Flamstead church: £1m repairs save Grade I-listed building

A 12th Century Grade I-listed church has been saved from closure after a £1m restoration.

A 2017 inspection of St Leonard's Church in Flamstead, Hertfordshire, revealed severely decayed medieval roof timbers, sparking a fundraising appeal.

Rainwater leaks put a "priceless series of medieval wall paintings" at risk of permanent damage.

Fundraiser Andrew Lambourne said the restored building "can now be shared with far more people".

The church was threatened with closure on safety grounds following the 2017 inspection, unless £1m could be raised in four years for the repairs.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded the project £750,000, while locals raised a further £285,000.

The church now has a community engagement officer who will lead heritage activities.

Mr Lambourne said: "Making the building structurally sound and weatherproof has saved a priceless series of medieval wall paintings, fascinating medieval graffiti and monuments and epitaphs to ordinary villagers, landowners and people connected with the ruling classes in Tudor and Stuart times.

"The support from the community throughout the project has been fantastic and having the church revealed again from beneath the year-long scaffold shroud made it all worthwhile."

The 12th and 13th Century murals were covered up during the Reformation and rediscovered in the 1930s.

Art historian Ellie Pridgeon said they "stand out" among UK wall paintings, which made them "very special".

They are believed to be created by the same artist who painted murals at St Albans Cathedral.

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