Jersey church launches £1m restoration plan

Father Nick Barry said there had been a lot of support from the community for the work

A Jersey church has launched a project to raise money for restoration repairs.

Organisers want to raise £1m to cover the costs of the work at St Luke’s Church.

The building, on La Route du Fort, has issues with problems like damp, plaster falling off the walls and an outdated heating system.

It is hoped that the repairs will be finished by April 2027 in time for the church’s 175th anniversary.

Extensive repairs are needed at St Luke's Church

The Vicar of St Luke’s Church, Father Nick Barry, wants the work to address some of underlying issues at the historic building.

He said there are repairs “crying out to be done” and the “sound system is pretty much hanging on by its fingertips”.

Father Barry added: “We are responsible here at St Luke's for all of the costs of running the building so we have to raise every penny that we need to be able to do this work."

The repairs to the main church are expected to cost £650,000 with another £150,000 being raised to improve the church hall for community use and another £200,000 to help meet inflation costs.

Architect Nicholas Socrates is confident the plans will breathe new life into the church

Architect Nicholas Socrates, from Socrates Architects, has helped draw up the plans for St Luke’s restoration.

He said this was “a very rewarding project” to be involved with and the plans were “sensitive and sympathetic to the building” and its history.

“Pretty much the entire church has to be repointed, with lime mortar or cement mortar coming off, and this part of the work will maintain the church for many years to come,” Mr Socrates added.

The plans also include providing wheelchair access to the building.

Alex Farrow said plaster now falls off the church during services

Alex Farrow is a structural engineer and a church warden at St Luke’s Church and has helped with the restoration project.

He said previous work to try to protect the building with cement pointing had caused damage as it “keeps moisture in the walls” and that means “plasterwork is peeling off”.

Mr Farrow added: “I've been coming here now for the best part of about 20 years and I love what we do here.”

He also said when he is delivering Sunday Mass with Father Barry “we get little bits of plaster raining down on our heads”.

Some small bits of plaster fall from the ceiling at St Luke's Church