October 2018
St. Laurence Church, Measham has been awarded a grant of £195,800 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to repair and restore its stained-glass windows and stonework.
Made possible by National Lottery Players, the grant, together with other grants from Leicestershire Historic Churches Trust, The Jack Patston Trust, Allchurches Trust and the Headley Trust will be used to complete a restoration of the stonework around the stained-glass windows, the architecturally rare south porch, and the tower. Glass will be removed, cleaned and restored and remnants of glass from the Willesley estate will be incorporated into one of the windows. There will be improved access for wheelchairs and pushchairs at the front of the church, funded by the same grant.
During the project a variety of activities will offer visitors opportunities to explore the church which is a hidden gem in North-West Leicestershire. They will include hard-hat tours to see the work of the craftsmen and women on site, opportunities to learn about the church’s history and some of the local citizens celebrated in the stained-glass and other artefacts.
The building project will start at the beginning of October and it is anticipated that the work will be completed by the spring of 2019. For safety reasons, most of the activities will follow the completion of the restoration.
An early opportunity for people to look around the church and learn about the project will be offered during an Open Day on Saturday, 24th November from 10am to 4pm. Guided tours will start at 10.30am and 2.30pm.
St. Laurence’s is a focal point for the local community and host to a number of community groups. It dates from the late 13th Century/ early 14th Century and has been a place of worship ever since.
A spokesperson for the church said: ‘We are delighted to have the funding in place to restore this beautiful church which has been a centre of Measham’s religious life for over 700 years. Some of the stonework has been here since the church was built and we are looking forward to the exciting journey which the Heritage Lottery Funding has enabled us to embark upon.”