St Mary’s Church, Swaythling needs £200,000 for vital repairs

Now a vicar has pleaded for cash to pay for specialist renovation works at St Mary’s Church, in Swaythling, and at the Swaythling Parish Hall.

Water is seeping into the 900- year-old church making the tower crumble and it is so damp inside the walls are peeling away.

The Reverend Gary Philbrick, said: “If it’s going to last another 900 years work has got to be done to keep it water tight.”

The roof also needs to be fixed, the Norman door, stonework and windows repaired, and central heating and electrical installations, which are in a dire state, need to be totally replaced.

The hall, which has been used by different groups across the city for 50 years, needs disabled access, a refit of the toilets, double- glazing in the hall and general decorating.

An initiative to help fund the urgent work on the Grade I building has just been launched.

The vicar is urging everyone with any connection to the church to join a group so they can keep up-to-date with news and unite together to protect its future.

Friends of St Mary’s group will mean members pay an annual subscription fee, which will include invitations to special events and the delivery of newsletters.

Rev Philbrick, said: “We hope all the people who share memories of the church from each generation join the Friends and carry on supporting the beautiful building for generations to come.”

Churchwarden Jenny Hales echoed the vicar’s thoughts.

She said: “Because of its age it needs to be secure. We hope that we can do it because it is tucked out of the way like a little oasis. It is so calm and we get a lot of wildlife in the churchyard.”

The ancient church was recorded in the Domesday Book and is the second oldest in Southampton. There is even evidence of an earlier Saxon church on the same site.

To join the Friends call 023 8046 3848 and to donate, send a cheque made payable to the Parish of Swaythling at St Mary’s Project, The Vicarage, 357 Burgess Road, Southampton, SO18 3BD.