Heritage and community project secures grant funding
St Mary’s Church, Marshfield is moving forward with a major heritage and community project after being awarded a Development Grant of up to £125,895 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The grant will fund 75 percent of the approved development-phase project costs of £167,045 and has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players.
Ross Maidment, Ministry Area Leader for the Mountain and Marsh Ministry Area, said: “This support is a significant vote of confidence in Marshfield and the Gwent Levels, and we are deeply grateful to National Lottery players. The development phase lets us do two things at once: tackle urgent repairs that cannot wait, and work with the community to shape a project that protects this remarkable building and opens it up more fully for local people, schools, music, and events.”
There are lots of activities planned for St Mary’s, where the local community can get involved. Working with the local partners such as Marshfield Primary School and Living Levels on heritage projects; community participation and partner-led activities involving groups such as Beavers/Cubs and local care homes; heritage skills and traditional craftsmanship opportunities to help people understand the specialist work involved in caring for a building like St Mary’s - with potential links to local colleges; and exploring restoration and interpretation of the immersion baptistry as a distinctive feature of St Mary’s, including its local story and how it connects to our continued practice of offering baptism by full immersion where appropriate.
Crucially, the development phase will not only fund planning and consultation work: it also enables urgent capital repairs identified last summer to be carried out - allowing tangible work to begin to protect and stabilise the building while longer-term plans are developed.
St Mary’s is a Grade II* listed church set within the distinctive landscape of the Gwent Levels. In recent years, the church has experienced significant growth, with average Sunday attendance more than doubling. It has also established a Community Choir and Choristership Scheme which now involves 20-30 people monthly, alongside seasonal civic services and events which attract more than 100 attendees.
The Most Reverend Cherry Vann, Archbishop of Wales and Bishop of Monmouth, said: “Reverend Ross Maidment, has brought fresh vision and energy to the life of St Mary’s and the group of churches in his Ministry Area. There has been growth at St Mary’s in particular, demonstrated by the increase in attendance, the establishing of a community choir and new worshipping community and the number of adult confirmations. There is clearly potential here for further growth and for greater engagement in and with Marshfield and the wider Newport community. The building as it stands threatens to limit what can be achieved through not being fit for purpose in terms of size, flexibility and the resources it has to offer. This project seeks to ensure not only a wellmaintained, sustainable building for the future, but a properly resourced space for community engagement and a place where faith can be ignited and nurtured.
"St Mary’s is a living sign and symbol of the Christian faith down the ages and the presence of God in the community in which it is set. I welcome the ambitious project that has been envisioned and developed. I believe it represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure the presence of St Mary’s as a place of prayer and worship and a resource for community use for generations to come.”
Over the next 12 months, the project will bring together professional expertise and local participation to prepare develop plans that improve access, sustainability and community use.
Notes to Editors:
About The National Lottery Heritage Fund Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past. Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
Follow @HeritageFundUK onTwitter/X, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund