National Lottery Grants for Heritage – £10,000 to £250,000
This transformative initiative seeks to generate local interest, celebrate the village's extensive history, and breathe new life into the church's architecture to create a flexible space for all forms of activity.
The church grounds host various village activities that extend beyond worship, aiming to reduce loneliness and improve mental health.
Looking at the old graffiti was awesome. It is so cool seeing all the names and messages that are so old.
James, age 10 and Alice, age 11
A central pillar of the project is to create an activity programme specifically aimed at supporting those living with dementia, their families, and caregivers.
We really feel valued and respected by way of contributing to this exciting and innovative community church scheme.
David, living with dementia
In collaboration with Dementia Support South Lincs, The PCC has been creating dementia friendly guides and displays, as well as co-designing accessible interpretation, and audio recordings of historic characters.
Our funding will also enable the PCC to:
- undertake urgent roof repairs
- host activities for school children
- digitise an extensive archive in collaboration with the Aveland History Group, and secure the written records of the village, which could lead to future research
- create more interpretation about the church's history
- invest in using the church as a welcoming and useful village space, expanding on activities like 'Film on Friday'
David, a participant who is living with dementia, said: "We really feel valued and respected by way of contributing to this exciting and innovative community church scheme.
"Our involvement and inclusion as people living with dementia is so self assuring, the benefits are immeasurable."
Two visitors, James (aged 10) and Alice (aged 11) said: "Looking at the old graffiti was awesome. It is so cool seeing all the names and messages that are so old. The funny thing is, when you first go in, you can't see any of it, but when you begin to look there are all these old marks from people long ago.
"We especially liked using compasses to make protection marks to keep demons away! If you like history, you would love this!"
