See also the ‘Future Events’ page for any planned events at Walesby Old Church.
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11th November 2023.
A message from Trish Braithwaite:
I am delighted to report that almost £300 was raised by the recent Craft Fayre for the Friends of the Old Church, Walesby. Many thanks are due but especially to Carol Magrin for organising the event.
Thank you also to those who baked or grew plants in advance, to those who worked on the Refreshment Table, on Cake Sales and Plant Sales, to the Craft Stall Holders for bringing in the crowds and to all those who attended to support the event. All of the funds raised by such events go towards the funding of the inevitably very costly renovations needed to the Old Church and the work involved in money-raising is as always very much appreciated.
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31st August 2023.
FRIENDS of the OLD CHURCH WALESBY
Chairman’s Report 2023
Just over 12 months ago the Old Church was threatened with closure when the PCC classified it as being redundant – a decision which was forced on them by the fact that they do not have sufficient funds to continue maintaining 2 churches in the parish. However at the two open meetings which were held to discuss the future of the Old Church there was an overwhelming wish to keep it open. As a result of the very generous financial support which has subsequently been forthcoming from both within and outside the village, the Friends have been able to underwrite the fixed costs of approximately £2000 pa which are involved in keeping it open. These comprise mainly the insurance premium and a levy of £1000 pa from the Diocese. Fortunately this has been possible without having to resort to the Friends’ existing funds already raised for maintenance and repairs to the fabric of the Church.
The Old Church is therefore no longer classified as redundant but instead is a Festival Church which allows it to remain open and to conduct a limited number of services each year. However it must be stressed that the above costs are annual and so it is essential that the financial support received over the last 12 months is maintained.
The main project undertaken recently has been to eliminate severe damp in the wall at the western end of the north aisle which had penetrated through to the internal plaster and caused extensive mould. The damp was caused by defective pointing in both the wall itself and between the coping stones above the wall. All the defective pointing has now been replaced and the old plaster has also been stripped off and replaced. However the work has taken longer than expected because of the length of time required for both the outside wall and internal stonework to dry out before the repointing and internal re-plastering could proceed. At the same time both a minor leak and damaged spitter have been repaired (a spitter is a lead spout which throws roof water clear of the building rather than it running down the outside wall).
After a gap of 2 years the Candlelit Carol Service, which is one of the Friends’ main fund raising events, was held as normal again last December. We were pleased to welcome back the Salvation Army’s band from Gainsborough and to no longer to be required to have all the congregation seated and to ask them to reserve their seats in advance.
In recent years the Plant Sale, Craft Fair and Refreshments at the late Spring Bank Holiday have also become a major fund raiser – this year the sun shone and the event was particularly successful. It is already planned to repeat it next year.
All churches are supposed to have the fabric inspected every 5 years by a qualified person- known as a Quinquennial Inspection- although we understand that the interval between such inspections is often much longer. However such an inspection was carried out last year by Scorer Hawkins Architects, although the report was not produced until earlier this year. Their estimated cost of the work which they consider urgent and recommend should be done within 12 months amounts to approximately £13,500. The terminology used in the report is somewhat technical in places so we will need to fully understand what is required and carefully assess priorities.
Two dates for your diaries –
1. there will be a Christmas Craft Fair at the Village Hall on Saturday 28th October to raise funds for the Friends;
2. the annual Candlelit Carol Service will be held at the Old Church on Saturday 9th December.
Finally I regret to report that our Secretary, Fay Thurman, resigned earlier in the year after 10 years valuable service to the Friends for which we are most grateful. To date we have been unable to find a new Secretary so we would be very pleased to hear from anyone who would be interested in becoming our Secretary.
Peter Braithwaite
30.8.23
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The Old Church sits high on the Lincolnshire Wolds and originally was surrounded by the village. However over the years the rest of the village moved down the hill to its present location and the Old Church ceased to be the parish church in the late 19th century. The present parish church of St. Mary’s was built 100 years ago.
