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The All Saints’ Tower Appeal 

“I used to sing in the choir.” “I was baptized there.” “My parents were married there.” 

The church tower and spire are a familiar landmark in Hessle, but it needs your help. The tower is suffering from the effects of 600 years of weather. 

This church – Grade I listed – is the most beautiful thing you see in your daily life in Hessle and one of the reasons why Hessle is such a good place to live. It is there for all the people of Hessle, not just church members. That is what being the established church means. Just think of all the people who have been baptized or married here, or found comfort and friendship after a bereavement. We are here for the schools and civic services, and for the day of Hessle Feast, and last year 3365 people came to the Christmas and carol services (2293 adults and 1072 under 16s). Help us to keep the building in shape for the people of this village. 

The story begins with the quinquennial Inspection of the Inspecting Architect in 2017. (By law, all churches have to be inspected every five years and the Architect provides details of work that is needed as the basis for future repairs and maintenance.) On this occasion we were very concerned at the deterioration that had taken place to the stonework and roof covering of the tower since the inspection five years before, and the Tower Appeal was launched in October 2019. The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, is the Patron.

The photograph shows just one part of the problem – a movement crack on the east side of the tower. You can see it clearly if you stand in front of My Dentist. In addition, the inspection revealed 

• noticeable open joints; one or two large ashlars have cracks; and there is movement in the corners which may be associated with the concrete lining to the tower parapet gutter and the ad hoc concrete “buttressing” behind each corner pinnacle;  

• some badly weathered pinnacles; 

• at some time in the past, and we do not know when or why, concrete has been laid over lead on the roof and both are breaking up; 

• old corner tie-rods embedded into the buttressing and adjacent walls are rusting; 

and 

• there are multiple cracks in the transoms of the mullioned windows. 

The cost is estimated at “up to” £200,000. That figure includes generous contingency sums as the Architect does not know what he is going to find when the roof covering comes up. 

By mid-February
£24,070 had been raised locally through events such as a sponsored run to Normanby Hall, a table-top sale, a Quiz night, a Humber Bridge Cross, a Last Night of the Proms, monies from the church Lenten lunches and a monthly draw called the 100 Club. In particular, a leaflet-and-envelope drop at all homes and businesses in the HU13 postcode area has drawn a very pleasing response from local people who are not church members but see All Saints’ as their church. 

A successful  Jubilee Flower festival raised £2600.


Thank you to all who have responded and supported the Appeal. We are particularly grateful to all who have worked to bring this about, and to those who donated money, including the Rotary Club of Hull and the organizers of the Hessle West Open Gardens Day 2019. The next step will be to approach grant-giving bodies. 

To donate, please make cheques out to ‘All Saints Hessle PCC’ and write "Tower Appeal" on the back of the cheque; or you can give electronically at a/c no. 50700061, sort code 20 43 47, using reference ‘AS Tower Appeal’, or donate by cash at the church.

Please remember that the Gift Aid scheme increases the value of donations by 25%. (You can Gift Aid up to four times what you pay in income tax or capital gains tax in any one tax year.) 

Watch out here for our programme of events in 2022. 


 

 

Website contact Graham Marshall  (Web Site - Digital Photography)
Copyright © 2011 All Saints' Church
Last modified: February 18, 2023