Major appeal launched for storm battered Halton church roof

St Wilfrid’s Church was battered by Storm Desmond in December 2015.

Roof tiles on the building were lifted by strong winds and then smashed back down, with many of them sliding off the roof onto the ground below.

As a result the whole of the north facing roof section, including supporting structures, needs to be replaced.

Church warden Melissa Bowring said the church’s vestry roof had also been leaking for some time and needed to be repaired.

She said: “There are two sections of the church that need repairing - the north side of the west aisle, and the vestry roof.

“We’re applying for grants from various places including English Heritage, but the more we can raise ourselves, the more chance we have of getting match funding, and of course, it’s great to have more people involved.

We’ve done quizzes, an open weekend with wedding dresses, but these things only raise a relatively small amount of money. We’ve sent out lots of letters to residents and businesses in the Halton area, and we’re now looking further afield in the Lune Valley.

We’re trying all avenues really.

In order to ensure that there continues to be a place for worship, for baptisms, marriages and funerals, we need support from the whole community who have benefited or would like to benefit from this irreplaceable, beautiful, historic building.

“All donations, large or small, would be hugely appreciated.”

The tower at the Grade II Listed St Wilfrid’s Church dates from the 16th century and the remainder of the building was constructed in 1876-77.

It is understood that Halton was the site of an ancient Anglo-Saxon minster.

Alongside the church there is a Norman “motte and bayley” mound, and within the church grounds there is a Saxon High Cross.

Its carvings show both Pagan and Christian stories from the Pagan/Christian overlap period.

There is also the remains of a Roman alter inside the church.

Anyone wanting to make a donation can visit www.mydonate.bt.com/charities/stwilfridschurch, or send a cheque to the treasurer Evelyn Shaw at Forgewood Cottage, Low Road, Halton, LA2 6PA made payable to Appeal Halton PCC.

is an Anglican church in Halton-on-Lune, a village in the English county of Lancashire. It is an active parish church in the Diocese of Blackburn and the archdeaconry of Lancaster. Halton may have been the site of an ancient Anglo-Saxon minster. Of the current structure, the tower dates from the 16th century and the remainder was built 1876–77 by Paley and Austin. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

There’s been a church on the site since the 900s, and there are remnants of a Roman alter and a Saxon cross.

It’s such an historic place.