St Mary the Virgin, Embsay-with-Eastby are delighted that the church has been awarded a second stage grant of £92,800 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to begin the implementation of their project “A Roof for Our Future”.
This follows the successful completion of the Development Stage of the HLF process. Thanks to National Lottery players, the project will repair and restore two of the main slopes of the roof, carry out necessary work on the tower and further develop the use of the church and churchyard as community resources.
Structural work on roofs and drainage at St Mary’s is urgently needed as the original roof is reaching the end of its life after 161 years and is causing internal damage to the structure of the church. During the Development Stage detail plans were drawn up with architects Knox McConnell and preparations made to appoint contractors to carry out the work in spring 2016.
The project also includes work with the local community to enhance access to the church heritage. During the Development Stage members of St Mary’s have worked with the local community to present the history of the church and people in its past history in ways which are interesting and accessible. Planning has begun for research into the one thousand nine hundred recorded burials in the churchyard and the preparation of a database of those individuals with links, where possible, to local history. This work is being developed in conjunction with the Upper Wharfedale Heritage Group and involves collaboration with experts from York University on new techniques for recovering lost inscriptions from worn gravestones. Early examples of this research have already helped people researching their family histories to uncover previously unknown information about their ancestors.
Alongside the churchyard work, a suite of new resources will be created, including an information board for visitors to the church all of which are to be integrated with the church’s new website which is under development: www.stmaryembsay.org.uk
Worship has taken place at the St Mary’s site for 162 years. It stands near a much older monastic site which was in existence by 1120, as shown by an existing foundation charter, and was dissolved in 1546. The present church was completed in 1853 when the growth of textile mills in the village swelled the population. The church today continues that tradition of worship and has a wide range of community roles which will be able to develop further with the assistance of this grant.
Vicar, Rev Louise Taylor-Kenyon said:
“There is so much here at St Mary’s just waiting to be uncovered and publicised that we are calling our suite of new resources “There’s more here than meets the eye”.
"We may look like just another small village church but our heritage is fascinating. This grant has given us the confidence to plan for the future so that we shall be able to share our history with many more people and in different ways. We are delighted that the Heritage Lottery Fund has given us this support for roof repair work at St Mary’s which will allow us to continue to be an integral part of the villages of Embsay and Eastby for many years to come”.