‘Thanks to National Lottery players’.

Refurbishment through The National Lottery Heritage Fund and UK Government Funding

Our Refurbishment Project

Unfortunately, the passing years have not been kind to the St Mary’s, and urgent capital work was needed to ensure the Church continued to fulfil its vital role well into the future. The Church’s facilities were inadequate and restricted how it could be used. Urgent conservation work has been carried out to address the rotten pews and pew platforms and inadequate drainage alongside our architect Louise Preistman. A new servery area and accessible toilet have been installed to make a revitalised place for worship and community use.

St Mary’s Church Parochial Church Council (PCC) has received a grant of £227,473 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for an exciting heritage project ‘InSPIRED by Community’. In addition, funding was granted through UK Government to install a toilet and servery. The future of the building has been preserved both as a place of worship and a space for community events.

Reordering work on the Church

  • The ancient and failing drainage system has been improved and a connection to mains water established and connection to the main sewerage system.
  • A new stone floor with insulation and damp proofing has been installed, replacing the rotten wooden platforms and pews providing an accessible space for everyone. New stackable Theo chairs have replaced the old static pews.
  • The font has been moved to the northwest of the nave with a new cover constructed from the old pew wood
  • Re-wiring of the lighting and sockets.
  • New energy efficient Herschel Infrared heating and lighting Chandeliers have been installed to replace the outdated heating and lighting.
  • A toilet, handbasin, baby changing unit and servery have been constructed for events. The servery was made from the old pews wood.
  • The tower ladders have been replaced to enable safe access to the Church’s two ancient bells.

The Church now has amenities to enable greater accessibility, so it can offer a warm, hospitable welcome to all as the only community space in the village.

Four Exciting Heritage Projects have been completed

The History of St Mary’s

Much is known about the building’s history, but some mysteries remain such as how and why St Mary’s was founded. Why is Huggate church so significantly different from the other village churches on the High Wolds. How did the church of the 21st century evolve to become the building it is today? Who were the people who played a vital role in developing the evolving building?

Memories of Huggate: An Oral History of Huggate

Collecting oral histories of villagers to promoting intergenerational awareness and collaboration. There are several older villagers who have lived most of their lives in Huggate, some having been born here as well. They have stories of life in Huggate as far back as the 1940s but these are now recorded and not just heard in occasional conversations. These personal stories have information about their parents’ and grandparents’ lives in the village. Such memories provide a picture of life in Huggate over the last century but, would have been lost to future generations if not recorded now.

Finding Your Family

Many people coming to the Church record the reason for their visit as ‘family history research’.  However, even though the Church has grave location plans and documented grave inscriptions, they are not easily accessed or user friendly. The project has amalgamated all records to provide an easy, and user friendly, research resource for family and historical researchers both in paper and online format, linking with existing on-line platforms e.g. Find A Grave and Genuki. The graveyard plan will be redrawn and linked to existing documents that record inscriptions and burial dates to provide an online resource that allows searches by name. 

St Mary’s Mysterious Marks

A church has stood on this site since the 11th century and the existing stone building contains architectural features from across the ages including a Norman nave, 13th century Chancel and unusually for a Yorkshire Wolds Church a tower and spire built in the 14th century. These architectural features have been well recorded, but the building has many apotropaic marks, human handprints and initials, and masons’ marks carved on both internal and external walls.  These have now been investigated, recorded, or explained in a single document.

Acknowledgement statement

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. InSPIRED by Community is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to provide an accessible community space within the church that is welcoming for all.  The restoration of the Grade 1 listed building has transformed the church for future generations as a place of worship, and provided the village, the wider community and visitors with an accessible, welcoming venue to host activities and events.  It is hoped the space created will enhance social cohesion and provide vital support and friendship to those at risk of rural isolation.

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder for the UK’s heritage. Using money raised by National Lottery players we support projects that connect people and communities to heritage. Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. From historic buildings, our industrial legacy and the natural environment, to collections, traditions, stories and more. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past.