Ludlow church finishes £3.5m lottery bid as it aims to protect priceless stained glass windows

A south Shropshire parish church team is putting the final touches to an application for £3.5 million to help secure the future of the historic building.

The £3.5 million bid will include money to restore precious windows

In the bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund will be a request for money to help St Laurence's Church, in Ludlow, restore two stunning stained glass windows - one showing the life story of the saint in 27 panels, and the other showing six of the 10 commandments.

"We want to put right things that are deteriorating," said Peter Nield, who has been piecing the bid together. "They have lasted 150 years but we don't want a storm to come along and push them in."

The bid is being prepared for submission at the end of the month. It is stage four of a five-stage plan that Mr Nield and his colleagues have been working on since 2008.

Stuart McLaren (Chair of the Fabric Commitee), Peter Nield (Finance & Operations), Ewart Carson (Chair of the Lotter Bid) and Michael Hunt (Steward) have been putting the bid together

It will also apply for ways to improve access to the medieval treasures held in the ancient building, which is recognised as one of the 1,000 best churches in England, and one of 15 five-star churches in the country.

St Laurence's normally attracts 65,000 to 80,000 visitors each year, making it a top-10 attraction in the West Midlands, said Mr Nield.

Some of the windows have survived more than 150 years

Last year some 44,000 people stood in awe in the medieval building. Even during the height of the pandemic 11,000 visitors made it, helping to give the town a much-needed boost.

Chiefs at the church, Ludlow Castle and Stokesay Castle are also looking at working more closely to promote the town, and be ready for a post-pandemic return of much missed UK and international visitors.

"We are already getting requests from Australia, the US, Canada and the south of Europe," said Mr Nield.

Tens of thousands of visitors come to the church each year

The Grade I listed church is hoping to work closely with local schools to help students learn about the church and its place in Ludlow's history since 1199.

Mr Nield said even if the bid is successful up to the £3.5million they will still have to find a huge amount themselves to get the work done.

As they need £100,000 a year just to pay the bills - including rising costs of heating - they still have a massive challenge ahead.