An historic Grade II* listed church in Bedwas has been awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £180,300 to carry out urgent repair work.
St Barrwg’s Church, which dates medieval period, will have repairs carried out to its roof roof after an infestation of death watch beetle forced it to close. The infestation was discovered during previous repair work.
New facilities such as a new toilet and kitchen will also be installed.
Rev Peter Crocker, vicar of St Barrwg’s, said: “It is so sad that St Barrwg’s has had to be closed all this time but given the condition there was no option. This grant gives us the chance to reopen the church both for worship but also for use by everyone in the area – as a congregation we are very excited by the possibilities.”
Alex Glanville, Head of Property Services for the Church in Wales, added: “This new grant is fantastic news for this important landmark building. The building will be restored but also be available for a wider range of people and activities – it will really take the church forward in the heart of the community for the future.”
The church is now inviting people in Bedwas to have their say in how the building can be used by the whole community. A public meeting will be held at Bedwas Methodist Church on Wednesday August 28 at 7pm.
St David’s Church in Neath has also been awarded £199,300 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Jennifer Stewart, Head of HLF Wales, said: “There is a place of worship in almost every ward, village and town across Wales, providing a very powerful visual connection with our past.
“Not only will our awards secure the immediate future of these particular buildings, it will also empower congregations to adapt them, where necessary, so they can be enjoyed more widely throughout the community and in turn enable them be more sustainable for the future.”
I do not understand why Church's condemn gambling yet are happy to receive money from the lottery fund. This is the 2 nd Church that I know of in Cearphilly to accept funds from the lottery that was raised from those who gamble.
Either gambling is a sin or not, you can not have it both ways. Would like to hear what the Reverends of these Churches have to say about it.