In aid of renovation for the local St Thomas’ Church, The Old Hall Hotel, Coventry, proudly donate £10,000 to help repair the precious building.
St Thomas’ Church, located on Tamworth Road in Keresley, Coventry, is looking to repair and restore their church building, a much valued neighbourhood hub in the local area and used by families, the elderly, local schools, support groups, and the local community. The beautiful building is a 175-year-old Church of England sandstone church in north Coventry with parish reaching into Warwickshire. It is an attractive building, Grade 2 listed, an early example of the work of Benjamin Ferrey, one of his earliest church designs.
However, with age comes the failure of some original materials and they are dealing with the crumbling of areas of internal plaster, rendering areas of the church in poor decorative order that some find distressing to see and makes the building less attractive to users. They now need some major work carrying out to repair plaster throughout the nave and repaint.
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“We have a duty of care to look after the building for the future ministry and mission, and maintain it in good order to reduce likelihood of more extensive and expensive work being required in the longer term.
A big thank you once again for the donation from the Kalia family, we are so grateful for your support in the work we are doing here at the church to keep our building open and ministry running.”
– The Revd Charlotte Jackson
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The church sits across the road from The Old Hall Hotel and over the years a strong bond has formed.
It is a small but lively church, with family worship, groups for all ages, and they regularly have school visits. It is a popular location for weddings; used regularly for funerals of parishioners and baptisms of infants and adults, serving the community in joys and sorrows. They open the building as part of community events, for example offering a place for remembrance on death of the Queen with a book of condolence and space to reflect and pray and light a candle. During the summer months they open the church for free teas on Sunday afternoons, welcoming folk to drop in as they pass by.
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“We see it as our responsibility to contribute to and invest in the local communities around our hotel. We support British heritage and the value our historic environment can contribute to our knowledge and sense of identity, and because it helps to make places feel special, leaving behind a lasting legacy for generations to come.”
– The Kalia Family, OH owners.