Cash boost in fight for old church; New fundraising push brings fresh hope: New hope in fight to save old church.Byline: Steve Bradley Steve Bradley is an American professional wrestler who has competed on North American independent promotions throughout the 1990s including East Coast Wrestling Association, IWA Puerto Rico and the National Wrestling Alliance as well as spending over three years World Wrestling PLANS to save a historic Black Country church which had looked dead in the water after donations dried up have taken a major step forward after fundraising started again. St John's Church, Kates Hill Kates Hill is a residential area in Dudley, West Midlands, England. Kates Hill was the scene of chaos in 1648 when parliamenterians used it as their base in the Civil War against King Charles I. was closed in 2002 because it was deemed unsafe, sparking fears it could be demolished. Deb Brownless, who chairs the supporters group, said money had previously dried up after English Heritage English Heritage is a non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) with a broad remit of managing the historic environment of England. It was set up under the terms of the National Heritage Act 1983. had given the church, built in 1840, a Grade II listing in May - because residents had assumed this meant the building was safe. She said: "We are so grateful to local people for renewing our faith in the work we are doing. When people stopped giving because they thought the building was already saved due to the listed status being achieved, we felt that we could have come all this way for nothing. "Now we feel that once they have the correct information people will get behind us again, and understand that we must raise money for St John's to be actually saved and that sympathy and moral support is not all we need now. "We have the real potential to achieve what seemed impossible and save this piece of Dudley heritage. St John's was closed down in 2002 on safety grounds and was deemed at the time to be of no architectural or historic interest. Demolition was a real possibility. "The church is now a listed building and further surveys have shown it to be both safe and repairable." A preservation group raised pounds 250 in Dudley town centre on Saturday and received a cheque for pounds 100 last week. Campaigners want to raise pounds 16,000 for waterproofing works, pounds 15,000 for a feasibility study "A Feasibility Study" is an episode of the original The Outer Limits television show. It first aired on 13 April, 1964, during the first season. It was remade in 1997 as part of the revived The Outer Limits series with a minor title change. and pounds 5,000 to replace the lightning conductor. It is expected to cost about pounds 150,000-pounds 200,000 to get the building re-opened and a further pounds 700,000 over ten to 20 years for total restoration, including the organ. Group patron Professor Carl Chinn Professor Carl Stephen Alfred Chinn MBE (born 6 September, 1956) is a historian, writer, radio presenter, magazine editor, newspaper columnist, media personality, local celebrity, and famous Brummie, whose working life has been devoted to the study and popularisation of the city of said: "I am sure that the people of the Black Country will support the St John's Preservation Group in its aim to bring this historic church back into full use." The next fundraiser is on Wednesday, when local comedy icon Aynuk presents a Black Country Night at Club Dudley, Waterloo Street, at 7.30pm. Tickets cost pounds 10 at the door. More details are on www.savestjohnschurch. zoomshare.com. |
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