WORK is under way on an iconic Workington church.

Part of St John's Church, on Washington Street, has been under wraps for a while.

Church warden Valerie Hallard said: "The north side of the church has been shrouded in scaffolding and there has been a lot of interest in what is going on behind it."

Last year Historic England was asked to administer a share of the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, and in turn asked the National Churches Trust to identify significant church projects worthy of support.

Only cathedrals and major churches could be considered.

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"In October 2021 St John’s Church was delighted to learn that they had been selected for an award, as they are one of only four ‘major’ churches in the Diocese of Carlisle," said Valerie. "This was to enable them to renew their listed building’s 19th century windows.

"The original huge bronze frames had to be repaired or renewed and painted, and the hundreds of small ancient glass panes removed and replaced with equivalent glass."

The work has involved highy skilled craftsmanship, from two specialist companies: Lost Art from Wigan are repairing the frames and Cumbrian-based Albion Glass are replacing the panes.

"The work is progressing to plan although this has been slightly extended as once the work started, it was discovered that some masonry repairs were needed in addition to the metal and glass work," said Valerie.

The scaffolding is set to come down in July. A Heritage Open Day is planned for Saturday, September 17.

"It will be possible to see the renewed windows close-up from the inside and learn something of the skilled work that went into the renewal," said Valerie.

"St John’s Church would like to thank the National Churches Trust for the support that they have provided throughout the process."

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