Church 'in state of disrepair' to close for good

A 13th Century church which has fallen into a "state of disrepair" will officially close by the end of 2026, officials have said.

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) estimated restoration of the Church of St Martin in Yapham, East Yorkshire, would cost more than £500,000 .

Historic England placed the church on its risk register in 2024 and said it needed repairs to its roof, drainage systems and windows.

David Millican, lay chair of the PCC at Yapham, added: "It will be the end of a very long and upsetting saga when we eventually shut the fence."

He added: "After many physical and civil engineering checks, we've discovered there is so much wrong with it, it would cost over half a million to rebuild it."

The PCC said it had spent about £17,000 to determine how the building could be fixed, but discovered it would be "well beyond the reach of the people to raise the money for it".

The church was originally built on clay and began to "slough away" in one corner of the building which became more obvious in 2023, Millican said.

A stained glass window was also removed from the church the same year after the PCC sought advice.

Millican said no decision on whether the church would be demolished had been taken but the doors had been locked and a formal process of closure was underway.

The graveyard will remain open and people can still be buried with family situated there, the PCC said.

"It's a huge sadness that it's come to a stage where we can't sort the problem basically," Millican concluded.

A spokesperson for Historic England said: "We are sorry to hear the PCC haven't been able to raise the funds needed to carry out the programme of works to repair the church and the closure puts the site at further risk.

"Sadly, many well-loved rural churches like St Martin's remain vulnerable due to the challenges of on-going repairs and maintenance as well as long-term structural issues."

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