Work is now well under way to repair part of the roof in Gillingham’s parish church, St Mary’s.

This follows what church warden Tom Wickson calls a ‘very encouraging’ response to the church’s Roof Appeal which was launched a couple of months ago.

Repairs are being carried out to broken slates, damaged flashing and weathered stones on and round the main roof which are scheduled to cost £35,000, plus VAT.

‘This, of course, is only phase one of the whole job, but there will be a pause to catch breath before embarking on the second, and much larger, phase of work to make the whole building as weatherproof as possible,’ says Tom Wickson.

‘To achieve that, there will be applications to a number of grant-making bodies which help historic buildings,’ he adds, pointing out that St Mary’s is Gillingham’s only Grade 1 listed building.

The overall cost of the repair work is set to cost around £350,000.

For more information about the St Mary’s Roof Repair Appeal, pick up an appeal leaflet in the church or contact gillinghamanglican@gmail.com