12th Century Staffordshire church awarded £94,000 to restore rare artefacts

The funding of up to £94,056 will help All Saints Church, at Sandon, near Stafford, restore an integrated display of post-reformation genealogical paintings on the walls, heraldic glass above the altar and the Erdeswicke family monuments and tombs spanning five generations from the time of Elizabeth I onwards.

The 12 Century church also has a large royal coat of arms of Charles II from the Restoration period of 1660 and two later stained-glass windows in the style of Augustus Pugin, who designed the Houses of Parliament. The restoration of all of these is included in the heritage fund grant.

A spokesman for the church said: "The National Lottery Heritage Fund has made the grant to allow the heritage team at the church to widen the audiences that can share this heritage and remove barriers to access through regular opening times, events and the development of a website to record the heritage and follow the conservation processes in due course.

"The ambition is to support local schools with teaching materials based on the many centuries the church has existed and its own stories that are unique to All Saints and to encourage those who love to explore the history of buildings and their places to come along and support the development of our delivery bid."

The church still needs to raise more funding towards the overall cost of the project, for more information or to visit the church email churchwardens@sandonchurch.org.uk