Plans to transform an historic Wigan church take a step forward as lottery cash is secured

A lottery grant has been secured to help save the Elizabethan ceiling at Wigan’s only grade I-listed church and transform the building for the future.

The magnificent St Wilfrid’s Church in Standish dates back to the 1580s and is a building with national significance.

But last year it was placed on Historic England’s “at risk” register after an infestation of death watch beetles was discovered.

The outbreak was found in 2024 in the chancel ceiling, which has been scaffolded and supported to keep the ceiling and roof stable, with more since found in the timbers in the nave and the north and south aisles.

Investigations have been carried out and project architect Rebecca Gilbert, from Patrick Wilson Architects, was appointed to see what needed to be done.

Now, work to improve the historic building has moved a step closer after an application was made to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

It has been announced that £614,000 has been awarded to St Wilfrid’s for the development phase, which is thought to be the largest amount the National Lottery Heritage Fund has ever given for this stage of a project.

It will help the church progress its plans over the next two years ahead of applying for a full grant of £3.9m at a later date.

The Reverend Canon Andrew Holliday, rector of Standish, said: “We are thrilled that in developing the project and appointing some crucial consultants to work alongside us, we will develop the project so that by August 2028 we will be in a place in which we can apply for the phase two grant, which is the actual works for the church.

“The excitement of this is that it not only deals with conservation and restoration, but also transformation of this incredible building, which is full of history. We want to ensure that we leave the building for future generations, not simply to be treasured but to be used by the wider community in so many ways.”

If the phase two application is approved, work could begin to restore the ceiling and transform the church, which would take around two years to complete.

Mr Holliday said: “What we are hoping to do is refresh the space within the church to provide us with the opportunity not only to continue our wonderful worship for funerals, weddings and baptisms and our regular pattern of worship, but also a place which people will use as a community hub, if they want to have a concert, if there’s an opportunity to use it in new and varied ways, to enable people to feel the church is the go-to place.”

They will look at how the building could be used for hospitality, how the outdoor space could be used and link with other organisations to celebrate history and heritage.

Mr Holliday said: “We will be looking at hopefully using appropriate green resources, so we will have a new heating system in place, which is enabling us to care for the environment. We want to fit some solar panels so we can generate our own electricity, so in future we are encouraging others in their care for the environment.”

A launch event will be held at the church to allow people to find out more about the planned work.