The Friends of Bath Abbey group has donated a further £50,000 to the ongoing Footprint project, bringing their total support of the restoration scheme to over £700,000.
This additional donation will be matched by an anonymous donor from the Bath Percent Club, giving £100,000 to the project.
The Friends of Bath Abbey is a group of nearly 400 members who help to preserve, care for and add to the Abbey’s architecture and history.
The group has been in existence for almost 70 years and has played a major role in embellishments, restoration work and refurbishment of the Abbey.
Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Footprint project is a £19.3 million programme of capital works and interpretation which will repair the Abbey’s collapsing floor, install a new eco-friendly heating system using Bath’s hot springs, and provide new, improved space and facilities to ensure the Abbey is more sustainable, hospitable and useable for local residents, worshippers and visitors alike.
Jeff Jupp, Chair of The Friends of Bath Abbey, said: “The Friends are delighted to be able to help Footprint with this additional gift.
“When we heard there was the possibility of matched funding from another donor, effectively doubling its value, we reviewed our finances again and the Committee approved turning our previous offer of a back-up loan into an outright gift available immediately.”
During the planning for the Footprint project, the Abbey received a grant of £10.7 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund as well as additional funds from private individuals, trusts and organisations including The Friends of Bath Abbey, as well as the Abbey’s own congregation and visitors.
The Abbey now has just over £1 million left to raise.
Charles Curnock, Footprint Project Director, said: “We are extremely grateful to The Friends of Bath Abbey for this donation and to the anonymous donor from the Bath Percent Club who will match the amount given.
“This money will be a huge help towards completing the funding of the vital and essential work which is the Footprint project and which now, thanks to generous donations like this, is well underway.”
The East end of the Abbey is currently closed off while the floor is stabilised and restored, and vaults beneath Abbey Chambers are being excavated as part of the first phase of building works for Footprint.
