Thornhill Parish Church has been shortlisted for an Angel Award for the rescue of the Church of St Michael and All Angels, Dewsbury.
The Church, a Grade I listed building, is shortlisted in the group for The Best Rescue or Repair of Any Historic Place of Worship after the extensive work that has been done to maintain the building since 1996.
The aim of the Historic England Angel Awards is to reward the efforts of local people in saving their heritage, and the award will be presented by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Palace Theatre in London on 7th September.
Work on the Church included repairing all the faulty roofs by installing new gutters and downpipes, the levelling of paths to allow for disabled access, replacing internal floors with new York stone slabs, installing new kitchen and toilet facilities and floodlighting the Church.
Later work involved replacing the heating system, putting in a new power installation and sound system, restoring the windows while also adding iso-thermal glazing and cleaning and restoring all the monuments.
Many of those involved in the work gave their time and advice selflessly and without charge, allowing this Church to be restored and removed from the At Risk Register in 2014.
Even more incredible, the Church managed to start work on these changes before the Lottery and its funding came into being and with only a small congregation to support their efforts.
The Church is now central to the community, hosting regular worship, events, concerts, talks and significant life events.
The Historic England Angel Awards were founded by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, with the Telegraph as its media partner and is co-funded by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation.
The awards also cover three more groups; The Best Rescue of a Historic Industrial Building or Site; The Best Craftsmanship by an Individual or Group of Trainees, Apprentices, Experienced Craftspeople or a Company on a Heritage Rescue; and The Best Rescue of Any Other Type of Historic Building or Site.
Alongside the main award, which is decided by a Panel, there is also an award given based on the winner of a public vote which will decide the best nomination across all groups.
To vote for the Church, please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FW96HMD
For more information on the Awards and this year’s shortlist, please visit http://www.historicengland.org.uk/news-and-features/angel-awards/shortlist-2015/