St Thomas Becket

Awarded a grant to fund a project to carry out urgent tower repairs. Once the repairs are completed, the building will be draft proof and watertight, protecting ancient internal timbers from decay, and will no longer be on the Historic England ‘At Risk' register. In addition, the church’s Natterer's bat colony habitat will be protected.

Tugby is within the conservation area of High Leicestershire. The Grade II* church sits on a hilltop surrounded by the churchyard and has been a Christian place of worship since it was built in the 11th century by a great Saxon King named Tochi, after which the village is named. The lower tower is pre-Conquest. The upper two levels are early Norman, commanding a 360 degree view of surrounding countryside. The remaining building dates from the 14th century.

Top tips from feedback:

- Key people should be approachable and engaging communicators,

 

- Seemingly urgent repairs cannot be rushed - better planned + better executed = better results,

 

- Before anything else, start open and transparent community engagement, get to know people,

  engender mutual respect and trust,

 

- Find tasks to suit people's abilities and skills: e.g. a couple with IT skills offered to spend 12

  months applying for small grants,

 

- Stay in touch with your DAC and grant awarding bodies - they are there to help and support not

  to block progress.