Listed church window damage delays museum opening

Cumberland Council said Christ Church in Maryport suffered "decades of deterioration"

Damage to the windows of a Grade II listed church have been blamed for yet another delay in its restoration.

Christ Church in Maryport, Cumbria, is undergoing major renovation to reopen as the town's Maritime Museum.

Work was initially expected to finish in spring 2024, but Cumberland Council, which is behind the project, said the museum would now open in autumn 2025.

The authority said some of the building's windows were more damaged than initially thought, leading to delays in repairing and replacing them.

"Our priority for Christ Church is to preserve and protect a building which is part of the fabric of Maryport and give it a long and successful future," said Mark Fryer, the Labour council's leader.

He said working on old buildings was "never an exact science" and it was difficult to know what materials had been used in the initial construction and how they had been treated over time.

"While it is frustrating that the restoration has proved complicated, we are determined to get it right," he said.

The council said the issue did not affect the stained windows of the church, just those containing leaded glass.

Christ Church is more than 150 years old and the local authority said the building had "suffered decades of deterioration" before it was bought in 2020.