The Appeal so far... 

We launched the Save Our Spire appeal last March and we’re incredibly grateful to all those in our church community who have already supported the appeal. To date nearly £275,000 has been raised towards our £1million fundraising target. 

The Inspire Project has four phases; repair and restoration of the tower and spire, installation of a kitchen servery in the West End, reordering of the vestries including a new roof and three new toilets, and upgrading of the church’s heating. 

The initial priority is the work on the Tower and Spire which continues to show signs of deterioration. In 2025 we undertook our Quinquennial inspection (5 yearly survey of the church building) and found that the work to the spire is increasingly urgent. In the summer last year, we received our faculty (church planning consent) for the proposed works, so we will be able to proceed with tendering for a contractor as soon as we have raised sufficient funding. 

In 2025, we also received a significant legacy from the estate of Bryan Beedham, a former member of St John’s. The legacy will cover the cost of the kitchen servery. In the autumn a brief was sent to our architects at Buttress and initial plans have been developed. We hope to have a kitchen in St John’s by the autumn – this will be a huge achievement for the project and will make a significant impact on how we use our church building.

Fundraising remains a key priority and challenge. Last year we unsuccessfully tendered for a consultant to help us with our fundraising, so a small team from the Steering Group have been working on funding bids. We have four large bids underway at the moment and would appreciate prayers for their success. Alongside our grant fundraising we have had lots of fundraising events – the summer fayre, ticketed events, our SPS events and quizzes. With thanks to all those who have made those events happen. 

The Inspire Project Steering Group has continued to meet monthly to make progress on both the project plans and I am grateful to all those involved in the Steering Group. If you’d like to find out how you can get involved or you have a fundraising idea, then do have a chat with me. 

Sarah Beardsmore
Steering Group Chair, April 2026