St Mary’s Church in Gayton has benefitted from a grant of £88,000 to address urgent repairs to the roof.

In 2016, Gayton Parochial Church Council successfully applied for the grant through the Government-funded Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund.
The purpose of the grant was to undertake urgent repairs to stop rainwater entering the church and further damaging its valuable contents such as the 14th Century oak effigy of Philip de Gayton, the 16th Century tomb of Thomas Tanfield and the priceless 16th Century misericords.

Specialist contractors have replaced the lead roof coverings of the Nave and the North aisle and repaired the lead coverings of the Chancel and South aisle. In addition the South porch roof has been completely rebuilt and tiled using the original tiles wherever possible. The project has not been without its problems. Water rot and insect infestation meant that a large section one of the main beams in the Nave had to repaired. In addition, large sections of stonework around the parapets have had to be replaced following years of water damage.
Thankfully the building is now watertight.

This money is part of a wider funding package of £22.9 million to 401 historic places of worship across the United Kingdom. The fund was launched by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Autumn statement in December 2014 and the funding package has now seen a total of 903 places of worship across the UK receive a share of £55 million.

The Fund is administered by the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Further information about this project can be obtained from David Coppock, Chairman, Gayton PCC.