Much-loved church step closer to reopening

A much-loved Teesdale church is a step closer to reopening as work begins on installing a temporary floor.

St Mary’s, Middleton-in-Teesdale, has been closed since a flawed diagnosis of dry rot during lockdown prompted the removal of the original floor.

But now, buoyed by a National Heritage Lottery Fund grant, there are signs of life in the Victorian building.

“We couldn’t get in and do anything without a floor,” said church warden Barbara Moore.

“And then the insurance for an empty building is astronomical compared with a building that’s in use.

“So as a Parochial Church Council we decided that we would use some of the money to pay for a temporary floor.

“When that’s installed, we can have the use of the church back then everything can crack on. It all flows from this.”

After securing lottery funding earlier this year, there was another frustrating delay for lovers of the Grade II-listed building when a survey uncovered asbestos which had to be removed.

But now T Manners & Sons of Bishop Auckland are on sight to replace the floor.

“This is just the start of it,” promised Barbara. “We’ll be able to get in and make sure that the heating’s working, to get the electrics certified. Then we can tidy it and clean it up so it’s fit to be used.

“We’ll need some volunteers, anybody handy with a paintbrush or a broom, but we can get in and start doing all that.”

The long-term vision is to bring the church back into day-to-day use as a place of worship and a community hub.

Ideas include removing some of the traditional pews to open up a flexible space in the nave, enabling all sorts of groups to use the building for meetings or activities.

“It’s fantastic to see things happening at last,” added Barbara.