AN URGENT appeal has been launched to protect the beautiful interior of a “most unusual” church which is under threat from a leaky roof.
The Churches Conservation Trust is calling on Brighton and Hove residents to raise almost £23,000 to preserve the grade I listed St Andrew’s Church in Hove.
The trust has said that leaks threaten “imminent risk” of further timber decay to the roof structure unless repairs are carried out.
More than £100,000 has already been raised for the project from the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund and now members of the public are needed to help save the 188-year-old landmark.
The Italian Renaissance style was created by the Houses of Parliament creator Sir Charles Barry, who also designed St Peter’s Church and The Royal Sussex County Hospital in the city. The church opened in 1827.
During its illustrious history it hosted a royal congregation that included Queen Victoria’s aunt the Duchess of Gloucester. It closed in 1990 because of dwindling congregation numbers.
The trust has already invested £500,000 into the “church by the sea” since taking care of the building in 1991.
In the past 25 years the church has become a meeting space for community groups, a charity event venue, a rehearsal and concert space for musicians and singers including the Actually Gay Men’s Chorus and Resound Male Voices.
In the past six months alone the venue, which welcomes more than 50,000 annual visitors, has gone back to its roots and hosted a wedding, and has been the venue for both a photographic shoot and a music video.
The trust has revealed that water penetration is now risking the “elegant interior” with water leaking through the main nave roof-lights, decayed coverings over the church’s northern flat roof and a “badly damaged” gutter along the north wall.
A successful fundraising project will allow the trust to protect the “historic fabric” of the church, preventing further damage, allow it to remain open as a community venue and reduce the ongoing financial liability of the building to the trust.
It is hoped that the money can be raised in a matter of months to allow workers to be on site in the autumn and for repairs to be completed by early spring next year.
Peter Aiers, The Churches Conservation Trust director in the South East, said: “St Andrew’s in Waterloo Street is a most unusual church, and has been in the care of The Churches Conservation Trust for more than twenty years.
“The church has a great choral heritage, and we hold it very dear.
“We need to act now to ensure its beautiful interior doesn’t suffer any further damage.”
To donate visit visitchurches.org.uk/Howtohelp/Donatetoproject/.