800 + Saving Hook Church for the future
By sponsoring a chair you will be creating the space to ensure our church is fit for use for the 21st Century, enabling the whole community to use the space and flourish.
Fundraising Events
How can I help ?
Everyone is welcome and no experience is necessary, although if you do have any specific skills we would love to hear from you. There are so many ways you can help from fundraising, managing events, volunteering and more do check out our volunteering page for our latest opportunities or do contact us if you think you can help in any way. Thank you.
We would love to hear your memories of St Mary’s Church, please add your stories, pictures and memories to our Treasure Trove . . .
To make a donation to our St Mary’s Hook 800+ Campaign or to set up your own fundraising page please visit our Justgiving page. Thank you.
For alternative ways to donate, set up a regular gift or send a cheque please click the button below.
800 years old, Plus
St Mary’s is on the Heritage at Risk Register
because it’s roof covering (the tiles) need urgently replacing. They’ve been on over 60 years and were only designed to last 30 years. They are now too fragile to be replaced as individual tiles or for the roofer to go onto the roof and do cleaning work. There are also some stonework repairs, underpinning and window repairs urgently needed.
These repairs will cost in the region of £300,000
If we don’t raise this money there is the possibility that our church would have to close. And also if we don’t get more and younger people using and caring for the church, then there is the possibility the older generation who do use it, will no longer have the energy to keep it open and useable.
So we’re seriously facing the possibility that the church could close within a generation.
The last similarly expensive restoration in 1844 was mainly paid for by a Lord of the Manor and his wife, Thomas and Lucy Sotheron Estcourt. In the absence of such a benefactor, we are having to persue a mixture of local fund raising and raising money from grant aiding bodies, as the government and the Church of England do not simply provide money to keep our old, nationally important, Grade listed, churches in good condition.
Locally donated and raised money will be and already is significant in this, but the biggest amounts of money are from the Grant Aiding Trusts. Almost all of these require as part of their offer that the building be well used, which it hasn’t been in living memory, being used only 3-10 hours a week. This lack of use is because the building was set up for only one type of event Church Services.
We are therefore having to re-order the inside of the building so that it can be used in many more and flexible ways, in order that we might fund the repairs.
BUT this is also a gift to us because a re-orderd and flexible building becomes a beautiful and useable space which can enhance the lives of many people who are able to use it for church worship, community events, meetings, concerts, exhibitions, education, heritage and many other uses. And it fulfills better it’s purpose and our vision for it. So though we loose a little of what was in the recent past we gain a lot for the future.
We Can Avoid Closure
and we have a vision
and a Plan to
Create Space where Community can Flourish
Protect that Space for the next 100 years
Develop Activities in that
Special Space
which are
Life Enhancing
Community Building
Memory Cherishing
Soul Treasuring
by giving, fund raising, using the space for your or your community or organisations events, meetings or social activities, writing us letters of support for why you value this place and how you can use it when it’s better set up with disabled access, intenal toilet and decent refreshment and washing up facilities.
See elsewhere on the website for further details or contact Sarah our fund Raiser
The Picture below shows the church as it might have been for the first 550 years of it’s life when it had no pews and would have served as a village hall as well as a space for Sunday worship with a ‘sanctuary’ at one end which was kept apart ‘holy’ but the rest used in many ways.
Achieving this is a big challenge as the costs for the full project have been estimated to be £300 000 – £500 000. However we believe this is do-able with the amazing support of local fund raising and through applications to supportive trusts and other organisations who enable such projects which enhance the life of communities.
We’re phasing the project so that we get maximum impact for the money we raise and can build on the success of each stage. See Project Phasing
Click the link below to view a short video showcasing St Mary’s at the heart of our community:
Project
Timeline
Items in BOLD have been achieved and paid for, others on the way and still need more funding to achieve.
Finalise detailed plans
and specifications
(£5500)
Submit planning
applications: (£500)
Obtain quotes and award contracts (£0) – figures below are estimates until we’ve done this.
2023/2024
PHASE 1
To be done in these subphases
- Initial Archealogical Investigations
(£1,500) - Replace Oil Tank
and move to safe location.
(£8000) - Remove Rear Pews, obtain 40 new chairs and make a useful community space at the back of church
- Install disabled toilet, fire exit and pathway lighting
(£45,000) - remove pews
level floors
new chairs
(£70,000) - Install Kitchenette and storage
(£12,000 – Howdens have already agreed to donate kitchen internals) - AV upgrade (£3,500)
2025
And activities to make use of the space and enhance the lives of users.
- Structural and other reports, develop plans, specifications
and activities
£10-20,000) - planning applications
- get quotes and award contracts
- Major repairs to roof, walls, windows, underpin vestry and make other repairs
(£150-250,000) - improve heating and lighting to make more efficient and beautiful
(£25-30,000) - Heritage and other activities organised to make further good use of the building and have positive impact on the community
(£10,000-100,000)
These to run over the next five years.