Children at St Lawrence Church, Lechlade have gathered materials to fill a time capsule to bury under the new floor as part of Project Inspire restoration and reordering scheme.
The project received a £290,124 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of its £1.2m project to restore the Grade I listed 15th century church. The project will upgrade its utilities, improve accessibility and to provide a more welcoming flexible environment.
The capsule contains a selection of prayers by the children plus details of children’s ministry at the church and a poppy and palm cross. In addition, examples of current service books, a weekly bulletin, postcards and other parish literature are being buried, along with a CD containing photographs of the church prior to work starting and some of the work undertaken to-date. The idea is to provide a snapshot of the mission of the church at the time of the major work being undertaken in this historic building for later generations.
Shortly, the capsule will be buried as the main contractor, J G Restorations Limited, begins work to lay a new floor.
The Revd Andrew Cinnamond, Vicar of St Lawrence, said: “We hope this time capsule will provide parishioners with a snapshot of Lechlade in 2026 so they can compare it with life here in a hundred or more years when the capsule is discovered and opened. Who knows what Lechlade and this church will be like at that time!”
The restoration to the walls, floor and doors at St Lawrence maintains the integrity of the building and enhances and unifies the beautiful Cotswold-stone aesthetic of the building. The new heating, lighting and electrical utilities will make the building a net zero carbon energy user, this being recognised by a special grant from the Church of England which supports St Lawrence becoming an example of what can be done to make churches more environmentally friendly.
Project Inspire will allow the church to be used more flexibly including for more community activities, and will become fully accessible for all abilities including the provision of an all-ability toilet. It will also help this growing and vibrant church to sustain its work in the town for the long term.
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