The hands of time have not been kind to Meltham clock tower which is in urgent need of repair.
Now a major restoration project has been launched to get the tower at Grade II listed St Bartholomew’s Church put right.
English Heritage has already awarded £92,000 to the project which is expected to cost a total of £127,000.
So the community is now being asked to donate to make up the remaining balance of £35,000 to match fund the project.
Church secretary John Mitchell said: “About four or five years ago we started looking at the church clock tower which was in need of repair.
“We have had some first-aid type repairs in that time to stem the problem of water leaking in but we have since found out it is much more advanced than we thought.
“We applied to English Heritage and were delighted when they awarded the project £92,000.
“We now need to raise £35,000 to secure the project’s future to restore the clock tower.
“The top of the tower has a flat roof made of stone but it has never been lead lined so it has been left prone to rain water seeping in over the years.
“We hope the work on the actual clock face won’t be too costly to repair.
“One of the problems we have had is accessing the clock due to the deterioration of the tower.
“The four clock faces stopped 12 months ago and are all on different times!”
To raise funds for the project Meltham community is already rallying round within days of the appeal being launched.
John added: “We have had different groups of people get in touch to say they are doing an auction, a concert and a raffle for the appeal which is encouraging.
“We also have the church’s own fundraising which we hope will benefit from an art exhibition at the end of August which last year raised £3,000.”
As well as providing a focal place of worship the church, which was built in 1788, also hosts mum and toddler groups, band and choir concerts and visits from local schools.
For more information or to make a donation please contact the Rev Maureen Read on maureen.read09@btinternet.com or 01484 850050.
