Sidmouth Decorative and Fine Arts Society contributes more than £5,000 towards restoration
Sidmouth Decorative and Fine Arts Society (SIDDFAS) has helped boost a £70,000 project to preserve a window gifted to the parish church by Queen Victoria.
The group donated £5,000 towards the restoration work and also invited members of the public to a coffee morning and talk last Wednesday, which raised an additional £465.
With support of donors - including Queen Elizabeth II and the Sid Vale Association’s Keith Owen Fund - £61,000 has now been raised to preserve the 150-year-old window and work can get under way.
The Reverend Canon Dr Philip Bourne said: “It is great to have the donation from SIDDFAS. A lot of people turned out for what was a very interesting and enlightening lecture by Professor Brian Golding - including a lot of stories and anecdotes about the royal family.”
Professor Golding told audiences at the coffee morning how one panel in the window was actually put in the wrong way when it was last repaired in the 1980s. Now, for the first time in around 30 years, this can be placed correctly.
Fundraiser Philip Hughes said there is around £9,000 still to be secured and Mr Bourne hopes to have the work finished by Christmas.
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