Lancaster’s Grade II* Church of St John the Evangelist is the setting for a summer school for 21 trainees from across the north of England learning essential and under-threat heritage craft skills.

The summer school is being run by Historic England, who has also awarded the church a grant of £574,000 to support the urgent repair works, alongside £144,000 of funding from the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT).

Bullen Conservation will be undertaking the repair works and delivering the on-site training to the apprentices.

Over five weeks, trainees are assisting with repairs to the roof and high-level masonry, learning and developing traditional skills from master craftspeople.

Church of St John, North Road, Lancaster, Lancashire. General view of south elevation view showing condition of slate roof prior to restoration work. View from south west.

placeholder image — Church of St John, North Road, Lancaster, Lancashire. General view of south elevation view showing condition of slate roof prior to restoration work. View from south west.

This will boost access to diverse skills for local people from across northern England, whilst also helping to tackle the critical skills shortage for rescuing historic buildings across the country.

In addition to the repair works at St John’s, apprentices will also attend workshops at Lancaster and Morecambe College where they will be learning skills including hot lime mortar mixing, slate roofing, stonemasonry, plastering, joinery, and mud masonry.

The Grade II* Church of St John’s, dating back to the 1750s, is in the heart of Lancaster’s High Street Heritage Action Zone and Lancaster Conservation Area.

Under the care of the CCT, the church was once used for concerts, community events and home to a fair-trade café.

Church of St John, North Road, Lancaster, Lancashire. General view of interior showing nave box pews in oak arranged in 2 double rows and organ with its original mahogany case. Church consecrated 1755, with west tower by Thomas Harrison added 1784. View from east.

However, this came to an end in 2015 following severe flooding during Storm Desmond, which led to deterioration in the condition of the building, including dry and wet rot outbreaks.

Over the last eight years, CCT has invested around a quarter of a million pounds in remedial and emergency works at the church.

Catherine Dewar, Historic England’s North West Regional Director, said: “It’s wonderful to see our Heritage Building Skills trainees seize this incredible opportunity to learn these much-

needed crafts and then immediately put them into practice as part of the restoration of St John’s in Lancaster. It’s a really special building that means a lot to the local community and these works will help secure its future.”

Church of St John, North Road, Lancaster, Lancashire. Drone view showing condition of slate roof prior to restoration work. View from north east.

Kathrine Graf, Stonemasonry Apprentice, said: "I'm genuinely excited to meet with the other trainees, to share our experiences and skills gained over this past year. This project provides the perfect opportunity to demonstrate what we've learned in our respective trades, reinforcing our confidence as early career heritage craftspeople."

Terry Parsons, a Churches Conservation Trust volunteer at St John’s, said: “I’m so pleased that the repair works are taking place at St John’s. I’ve cared for the church for many years and it’s so sad to see the decline, but this project means that the roof will be watertight and the inside of the church safe for people to enjoy for years to come. It’s also such a great opportunity for the trainees to develop the skills we need to care for all the wonderful historic buildings we have in Lancaster and further afield.”

The 21 trainees have a variety of backgrounds from software engineering to chemistry and building trades.

They have taken up construction placements across the North of England, working in partnership with heritage construction host firms and construction skills training providers.