Priory Project
Why help? Old College Hall Transept roofs Willis Organ Heating & Lighting Local fund raising How to donate
Local Fund Raising
There are many communities in Britain who are fortunate, and perhaps also unfortunate, to have within their parish a Grade I Listed Building. Fortunate in so far as having an important, interesting and often beautiful building locally, particularly if it attracts visitors. Unfortunate in that they are often responsible for raising the finances necessary to ensure its preservation. Many of these are the responsibility of organisations such as the National Trust, or are in busy tourist areas. Others, such as St Bees Priory, are in quieter, rural areas, so local fund raising is necessarily limited and has to be managed by local people - in this case the members of the St Bees Priory Church Council and other interested individuals.
St Bees community has been very generous in its support of local organisations. Four years ago it raised around £85,000 for major work on the tower and nave roof of the Priory. The following year it raised similar amounts to purchase a new Lifeboat for the RNLI station based at St Bees. But there is a limit to what a small community of some 850 households can do, especially in the current financial climate. For that reason, although local fund raising will be ongoing, our main fund raising efforts will need to be directed towards the various funding organisations and charities that support the various aspects of our overall project.
We hope too that those of you who have read these pages and feel that you would like to support the project, will do so, either by sending a cheque to the Priory Treasurer or more simply, by clicking on the link below to MyDonate which will allow you to donate via your credit or debit cards.