Restoration and Reordering of St Mary & St Peter's, Tidenham

The Parish church for Tidenham, St Mary and St Peter, a beautiful Grade II* listed building, was at risk of being placed on the endangered list in 2014 due to falling church attendance; a car park has been incorporated and basic toilet facilities and the large number of essential repairs identified in the December 2012 Quinquennial Report have been finalised, although there is still work to do!

A public consultation confirmed universal support from the Parish for the Church to be kept open for worship and made more available for wider community use. The Friends of St Mary and St Peter Tidenham were formed as a charity number 1159658 in December 2014 to work with the PCC to:

1. help conserve, restore, maintain and improve the fabric, furnishings and fittings of the church of St Mary and St Peter Tidenham
2. support the conservation, restoration, maintenance, improvement and upkeep of the building of the church and its grounds
3. foster public interest in the church building and its grounds
4. facilitate and enable by means of fundraising subject to the approval of the Parochial Church Council of the parish of Tidenham the use of the church building by the community for educational, artistic and recreational purposes.

Following the appointment of an architect options for re-ordering the Church were considered at a second Public Consultation on the 30th June 2015. The unanimous view of the consultation was presented to the PCC. The DAC visited and endorsed plan in principle.

It was clear that until there was a car park available, it would be impossible to justify raising funds to improve the church or make it suitable for wider community use. The Friends subsequently purchased and acquired planning permission on land adjacent to the churchyard in September 2017. This car park is now there for future generations and is the key enabler for the Friends and PCC to progress work on recovering the wonderful Grade 2* listed church and re-ordering it so that it can be used for worship but also provide a valuable resource for the local community of Tidenham and Tutshill which are currently poorly provided for. For further details contact secretary.friends@icloud.com