But you, my friends, keep on building yourselves up on your most sacred faith. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and keep yourselves in the love of God, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy to give you eternal life.

Jude 1.20-21

The "Under one roof" project

The work is now completed with a new copper roof, the north vestry underpinned and repairs to stonework and re-pointing brick work all now done.

St Mary Magdalene Church and churchyard in Willen are Grade 1 listed ancient monuments by English Heritage. We needed to replace the copper roof which was suffering from stress-cracking caused by wind-suction, with consequent risk of rainwater entry causing rotting of the roof timbers and damaging the beautiful plaster ceiling. Severe cracking of the walls in the north vestry also required urgent attention.

Grants given to us included English Heritage Lottery Funding (£85,000), Campbell Park Parish Council (£11,500), BUCKS Historic Churches and WREN (£15,000) and Garfield Weston Foundation (£10,000) and these together with smaller grants amounted to £131,000. Donations and bequests amounted to approx. £6,500, local fundraising a further £2,100 and the remaining £5,200 was already in a restricted church fund. We are grateful to all our supporters, both individuals who have donated privately, as well as the various trust funds that have provided larger amounts.

Rev Paul Smith receiving a cheque from two members of CPPC. Photograph coutesy of Homeground, the Campbell Park Parish Council magazine.

The church is in a prominent position on Willen North Lake and in a Conservation Area. We know many people appreciate the building and visit it for a number of reasons, individually or in groups. Therefore we were confident that many friends would want to support our efforts in seeing the project through, not only in fundraising, but also in publicity and connections with the local community. We realise that some people may not be interested in belonging to the congregation but still wanted to support efforts in preserving our local piece of national heritage.

Thank you for your support to help us preserve this beautiful church for future generations.