A CHURCH near Chard has had its roof refurbished for the first time in more than 120 years thanks to a Government grant.

A routine survey of Wambrook Church in 2014 found major problems with the fragility of the slated roof.

Last refurbished in 1896, the nails holding the slates in position were badly rusted and slates would often slip from the roof and had to be constantly replaced.

When the church roof was refurbished back in the 19th century, it cost just £500.

This time, the refurb costs more than £47,000.

Then, in late 2015, then-Chancellor George Osborne announced a new phase of the Listed Places of Worship fund, a Government initiative with £25million to help refurbish the nation’s churches.

A project team of four people, headed by chairman Graeme Pidgeon, was put together by the Wambrook Parochial Church Council to bring to life their dreams of a new roof.

Mr Pidgeon said: “The application was an online procedure and submitted at the end of February 2016. We were applying for £30,900 from the fund.

“Completely oversubscribed, there were some 1,504 applications nationally, requesting a total of £87,953,300 pounds from an allocated fund of £25 million.”

Of the 1,504 applicants, just 400 churches were successful.

The church funds were able to cover £6,137 of the costs, which was added to a community donation of £10,000.

Mr Pidgeon added: “A key element to our successful award was the community donation of £10,000 from the Solar Windfall Fund at Wambrook.

“This funding was pivotal to our award being granted at the end of June 2016 as we were able to demonstrate community ‘buy in’ to the repair works.

“With this funding and funds from Wambrook Church, we achieved the necessary amount of £47,037 needed to carry out the work on the roof.”

Following a consultation period, work commenced on the roof in April 2017 and lasted around ten weeks.

During this time the roof was completely stripped, new felt and battens were installed but the church was able to re-use most of the original slates.

There was a small underspend of funds and the administrators gave permission to use these funds on high level pointing works to the tower.

A spokesman for the church added: “All works have now been completed and the building is now ready for what the weather may throw at it.

“Wambrook Church is eternally grateful to the project team for their unstinting professional approach to the repair project.

“The roof will be dedicated in the summer of 2018 by the Bishop of Taunton, during a planned flower festival.”

For more information on the work and more pictures, visit wambrookparishchurch.com.