Work is well underway at Grade I Listed St Peter and All Hallows in West Huntspill to repair the church and create a community hub. The church was awarded £678,200 by The National Lottery Heritage Fund to develop the community hub, creating: a talking café with IT support at the church to help reduce isolation and address digital skills gaps which people may have, the installation of an honesty café, as well as the installation of toilet and kitchen facilities to enable groups to use the church for a range of activities.
Essential repairs to the to the stonework and roof of the tower are also being carried out. There has been a church on the site since 1194. The church underwent extensive restoration and repair following a fire in 1878.
Local people are already using the newly adapted space in the church. David Lemon, Project Coordinator at St Peter and All Hallows, says: “The new space has been well received by everyone with over 50 at the first Monday Coffee Morning. Numbers have now levelled out at between 30 and 40 each week, but still almost double what we had before. We have just started the Honesty Cafe and this is also being well used especially by dog walkers.”
An unexpected visitor has slowed down work building work on the church tower. A grey long-eared bat has taken up day-time residence in the staircase of the tower, meaning the builders have had to reduce noise and vibration, and no work is allowed inside the tower for the time being. Once a bat licence has been obtained work can begin again on the historic building which has been given a new purpose at the heart of its community.