Call to help save village's church

9:00am Tuesday 7th October 2008

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A HEREFORDSHIRE church, which dates back 800 years, might have held its last service due to a lack of funds.

The roof at St Michael’s Church in Brampton Abbotts, near Ross-on-Wye, was deemed unsafe so the congregation agreed to close the building for an initial 12-months while they search for a solution.

But, even though English Heritage has offered to pay for half of the £170,000 needed to repair the roof, church leaders have so far failed to find enough cash from the parish to match the funding.

Jonathan Preece, who lives in the village, hopes that the church can be saved.

“It is a shame that an 800-year-old church could be lost when it could be used for many other things,” he said.

“I want people in the village to pull their finger out to try and save the church.”

The decision as to what happens to the building could take up to four years.

Anni Holden, press officer at the Diocese of Hereford, said: “The church is a listed building so it would have to follow the letter of the law and the fact that it is on an open graveyard is also an issue.”

The last service, on Sunday, was conducted by the Bishop of Hereford and attracted dozens of people.

Sacred items have been taken from Brampton Abbotts to Bridstow Church, where services will now take place.