Efforts to save the landmark tower of a Plymouth church have been given a boost by Princess Alexandra, who laid the church’s foundation stone nearly seven decades ago.
“I thought my knighthood had come through when a letter from Buckingham Palace dropped through the vicarage letterbox,” joked the Revd Tim Thorp, Priest-in-Charge of the Church of the Ascension in Crownhill, “but this was, well, almost as welcome!”
In fact a parishioner had written to the Princess telling her about the plight of the 18.5 metre-tall tower of the Grade II listed church which, because it stands on high ground in The Lawns just off the A386 Tavistock Road, rises to around 1,200 metres above sea level making it something of a local landmark. Though built in the late 1950s the tower is showing the results of almost 70 years of battering by wind and rain from Dartmoor and the coast.
Now the Princess has replied wishing the church well and urging others to support the appeal.
“We’ve done what we could ourselves in recent years to tackle the problem,” explained Churchwarden Colin Damp, “but it simply became too much for us. Then the coronavirus lockdowns meant we couldn’t get professional help or raise funds either.”
Surveys showed the concrete mortar used in the stone-built tower had become porous allowing water to seep into the structure and defying all attempts at repair. Recent estimates put the cost of the radical treatment needed at anything from £85,000 to even six-figure sums – far more than the church can raise alone.Including donations more than £18,000 has already been raised. But now a public appeal is being launched, which the church hopes will encourage local people and businesses, plus famous Plymothians, to answer Princess Alexandra’s call for support.
In her letter Princess Alexandra said:
“I am happy to learn that the Church of the Ascension continues to serve the people of Crownhill, more than 65 years since I laid its foundation stone.
“As those years have taken their tolls on its tower, I am pleased to support the appeal for its repair and hope that parishioners and the wider public will, with their customary generosity and goodwill, support the preservation of this important architectural feature of the City of Plymouth.”
Any donations to the appeal would be welcome. They can be made directly into the church’s account at Llloyd’s Bank Sort Code 30-96-68, account number 00502356, account name Church of the Ascension, Crownhill.
