Sponsor a slate – Fundraising campaign
Dear friends and benefactors
The roof of St. Walburge’s is in urgent need of repair and it is vital this is done soon to prevent further damage.
Sponsoring a slate helps to fund the necessary re-roofing and preserve this iconic building for the generations to come.
For just £10 you can sponsor a slate in the name of anyone you choose. Perhaps you would like to remember a loved one, celebrate a marriage, wedding anniversary, Christening or Confirmation or simply give as a Christmas or birthday present. Companies can also sponsor slates and it’s possible to sponsor a row or even a whole section.
Sponsor a slate here.
The names of all sponsors will be recorded in a dedicated Book of Sponsors which will become a permanent part of the heritage of St. Walburge’s Shrine Church.
All sponsors will receive:
- A certificate of thanks Their name added to the Book of Sponsors
- A mention on social media on our weekly sponsors’ post.
*** Major sponsors will also be thanked on our church newsletter and, in this way, extend their publicity ***
Please email us with your personalised message and we will add it to the book of sponsors. For more information, please contact or 07778506832.
Thank you very much
Your Canons
A Major Grant for St. Walburge’s Shrine Church!
We would like to express our deep gratitude to Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and the Historic England.
This grant will allow St. Walburge’s to pay for a phased approach to the repair works, which consists of the renewal of the huge roof, coverings and gutter linings associated with the roof.St. Walburge’s, in Preston is one of the most important mid-19th century churches in Britain. Exceptionally rich in detail, it is of the highest architectural design quality, acknowledged by its early Grade I listing (from 1950s). Massive in scale, it is the largest non-cathedral Catholic church in the country. The building was designed by Joseph Hansom and is famous for having the tallest spire of any Parish Church in England.
The interior, which seats about 1,000 people, is 165 ft. long and 55 ft. wide and has a steeply pitched roof supported by 14 hammer beam trusses, the wall brackets of which support life sized statues of the figures of saints.
The rainwater leakage throughout the roof is causing damp and rot, ruining the church’s fabric and contents, even threatening the magnificent hammerbeam roof structure. This rapid deterioration of the roof has been caused by severe weather, numerous slipped slates and poor condition of the nails, as well as insufficient maintenance work. The roof is suffering from extensive ‘nail fatigue’ where the ferrous nails have begun to corrode and fail. Some of the slates have also begun to deteriorate through age.
The Award from Historic England will enable St. Walburge’s to address some of the critical roof problems. The work will start in November 2021 and will be completed in March 2022. St. Walburge’s Shrine church, however, needs to raise £75,000 match funding.The Rector of St. Walburge’s, Canon Gwenaël Cristofoli, intends to hold fundraising events such as a Christmas Carol Concert and a series of ‘Spire at Night’ events in addition to launching their Sponsor a Slate campaign.Canon Cristofoli invites the people of Preston and beyond to come forward and contribute towards the restoration of this iconic historic church.