ONE of the county’s most historic buildings – St Catherine’s Church East Tilbury, next to Coalhouse Fort – has received a grant from a local Trust that will enable it to undertake an important programme of restoration and development.
The £176,000 of funding from Veolia North Thames Trust (VNTT) was announced at the most recent meeting of Trustees who allocated over £1.1 million to local projects – a record amount since the Trust was formed in April 2013.
The money will allow the Grade 1 listed church – which provides educational and social opportunities as well as a place of worship – to build an extension, replace the heating and exchange pews for chairs more suited to its range of activities, including lectures and exhibitions. The project has been supported by the Royal Opera House Purfleet and organisations such as local schools and colleges.
The Church has close links to Coalhouse Fort and the stump tower was built by its WW1 garrison – No 2 Company, London Electrical Engineers. In addition, the building is on the site of the 7th Century Monastery of St Cedd.
St Catherine’s Rector, Canon Paul Robinson, said, “We are really grateful for the Trust’s generosity in assisting us with this project. We are most fortunate here to be caretakers of such an important and historic building. It is a responsibility we take very seriously but it is also very costly”.
Other local projects to most recently benefit from VNTT include: –
East Thurrock Community Association – £48,882 for refurbishment works
Thurrock Council – £3,853 for resurfacing and marking at Blackshots Tennis Club
North Stifford Voluntary Community Group – £2,500 to purchase a lawn mower.
Doug Benjafield, Chair of VNTT, said, “The Trust has been closely involved with the ongoing Coalhouse Fort project and we are very pleased to be given this opportunity to assist its local church. We’re very fortunate in south east Essex to have so many historic and interesting buildings in the area”.
He added, “At our last meeting the Trustees and I reviewed a large and varied list of initiatives which we know will benefit our local communities. We were delighted to be able to provide such a substantial and record-breaking amount of funding and look forward to seeing the projects come to fruition”.
