Always on
This project successfully funded on 16th June 2021, you can still support them with a donation.
Organ Restoration, St Catherines Church, Suffolk
Ringshall, England, United Kingdom
Aim
This page is dedicated to raising the funds for the restoration of St Catherine's church organ
The organ has stood in the church since the late 19 century, the oldest resident of the village!
For 150 years it has featured in thousands of services, christenings, marriages and funerals. There can hardly be a resident of the village, present and past, that hasn’t been served by it in some way.
Unfortunately, the ravages of time (and wildlife) have taken its toll and it is sadly in need of some loving care and affection.
The PCC has taken expert advice on what needs to be done to rejuvenate the instrument. Not surprisingly these days, nothing comes cheap and the best estimate for its restoration is in the region of £20,000.
So what is to be done? The PCC has decided that its legacy needs to be maintained and we will do it. Of course, there is the practical issue of raising the money. Contrary to popular believe, the Church of England, whilst, no doubt asset rich, is not otherwise, and churches require to be self-supporting. It therefore lies to us to fund any such project.
At present, we are very fortunate that the church in itself is in a good state of repair, with little or no capital expenditure required and we do have funds set aside for just such a contingency. But unfortunately, they will nowhere near meet this sort of cost. We are exploring the possibility of accessing grants from various benefactors. But the sums we might obtain are unreliable.
So to the hard part. We are going to instigate a fundraising programme to get over the line and to set the work in motion. So we have our begging bowls out and are asking for any donations you may wish to give that we can put forward towards this project.
We will have to commit to the programme within the next 6 months (to retain the current estimate) with the completion of the work around next summer. By which time we will have a healthy and sonorous instrument which will serve the village for at least the next 150 years or even more.
Here are a few additional links which look at the church and it's history.
http://www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/ringshall.htm
https://facultyonline.churchofengland.org/church-heritage-record-ringshall-st-catherine-633024
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1283864
http://www.bvror.uk/index.php/articles/cemeteries/141-ringshall-st-catherine-suffolk
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made