Crumbling concrete church gets 'lifeline' grant

14 December 2025

Greig WatsonNottingham

News image — The Church of the Good Shepherd was built in the 1960s and won an architecture award

Oxymoron External view of the church, showing a tall 'spike' in front of a series of brick and concrete oblong buildings — The Church of the Good Shepherd was built in the 1960s and won an architecture award

A church which has been fundraising to fix its 1960s concrete facade has been given a grant towards repairs.

The Grade II listed Church of the Good Shepherd in Woodthorpe, Nottingham, is on Historic England's Heritage At Risk Register.

It has now been awarded a £25,000 grant from the National Churches Trust and a £10,000 Wolfson Fabric Repair Grant from the Wolfson Foundation.

Reverend Canon Philipp Ziomek described the funding as a "lifeline".

Church of the Good Shepherd A close up image of a section of structural concrete, showing where part of it has fallen away to expose the rusty metal framework beneath — Concern is centred on the bell tower and concrete facade

Opened in 1964, the church has a distinctive angular design and its spike bell tower is a local landmark.

It was designed by Gerard Goalen, who won an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1966 for his work on the building.

Rev Canon Ziomek said: "When we first realised there were issues with the tower, we started fundraising, but the cost of the repairs – not just the bell tower but also the wider 1960s concrete facade – means repair costs are rising faster than we can fundraise to save our church."

The £35,000 will go toward replacing defective concrete, replastering and other repairs, including work to combat damp within the building.

Church of the Good Shepherd Inside the church, showing a high ceiling with bar-like windows holding stained glass and a large church organ — The National Churches Trust said the building was important both for its heritage and community value

Rev Canon Ziomek said: "We're delighted to receive this grant towards the repair of our church spire and bell tower. Our bell tower is a symbol for our church – a call to the community to join us and a beacon of hope.

"Grants like these are a lifeline, which enable us to move forward with the repairs to our church spire, and which help us keep our church open for the community to enjoy."

Claire Walker, chief executive of the National Churches Trust, said: "The National Churches Trust is delighted to be able to support The Church of the Good Shepherd to enable them to carry out urgent tower repairs to their beautiful building.

"Not only will this protect this important heritage, but it will help to keep the church building open and serving local people."

Ms Walker added that there were almost 1,000 places of worship on the Heritage at Risk Register in England, with the number rising every year.

While welcoming the new funding, staff at Good Shepherd said the building needed hundreds of thousands of pounds for longer-term repairs.

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