Episcopal plea

This is a letter which Shillingstone PCC members agreed unanimously to send to the Bishop of Salisbury. It was written in mid-November and signed by one of our Churchwardens:

“Dear Bishop Stephen,

We would like, if we may, to draw your attention to the plight of one of the Grade 1 listed (with Saxon origins) historic churches on your patch, the Church of the Holy Rood in Shillingstone. It needs a completely new roof! The ravages of time and weather over many years have brought it to a state of serious deterioration and the consequent risk of costly damage to the organ and the building’s rare decorated ceilings. The total repair bill is estimated to be in the region of £400,000.

Parishioners, not just regular churchgoers, have naturally rallied round this focal point of their faith and dug deep in their pockets. Here too, our very grateful thanks are due to our diocesan adviser Anna Hardy who has directed us towards several grant sources and helped with successful applications to them, including a generous one from the Erskine Muton Fund. Drawing on the PCC’s reserves as well, it has been possible for work costing some £140,000 to start on the north aisle, where the worst of the damage was evident. This demonstrates the determination of the parish to carry through the entire repair and restoration project that will help to keep our church and our congregations secure and dry for, hopefully, another 100 years or more.

Now we are looking at the next stage, the chancel, the roof of which is in a very poor condition and which protects the most important part of the decorated ceiling and the organ. This re-roofing, it is hoped, will be undertaken next spring but it will require another £60,000 or so to be raised, and after that another £200,000 will still be needed to finish the job (on the main nave roof). Quite an undertaking for a small rural parish!

You probably don’t have the key to the Gates of Heaven, dear Bishop, though perhaps it would be nice if you did! You might, however, have some powers of access to the strongholds of the Church Commissioners’ resources. If it were indeed possible for that particular door to be opened, that would be a supremely wonderful boost both for Shillingstone’s Holy Rood Church and for the people of this parish.

Thank you for any help you can offer or give us – we will certainly be truly grateful.”

It is now two months since this letter was sent. The Bishop’s response? Silence! Allowing for clergy involvement over Christmas, at least some form of acknowledgement could surely have been expected by now.