I'm raising £50,000 to replace the heating, and repair the roof and ceiling of Kingsbury Church

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As we go about our daily lives in the five villages that make up the parish of the Kingsbury and Baxterley group of churches, we all pass by our local church regularly. Have you ever stopped to look at them? Or think about how long these buildings have stood? They have been central to village life for hundreds of years! Think of all the baptisms, marriages and funerals that bring families and communities together in the church. Oh, the stories they could tell! They are magnificent buildings and are always there for us as a permanent fixture of village life.

The sad truth is that they will not always be there and we are in danger of losing these wonderful, awe-inspiring buildings, if we are unable to look after them. Hurley church has been declared no longer safe for public services and is awaiting a decision about its future, and Kingsbury church is currently without heating, and has a problem with a leaking chancel roof and collapsing ceiling causing the area to be closed for safety reasons. It would be a tragedy if we are the generation that allowed our churches to die after all the support they provided for our communities over hundreds of years.

St Peter & St Paul, Kingsbury

The present church is a Grade II* listed building dating from the mid-12th century and almost certainly replaced an earlier Saxon building. It comprised a rectangular nave and a square chancel to which two narrow side aisles were soon added. During the 13th century the church was enlarged with the addition of a tower and wider aisles and in the 14th century the chancel was doubled in length and a vestry and chapel were added, the latter for the private worship of the Bracebridge family. During the 15th century a 'squint', or window, was inserted into the north wall of the chancel for use by the chapel priest during Mass, and a stone porch was added. The tower was raised in 1610 to include a belfry and at present houses a peal of eight bells. There is a 14th century font, the remains of two damaged Bracebridge effigies and a fragment of medieval heraldic stained glass in the chapel, and a hidden 14th century wall painting above the chancel's east window of 'Christ in Majesty'.