St Peter the Apostle, Woolwich in SE London, is to receive a grant of £207,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for urgent roof renewal and for interior and exterior restoration. The project to carry out this essential work to a much loved, Grade 2 listed, church can now begin, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players covering 24% of the overall costs. Work is expected to begin on site in May and be completed by November 2017.

Built in 1843 to the design of Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, St Peter’s is one of the oldest Catholic churches in London and one of only three Pugin churches in London. It was completed shortly before he began work on his most famous project, the interior of the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben. St Peter’s is now used daily for worship by a large and diverse congregation and is an important focus for a range of social and community activities.

The whole HLF-supported project will make the history and heritage of St Peter's known and appreciated by many for the first time. An area of the church will be adapted to present a series of free exhibitions on themes developed in consultation with schools and other partners. It is planned to be a well-used resource for local schools and other community groups pursuing interests in the Victorian period, Gothic revival architecture, art, Irish immigration, local military links and Pugin. Volunteers will be given training to be able to give tours and manage exhibitions and website and building maintenance. The essential maintenance work and upgrade of the building will support these initiatives.

Fr Michael Branch, Parish Priest of St Peters said: “We are delighted that HLF has given us this support. The church has been an important element in the history of many different communities in the past 175 years. We are now looking forward to it serving an even wider range of communities for generations to come.”

Submitted by Simon Heywood