Ross Spire in Peril update

We’re on our way!

After twelve months of careful planning, we’re delighted to report that we have now secured the generous support of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, other funders and private donors, so that we can begin the first phase of work towards securing the future of Ross’s Tower and Spire.

This means that, over the next year or so, we will:

• Carry out medium term repairs to the four pinnacles so that the fences can be removed, safe access restored, and the bells can ring again;
• Install monitoring equipment in the tower and spire to determine how the building is moving and contribute knowledge to a long-term repair in the coming years;
• Carry out a survey of the precise nature of the problems at the top of the spire and design a scheme for its repair;
• Commission a specialist heating engineer to design a carbon net zero heating system (so that we can dispense with the twenty-year-old gas boilers on which we currently rely) and specify solar panels for some of the south-facing roof space so that we can be as self-sustaining as possible with our energy needs;
• Engage with the community through a year of education and events so that more people can appreciate and understand the town’s heritage that is St Mary’s Church;
• Begin fundraising for the second, larger and longer-term phase of work that will bring all of this work to full fruition.

Discover more of what’s planned, now and as the project develops, at https://rossparishes.uk/spire-in-peril