St Laurence gains lottery support for building restoration work

Support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund brings new hope for saving Stroud’s historic St Laurence Church.

Up to £225,636 in development funding has been awarded to St Laurence’s project, ‘St Laurence Restored: Protecting Stroud’s Historic Heart’.

Thanks to National Lottery players, the project will carry out urgent repairs and help secure the future of the Grade II* listed church.

The development grant will enable St Laurence Church to progress its plans and prepare a full National Lottery funding application of around £1.9 million at a later date.

Hugh Richards, a churchwarden at St Laurence, said: “We are thrilled to have received this initial support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players we can now develop our plans to save this much-loved building and ensure it continues to serve the whole community of Stroud for generations to come.”

A detailed survey of the building in 2022 highlighted urgent repair needs for the roof, outside stonework, rainwater goods and stained-glass windows. The St Laurence Restored project will address all these needs.

The first stage of the project, the development phase, will focus on preparing detailed plans and costings for the restoration works and start engaging the wider community in the rich heritage of the building.

“We expect this development phase to run until November 2026,” Hugh said. “After that we will apply for delivery phase funding to carry out the massive repair works and an exciting programme of heritage engagement activities to suit all sorts of people. We hope to see the church swathed in a scaffolding cocoon sometime in 2027 and emerge restored in 2028. In the meantime, we will be very glad to hear from anyone who has skills and experience that could help us with this largely behind-the-scenes stage of the project.”

Stuart McLeod, Director of England – London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “St Laurence Church is a much-loved landmark of Stroud’s heritage and community life. This project will not only address urgent repair needs but also connect people with the rich heritage on their doorstep. We look forward to working with the team to progress their plans to apply for a full National Lottery grant at a later date.”