A church is a step closer to removing scaffolding which has encased the building for a decade. Leaders at St Peter’s Church, Brighton , hope the scaffolding can finally be removed after receiving further funding for urgent repairs to the building’s tower. The tower has been a huge concern for years, due to eroding masonry, crumbling stone and rust.
A £10,000 National Churches Trust Grant will help to pay for urgent repairs to the structure. Also, on the recommendation of the National Churches Trust, the church, which is on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, will also receive a £5,000 Wolfson Fabric Repair Grant from the Wolfson Foundation. The Wolfson Foundation is a grant-making charity which awards grants to projects.
These grants will mean the church, in York Place, will be able to carry out urgent repairs to the building. Church leaders are hopeful that the work will enable the scaffolding that is obscuring the church to finally be dismantled. Although there will still be some work after this phase to keep the building watertight and in good condition.
A community consultation found that 48 per cent of people could not tell if the Grade II listed church was open because of the scaffolding. This year marks the 200th anniversary of the church, which was built due to Brighton’s increasing population in the 19th century and the need for a second church. The building is an early work by Sir Charles Barry, a prominent architect who is perhaps most well-know.