Stapleton church appeals for Bristol's help to reach £250,000 for roof and tower repairs

An iconic church whose bells have been ringing over Stapleton for decades could soon be forced to stop unless funds are found to help repair its tower and roof.

Holy Trinity Stapleton, which sits on the top of Bell Hill, and situated by Colston's School, is appealing for donations to help with essential repairs to their Victorian building.

The Grade-II listed church, whose bell tower can be seen for miles around, needs £250,000 to replace the roof slates, which are beginning to come apart.

The gutters of the nave, aisles and chancel also need replacing, while the parapet gutter by the tower has become unusable.

Leaflets have gone out to homes around the area appealing for help.

But with only £5,100 in their reserves, the church faces an uphill task trying to repair the roof.

Earlier this year, the church also put in an application for £100,000 to the Government through its Listed Places of Worship grant repair scheme.

But it was turned down. Congregation members and staff at the church, which is more than 320 years old, have since been holding cake sales and other fundraising events to try and meet their target.

To date, they have raised more than £30,000 but are hoping for more help.

Church warden Delia Beake said: "Unfortunately our grant application was turned down, because there are a lot of churches which need repairs.

"The amount we need to raise is such a vast amount of money, and it is almost impossible to raise it on our own.

"I know we are only in the early stages of our fundraising, but we need to try and get the help of the people of Bristol.

"We thought we might have been able to get something from the grant, but unfortunately not. During our review at the end of last year, our church architect said the need to replace the roof slates was urgent."

The architects, Quentin Alder Architects, told the church committee they would need to replace all the slates and gutters by the end of this year.

But with so little in reserve, they have only managed to do emergency repairs when leaks occurred during heavy rain.

"The bells are rung every Sunday morning, and the tower is a prominent part of Bristol's skyline," Delia said.

"The bell tower is now in such a state, it could soon be unusable. It is something we have to tackle quickly."

They have now come up with a few schemes which they hope would help them hit their target of £250,000.

People are invited to sponsor a slate for £5 a piece, or can donate £15 to have the spire lit when they want.

"In the short term we can use the money we've got to do so repairs to the bell tower and some other targeted maintenance, but it won't be enough in the long-term," Delia added.

To donate, go to http://www.holytrinitystapleton.org.uk/giving.htm.

Holy Trinity Stapleton

There has been a church on the site for at least the last 500 years.

In 1854, the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol offered to rebuild the church at his own cost.

The architect was Bristolian John Norton. Unfortunately the bishop died before the new church was dedicated in 1857.