds are clearly defined on the North, West and East Sides by stone walls, over time, these have begun to crack and in some places fall down, leading to dodgy repairs and further damage. As part of the project, the walls around the grounds would be repaired and rebuilt. As well as this, some of the gates around the site are damaged and require some minor repairs and maintenance including repairing hinges, metalwork, repainting and other works.

Other Structural Repairs and Works,

Significant improvement is needed on the south and east sides of the Church, where thick brambles have been growing into the stonework for a number of years, causing structural damage to the building. The unused strip of land where the brambles are growing would be completely improved with a new gravel footpath, garden areas and seating to better utilise the space and create a quite area for visitors to use. A new boundary wall would also be installed as part of the scheme and the work would protect the Church from future damage, by preventing the future re-growth of the brambles in the future.

Churchyard Improvements,

The main cemetery will be improved with new gravel footpaths to improve accessibility around the site, improved grass areas to make maintenance easier and a range of other improvements, such as, tree planting, new garden areas, bulb and wildflower planting and other improvements.

The boundary of the Church on the north, west and partly east sides are clearly marked by stone walls, these overtime have begun to crack and in some places fall down, leading to dodgy repairs and further damage. As part of the project, the walls will be repaired, along with the repairs of metal gates in the churchyard. The boundary on the south and east sides will be clearly marked with a new boundary wall to clearly define church land and the overgrown space will be improved with a new pathway and quiet seating area.

Church Footpath Renovation,

The Church Footpath is an important community link between the church and village, it is the main access route which villagers use to access the church by foot for over 25 years. Over the past decade, the pathway has fallen into complete disrepair, making it difficult for villagers to use it safely, especially for pushchair and wheelchair users as well as those with limited mobility who struggle on the uneven surface, which is riddled with potholes and thick clumps of weeds growing through the surface, the pathway is also regularly used by church-goers and depending on service times, many use the pathway at night. As part of the project, the footpath would be completely restored with a new tarmac surface and new solar powered path-finder lights would be embedded into the surface. The paving in the entrance area to the site could also be replaced to improve accessibility, as the current surface has cracked, uneven and missing slabs.

Improvements & Benefits,

Building Improvements,

As well as the restoration work needed, we've also identified some improvements which could be made to the building to allow the village to better utilise it for events and activities. These include,

The possibility of installing solar panels on certain sides of the church roof. The electricity generated would be fed back into the National Grid, giving the church to raise between £500-£800 per year in profits.
Replace existing halogen lights with new more energy efficient LED Lighting to reduce electricity costs and save further money on bills.
Provide new fire extinguishers and equipment to ensure the church complies with the latest fire safety standards.
Provide better maintenance tools and equipment to allow the community to take better care of the church and cemetery, with new tools such as hand tools, power tools, a new mower and better machinery to allow us to carry out regular preventative maintenance in the future.
Complete various other improvements to improve visitor experience, such as by providing new information signs/history boards to inform visitors of the church's past, improve outdoor lighting, improve the church's ability to provide refreshments to visitors, such as by bringing running water to the site, replacing old crockery and replacing other equipment around the church such as heaters, cleaning equipment and more.
The purchase of equipment such as portable display boards and wooden boards for laying over the pews to create table space and host events such as exhibitions and more.

Benefits of Completing this Work,

There are many benefits of completing this essential restoration project, a few of them include,

The restoration and repair work completed on the church will help to protect our village heritage for years to come, meaning generations to come will be able to enjoy and learn about the historic building and help to maintain it.
As the only Community Building in the village, the church serves as a key meeting point for the community, it hosts regular village meetings, community events, along with church services and other functions. For this reason it is important that the building is preserved to ensure the community has a place to come together to celebrate events and gather to discuss village business.
At over 900 years old and Grade 1 Listed, the church is of huge historic importance, with ancient stone work and wooden furnishings dating back centuries, the church is full of history and quiet rightly deserves to be protected.
The improvements listed above would also help reduce the churches electricity consumption and reduce its emissions, at a time when we face a climate emergency. This would help contribute towards a lower carbon footprint for the site and make it more environmentally friendly.
Due to a lack of funding and the list of issues with the building, officials are looking into a process of closing the church permanently, meaning it is under threat of being permanently lost for good, this project would see all of the building’s faults rectified and set it on a path to a brighter and financially stable future.

What's Next?

The Designated Funds Process,

To fund this Scheme, we're working with National Highways to apply for funding between £100-£300k from the Designated Funds Program. The process of applying for these funds can take time, so while the process is conducted, we're taking a number of steps to ensure the church is in safe hands until repairs can be completed.

More Information on the process will be added to this webpage Soon!

A Message from Upton Community Council,

We're proud to be managing the Church Restoration Scheme and to be leading the Church into a brighter future, one of both structural and financial stability. We're engaging with the relevant officials in our planning work and are looking forward to being able to deliver this Scheme.

In 2023, we created St. John the Baptist Church Group, a constituted friends group for the church, with the aims of raising money to support the up-keep of the building. We also put in place a Fundraising Plan to identify income sources, with the potential to raise the Church up to £3,500 per year.

St. John the Baptist Church Group,

St. John the Baptist Church Group is part of Upton Community Council, the group works as a 'Friends Group' to the church and has a Constitution and Fundraising Plan.

The group is in the process of setting up their finances, once completed, they will be offering villagers and locals the chance to become members, by paying a fee each year, which will be re-invested back into the church building. Members will also receive a range of benefits such as, priority ticketing to events, invitations to exclusive events, discounted merchandise and more. More information on how to become a member of St. John the Baptist Church Group will be released in the next few months.

What are we doing while we Apply?

While we plan the Scheme, apply for funding and permissions to carry out work, we're continuing our work to take care of the church grounds including maintaining footways, grass areas, trees, bushes and more.

We're also continuing our daily safety inspections at the church grounds, at no cost, to ensure the site remains safe and hazard-free for visitors. These inspections include visual checks on site structures, the roof's visual condition

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