Christ Church in Old Town, one of the most recognisable landmarks on Swindon's skyline, was falling down… But with funds raised by the Skyline Appeal 'The Old Lady on the Hill' is getting a bit of a make-over. Over 40 tonnes of scaffolding, supported partly by the church spire itself, has already gone up… all 23 floors of it.  | | Looking down on Old Town |
And work has already begun on repairing the crumbling tower and steeple. "The repairs to the spire are phase one of an ongoing programme of works to keep the church in good repair," says Fundraising Chairman Daniel Pitt, who braved a climb to the top of the spire. "It's absolutely fabulous up here and it's great to see our money being spent so effectively, having seen the flaking state of the stonework on the way up!" BBC Radio Swindon’s Ashley Heath also decided to tackle the climb: "For me, living in Swindon's Old Town, and seeing Christ Church every day, the opportunity was too good to miss. "The view is truly spectacular from the John Murray Building, to Wroughton, to the toy town appearance of Old Town - beautiful! And the wind died down too when we reached the top; it was surprisingly calm. I think someone was watching over me!" With a £370,000 fund set aside, by the Skyline Appeal, work on Christ Church will continue until September with mortar re-pointing and stone replacement… Click on the links, in the right hand column, for a 360 degree view of Swindon and a gallery of images taken from the top of Christ Church | 
