The VILLAGE fundraising group is nearing an ambitious target to restore and preserve a landmark medieval church in North Cornwall. And, the leader of the effort said that their success is testimony to the relevance of churches to modern life.
The Restoration Appeal Committee of St Mabyn Church has raised a daunting £77,000 in just over 12 months.
This will compliment a grant from English Heritage of £134,000 for the restoration of the roof of this “late medieval masterpiece”.
Chairman of the committee Abigail Kirby-Harris, a loyal member of the congregation, said: “This is wonderful news. St Mabyn church is set on a hill and is a real beacon of inspiration for miles around.
“We have worked very hard over the past year, holding lots of events and concentrating on an enormous letter writing campaign to people who have strong links with the church.”
The events orchestrated by the ambitious committee included concerts, a string of luncheons; they even successfully promoted it as a location for TV and film crews.
Church warden John Lobb said that the restoration work will prove vital to the fabric of the building and its contents, as well as providing the congregation with much-needed new heating.

“I’ve been looking after St Mabyn for 20 years,” said Mr Lobb. “But it had got beyond my powers to patch up all the leaks and problems".

“This is in the nick of time.”
The money will go towards re-roofing three of the six roof slopes, and restoring the interior, including touching up historic stained glass windows.
Abigail and her team exhaustively trolled through the parish registers for people who could help them find the necessary funds in this isolated rural community. They found 87 brides who had been married in the church, 117 babies (now grown) who had been baptised in the church, and the relations of 147 souls whose graves lay in the churchyard.

She said the response was “heartwarming”.

“I couldn’t believe the nice things people said,” said Abigail, who recently retired as head of membership and fundraising at Chatham House. “So many people wrote so warmly about the church and the part it had played in their family history. Even if they no longer lived in the parish, they all cared about the church and many of them responded generously.

“We even received four figure donations from families whose history was interwoven with St Mabyn for generations."

“I owe a great debt of gratitude to my hardworking team, and many thanks to all those who made this possible.”

Abigail said that this success meant more than just a lot of slates. “You can’t say that the church isn’t used a lot looking only at numbers on Sunday,” said Abigail, “It plays such an important role in so many lives.”

The church of St Mabyn is used daily by the village school and other community groups; on high and holy days the congregation is “impressive”.
Two high profile patrons of the appeal were Bishop Bill Ind and Sir David Brewer, last year’s Lord Mayor of London whose family have long-standing links with the parish.
Bishop Bill described St Mabyn church as a “reminder to everyone of the priority of God, and a reminder that it is a living place where men and women, boys and girls, live out their faith just as their forbears did.”

Community groups who donated money included the St Mabyn Young Farmer’s Club, the School Assocaition, the Garden Club, and the Village Hall Committee.

Good news notwithstanding, Abigail said the fundraising needs to continue.

“We’re nearly there, but there’s a lot that could still happen,” she said. “We need to maintain our momentum to make sure that we do not falter at the last hurdle.”