Church on home stretch for crumbling tower repairs

The tower of St John's Church is one of its most striking features

Fundraising for urgent repairs to a crumbling 181-year-old church tower in Surrey is on the "home stretch", according to the rector.

St John's Church, in Hale, near Farnham, needs a further £5,500 to fund repairs to its tower, having raised about £27,000 through donations, fundraising events and grants.

The church said the work, to cost £32,000, was urgent and a stonemason was available in mid-September, so the final funds needed to be found in time to pay the bill.

Reverend Lexi Russell, rector of the Parish of Badshot Lea and Hale, of which St John's is a part, said the fundraising had been "an incredible effort from everyone involved".

It is hoped that the repair work can begin in September

She said: "The community has come together with creative ways to raise the funds to repair the tower of our beautiful church.

"We are now on the home stretch, with one final push to reach our goal before mid-September.

"St John's has stood as a beacon of hope in Hale Road for generations, and with your continued support, we can ensure it remains so for generations to come."

Curate Rev Stella Wiseman told BBC Radio Surrey that the state of the tower had meant a pause on campanology.

"There is a bell which we can't ring because we're worried about more coming off the tower. We haven't rung it for two or three years," she said.

She added that the problem was the use of clunch, chalk or limestone, previously used to speed up building and cut costs.

"They built it out of stone and put clunch round the outside, and that is crumbling. I don't think when they built it in 1844 they were thinking about 180 years later," she said.

Curate Stella Wiseman said the state of the tower had meant a temporary end to bellringing at St John's

The parish has received grants from Farnham Town Council, the Church of England, Marshall's Charity, the Surrey Churches Preservation Trust and Benefact Trust.

Fundraising has also taken place including through a 'Pugs and Prejudice' event, a celebration of dogs in Jane Austen's work, a Land's End to John O-Groats ride on an exercise bike and through individual donations.

The church opened in 1844 and was designed by Benjamin Ferrey, a pupil of Victorian Gothic architect Augustus Pugin.

It was extended in 1897 to accommodate a growing congregation following the expansion of Aldershot as a garrison town.