Rejoicing at Shrewsbury's Abbey Church as urgent work starts

The Abbey has today received £216,900 from the National Lottery and the money will enable urgent stonework repairs to be carried out along three sides of the mediaeval building.

The grant will also allow the church to employ a heritage officer, launch the St. Winefride’s Pilgrimage Trail and implement much needed improvements to Abbey's Visitor Experience.

It is in addition to development funding of £33,100 awarded by Heritage Lottery Fund, making the total National Lottery investment £250,000.

The church needs to raise a total of £470,000 for the project which is called Shrewsbury Abbey - Saints and Stones - A 21st Century Experience and which will help the Abbey to continue to develop as a regional centre for performance, exhibitions and education, as well as daily worship.

The vicar, Reverend Paul Firmin, said: "This news is very encouraging.

"My hope is this National Lottery funding will contribute to a positive renewal benefitting a wide community, not only long-time parishioners and members of The Abbey and St Peter’s Monkmoor, but the wider Shrewsbury and Shropshire area in refreshing, inspiring and accessible ways.

"I'm delighted this iconic building is being safeguarded by the award from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Alongside additional funding it will help ensure this historic place of worship continues to serve local people for years to come."

Further pledges of £25,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation, £10,000 from the National Churches Trust and £10,000 from the Shropshire Historic Churches Trust will be put towards the project.

The Abbey is a Grade I listed building dating from the Norman Conquest and is among the largest in Shropshire. It is a focal point for the county as well as the immediate locality.

The original Saxon foundation developed into the late 11th century Benedictine Abbey and remained as such until the dissolution in 1540. Since then it has continued as a parish church, now serving a large tranche of north-eastern Shrewsbury.

Following the dissolution, the east end disappeared for over 300 years until significant Victorian rebuilding replaced it, alongside the interior artwork and the Leek Embroiders Guild frontal which greet visitors today.

Inside the west end, on opposite walls, are stone war memorial tablets to parishioners who died serving in the separate World Wars. There are significant memorials to the First World War, especially to the war poet Wilfred Owen who lived on nearby Monkmoor Road. In the churchyard is a memorial sculpture entitled Symmetry and erected by the Wilfred Owen Association on his birth centenary in 1993.

The Abbey has a long-standing reputation for excellence in liturgical music. Records from the mid-19th century show the existence of a choir of boys and men, which was maintained until after World War II. The current choir consists of a mixed adult choir which sings the majority of services.

Last year a stained glass window on the south side of the church was damaged by high winds.

A team of experts were called in to assess and repair a hole in the damaged window, which measured one metre by one and a half metres. But the only way they could get to the precarious position was by attaching their ropes to the eaves of the church and abseiling down the side of the building.