The Church of St Mary Magdalene, Geddington raises £100,000 for restoration and education project

Together with contribution from the church’s own funds and generous support from The Friends of Geddington Church; the Church Buildings Council; The Francis Coales Charitable Foundation; The Leche Trust; The Northamptonshire Historic Churches Trust; The John Warren Foundation; and The Society of Antiquaries, The National Lottery Heritage Fund grant brings the total project budget to nearly £116,000.

The 1,000 year old church of St Mary Magdalene in Geddington features a 15th century reredos (altar screen), which depicts the Last Supper before Christ was crucified. 13 zinc panels, set into the niches within the reredos, were painted by renowned gothic revival architect Sir Ninian Comper in 1890, but the screen is now in a state of disrepair, resulting from the past use of inappropriate cementitious mortar.

The Church will be working with a range of partners to make the project a reality, including Geddington CofE Primary School, Buccleuch Living Heritage Trust, Boughton Estates and Geddington Local History Society.

The highly skilled conservation work on the reredos will be carried out by Hirst Conservation Ltd. of Sleaford, Lincs. The great east window above the reredos, which Sir Ninian Comper created in 1892 will also be cleaned.

It is anticipated that the project will run for c. 12 months, with the funding enabling the team to not only restore the reredos, but also deliver a series of educational activities with local schools and run a programme of public events.

Jim Harker, Chair of the Project Steering Group, commented:

“We are tremendously excited to be undertaking a project of such historical importance.

"The rich history at Geddington provides a wealth of material from which our church’s stones, monuments and archives can illuminate the national story, and with which not only local people but a much wider public can be informed and enthused about our collective history and heritage.

“We hope to use this process to spark interest in the historical context, and also to highlight the importance of conservation work and to engage young people in the evidence and evolution of social history through the ages.

“We are extremely grateful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, to everyone who plays The National Lottery, and to all our other funding partners for making such generous commitments to our heritage and our community.”

Robyn Llewellyn, Director, England, Midlands & East at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said:

“We are delighted to support the team at St Mary Magdalene with their ‘A Story in Stone’ project. Investing in heritage means investing in the community it belongs to, so it’s great to see that the local community lies at the heart of this project.

"I hope that this funding will celebrate Geddington’s rich history in a way that everyone can enjoy and be proud of.”