Despite work carried out in the 1930s by 1976 the Old Church was in a very poor state. Rain came through the roof in many places, the interior walls and pillars were covered with damp fungus mould and pigeons and rooks had made their home in the tower. The Friends were formed on 16 December 1976 with the object of raising funds and assisting in the maintenance and repair of the fabric of the church including the clock and the bells. In 1982 the Friends were registered as a charity (no. 512140).
A few examples of the work successfully carried out since then are –
1981-82: the old rainwater channels round the walls were restored.
1984-86: all external stonework was checked, grouted and re-pointed.
1989-90: the Chancel roof was stripped of slates, decayed timbers were replaced and all accessible woodwork was treated. A waterproof membrane was laid before the slates were relaid and damaged slates were replaced. The plaster was removed from the east wall of the Chancel and the wall was re-rendered. Exposed timbers, including those in the tower, and wooden furniture were treated with insecticide and water-based preservative.
1991-2013: major repairs were carried out to the tower. Structural timbers were repaired so that the bells can be rung again. The tower was re-roofed with stainless steel. The four pinnacles which were badly eroded were pinned and secured from falling and a lightning conductor was installed.
2015-16: the parapets above both the north and south aisles and base stones on which they are seated were overhauled and replaced where necessary.
2019: a new system of french drains was laid around the whole of the church to take seepage from rain water away from the building and so reduce rising damp in the walls.
Currently we are waiting for the return of tenders to replace broken coping stones above the window in the NW corner of the church, to overhaul the pointing in the wall below and to replace damp plaster on the inside of the wall
The church is now stable but in a building of such age there will always be a programme of ongoing repairs and maintenance. However as a result of the upkeep of St Mary’s and general expense of running the parish placing increased demands on the resources of the PCC it no longer has funds available for the maintenance of the Old Church and all such work in the last three years has been funded by the Friends.
In addition there is now a new and urgent need for the Friends to raise further money to ensure the church remains open.
Briefly it arises from the recent classification of all churches in the Lincoln Diocese into 5 categories. The Old Church was originally placed in category 5 which would have meant it was considered redundant and would be closed and returned by the PCC to the Diocese for disposal. Fortunately it is to be re-classified as category 4 and so it will remain open as before and can continue with a limited number of services, including the Candlelit Carol Service. However all category 4 churches have to pay certain levies to the Diocese which, together with the cost of insurance, result in annual costs of around £2,000. The PCC has funds available to meet these costs for only 2 years and, unless the money to meet them can then be funded elsewhere, the classification of the church would revert to category 5 and result in the church being returned to the Diocese for ultimate disposal.
The onus therefore falls on the Friends to ensure these cost can be met. However the main purpose of the Friends is to assist with repairs and maintenance of the fabric of the church and we would not wish to divert funds which have been raised for this purpose to meet these new additional costs. Therefore instead we need to raise the necessary money by way of regular subscriptions or donations from members and supporters.
If you would like to assist in this by becoming a member of the Friends you can do so by simply completing a Standing Order to make a regular contribution. There is no set subscription- we shall be very grateful for whatever you feel able to contribute to our work and payments can be made at monthly, quarterly or annual intervals to suit you. A Standing Order form is attached below which you can use or if you would like any further information about us or our work please contact us at friendsofoldchurchwalesby@gmail.com or contact our Treasurer, Trish Braithwaite, on 01673 838352 or 07768 684588.
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Alternatively if you would like to make a one-off donation we have a donation page hosted by the Wonderful Charity organisation. To donate via this site please follow this link –
Friends’ Charity Site
If you are a taxpayer you can Gift Aid your subscription or donation and we will be able to reclaim the tax. This means, for example, that from a payment of £10 we would actually receive £12.50.
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Chairman – Peter Braithwaite
Secretary – Lynette Edwards
Treasurer – Trish Braithwaite
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Peter Starling is still kindly offering free downloads of his excellent book ‘Walesby, A Lincolnshire Village History’, and he asks if people who download it or read it would consider making donations in appreciation to the Friends. How to do this is explained above.
Much more information about the book is on the ‘Recommended Book: Walesby, A Lincolnshire Village History’ web page on this site.
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