Supporting Heywood’s St Luke’s Church Clock Tower

Heywood’s St Luke’s Church has been left a legacy to repoint the church steeple. However, during the renovation process, several issues became apparent with the town’s clock, costing a total of £30,000 to repair.

In response, the church launched an urgent campaign, in the hope that the people of Heywood would come forward and help. Fundraising began with a £5,000 grant offered by Heywood Township, and the generosity shortly followed from local people, including those who now live elsewhere but have historical links back to Heywood.

Local organisations including Restoring Hope and Rotary Heywood 2020 helped too by running their own fundraising events, and by the beginning of December, the total reached an amazing £20,000.

With the influx of donations, the delay in the pointing project and the scaffolding still in place, the decision was made to start work on the clock. The faces were removed and refurbished, new lighting was added and the clock mechanism was fully repaired.

But work was not finished and the donations soon slowed, leading the church to ask for one final Christmas gift to help them reach the total.

Thankfully, more funding was gratefully received, taking the total to £22,000. However, it soon slowed, leading the church to ask for one final Christmas gift to help them reach the total.

We are absolutely delighted to have filled the final gap in funding, and have donated £8,000. As a local born and bred business, we feel extremely passionately about supporting those in need, particularly in our local area. With the cost-of-living crisis and the struggles of winter for many, we’ve dug deep this December to help local businesses and charities in any way we can.

It cannot be put into words how grateful the church is to have reached our total of £30,000 with the knowledge that the clock will be fully restored, so it can watch over our beloved town for years to come.

Allison Bamford, St Luke’s Church treasurer

Originally, St Luke’s Church was built by donations from Heywood town. This inspired the current campaign to fund the project by donations from local people and businesses in memory of Queen Elizabeth II. A plaque will be erected on the tower to reflect this continuation of the generosity of our town.  Thank you to everyone for your contributions and support.

With the funding now complete, the church will create a lasting memorial to Queen Elizabeth II alongside a plaque to recognise the much-needed donations from the town.