St Mary's Church Appeal

In 2001 St. Mary's Church launched an appeal to raise £1.5 million.

We are delighted to report that we successfully raised that money and have spent £1 million on repairing the external stonework and £500,000 reordering the interior of the church. The church has now been redecorated and has toilets, disabled access, a stage, refreshment facilities, a considerable amount of re-wiring and a fire alarm and evacuation system.

Ten years ago there were real fears that the church would have to close but now it is humming with life as both a place of Christian worship and as an Arts Centre run by Livearts@St.Marys.

The heavy summer rains of 2004 revealed that the church portico roof is leaking very badly and the wooden beams are starting to rot. Urgent work is needed to prevent the onset of dry rot which could rapidly spread through the whole building. Furthermore, the leadwork on the gutters is starting to fail and we have already had a couple of leaks in the gallery which have caused some of the new paint to flake off. At the moment a temporary repair is holding but we have been advised to replace the lead. Some electrics also need urgent attention.

We estimate that an additional £50,000 will enable us to complete these urgent works. Any money we can raise beyond this will help with the further repairs identified in a recent inspection and restore more of the beautiful stained glass windows and the Chancel murals.

St. Mary's Church has a new life about it and it is very much at the heart of Banbury. There is a strong team of people who are working incredibly hard to build on all that has been achieved so far. Please help us to continue serving the local community by supporting this stage of our appeal with as much or as little as you can.