By the late 1990’s St Martin’s was in urgent need of repair. But thanks to lots of hard work and charitable funding the medieval church was restored between 2010 and 2015.

This work rescued the nave and tower from serious disrepair. It also revealed the hidden treasures obscured by the 1972 extension, restoring the medieval church to its former glory. Heat from the earth fuels the underfloor heating, reducing the church’s carbon footprint.

The restoration project transformed lives, as well as the fabric of the building. Much of the stonemasonry work was carried out by four local apprentices, all of whom were offered on-going work when the project was completed.

Between 2010 and 2014 St Martin’s was fortunate to receive grant funding to carry important repairs to the medieval church, starting with urgent work on the tower and finishing with the restoration of the Evelyn Gibbs murals.

Thanks to the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Phil Turton Stonemason the church was able to involve four heritage trainees in the 2014 restoration work, they learnt a range of new skills and some have gone on to work in the heritage sector.

In 2014 St Martin’s was one of four churches across England and Wales to be shortlisted for an English Heritage Angels Award, sponsored by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Daily Telegraph.

St Martin’s Church has won the SPAB John Betjeman Award 2015 for our sensitive repair of the Evelyn Gibbs murals!