Last weekend some really heartless thieves stole the lead off the roof of Furneux Pelham Church overnight. You can see the sky though the gaps in the roof.

This particular church roof is very special and it needs help to restore it. Why? Check out the ceiling inside.

It won't last long in this state and the roof and the angels inside will rot and fall apart if the get soaked from the back. The roof will cost over £225,000 to repair but insurance will only pay a fraction of this.

Back in 1962 my father spent a year and a half up a scaffold painting and restoring the medieval church roof. Here he is:

and here's one of the 14th century angels

The angels got new wings to replace the ones that had rotted away, and 800 years of woodworm was treated. Here's a before and after picture:

Every year since then children from the village school hold their Christmas and Easter services under their gaze, and they have helped hundreds of people in the community to mark their births, deaths and marriages .

The project was the brainchild of Iris and Peter Hughes, who lived for many years at Furneux Pelham Hall, raising their six children (and 26 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren when Iris passed away in 2005).

Their vision was for a church of individuality, colour and vibrancy, reflecting their love of flowers and nature in the decoration of the beams:

They are both buried in the churchyard, where they were joined in 2009 when my dad died. He was buried right next to the building, to be close to his work.

The church desperately needs funds to help restore the roof and save both the ancient wooden structure and the modern painting and make it through another thousand years. All the money this page raises is going to THE FURNEUX PELHAM CHURCH RESTORATION TRUST, charity registration number 1076766