In 2014 the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) awarded Algarkirk PCC a substantial grant (c.£175,000) to develop a project to repair the parish church of St Peter and St Paul’s; conserve its Victorian Stained glass and painted scheme; adapt the interior of the church building for complementary uses, including establishing it as a centre of excellence for heritage skills training; and offer onsite and online interpretation of the church and its history.
Upon the award of the development grant, a sub-committee of the PCC, the Algarkirk Major Project Group (AMPG), was established to manage, develop and deliver the project. A 2nd round application for funds (c.£2m) to deliver the Project is due to be submitted in February 2017.
Our vision is to make St Peter and St Paul’s a bridge between Algarkirk’s past and its future. Through the promotion of the heritage skills that made the church so beautiful and architecturally important; through the regeneration of its role as a community resource and tourist attraction; and by continuing an unbroken tradition of worship, we aim to enrich the lives and experiences of all who come within its reach.
Strategy
a) To preserve the unique identity of the building for the enjoyment and edification of
present and future generations;
b) To identify opportunities to tackle problems of
rural isolation and the lack of community engagement;
the dearth of learning opportunities in traditional heritage skills;
the church’s falling income – a result of diminishing congregations and an ageing, increasingly impoverished population;
c) To restore, re-adapt and re-equip the building for the C21st, and so make it capable of fulfilling the spiritual, social and educational needs of its constituent groups;
d) To continue to create sufficient income generating activities and friends of the church to make the maintenance of the church viable by providing and promoting:
historical, heritage and craft-related courses (both standalone and linked into partnerships such as Lincoln Heritage Centre);
activities which encourage fellowship and engagement among the local community;
and by increasing the worshipping congregation, the number and type of services and the church’s income by involving both the local and the wider community in St Peter & Paul’s religious programme.
e) To encourage ownership of the church on the part of all those who enjoy using it, and thus to generate a sustainable stewardship through the above programmes which will continue long into the future.
f) To continue with the programmes that the AMPG have already begun, (a stained glass heritage skills group; a community based craft club; a local history research group; regular religious, social and cultural standalone events) which have all delivered growing awareness and engagement and some financial growth, and, by process of evaluation and feedback, expand and adapt the range of activities to ensure continued and increased success.
