A much-loved church is to share in a funding pay-out from the National Churches Trust.

A £10,000 National Churches Trust Cornerstone Grant will help pay for urgent window repairs at St Mary the Virgin in Newport to safeguard its heritage.

The grant will also support the repair and conservation of the masonry of the eight north and south clerestory windows in the nave, and the iron and lead work, and associated conservation and repair of the glass.

Revd Neil McLeod of St Mary the Virgin said: “We are delighted to receive this grant!

"It will allow this long-planned project to go ahead.

"As well as repairing and conserving the Tudor stonework and Victorian stained glass, the work will help support the specialist building trade essential to the future care of our ancient buildings.”

Saffron Walden Reporter: Broadcaster and journalist Huw Edwards, Vice President of The National Churches TrustBroadcaster and journalist Huw Edwards, Vice President of The National Churches Trust (Image: The National Churches Trust)

Broadcaster and journalist Huw Edwards, Vice President of The National Churches Trust, said: “The grant will safeguard unique local heritage and help St Mary the Virgin continue to support local people as we begin to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

A total of 67 churches and chapels in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will benefit from the latest grants from the National Churches Trust, the charity supporting church buildings of all Christian denominations across the UK.

This is the first round of grants made by the National Churches Trust in 2021 and £135,000 of funding for the grants comes from the Wolfson Foundation.

Last year the Trust awarded, or recommended on behalf of other funders, 260 grants amounting to £1.7 million.

St Mary the Virgin houses a number of treasures including the Newport Chest, a portable altar of the late 12th century with oil paintings, and an octagonal font of similar age.

The oldest parts of the building are the chancel, nave and transepts which date from the early 13th century. The north wall incorporates a fragment of a Saxon cross.

The entire church, including furniture, fittings and architectural details, has been recorded by The National Association for Decorative and Fine Arts.