Newark Advertiser takes a closer look at £4m heritage restoration works at Newark Parish Church as part of National Lottery funded ‘Reawakening of St Mary Magdalene’ project

Work to restore one of Newark’s most historic landmarks is now well underway, saving it for future generation to enjoy.

The 15th Century Newark Parish Church, a Grade One listed building, has served generations of townsfolk and played witness to some of history’s most significant events, from the plague, to the English Civil War.

Due to its age, centuries worth of wear and tear have placed the building on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register.

In November 2024, the church closed to the public to begin a year long programme of restoration works as part of the over £4m ‘Reawakening of St Mary Magdalene’ project.

As well as fixing the most severe issues, church leaders hope to enhance the space and put it on the map as a tourist attraction.

The Advertiser paid a visit to find out what work had taken place during the first three months of the project, and the plans going forward.

Anna Herbert, heritage and visitor experience manager, said: “This really is an absolutely incredible building.

“What’s amazing is that it was built to serve a purpose and is still being used to this day.

“The ultimate goal here is to remove the building from the heritage at risk register, and that is why this work is essential.

“We’re really grateful to have such skilled specialists on board, and the work they do shows real care.”

The project is being led by Thomas Ford & Partners Architects and Alan Staley Building Contractors, and works will include internal alterations, the repair of centuries worth of weather damage, and the replacement of the current leaky roof, among other things.

Site manager Lee Pass, said: “We could have picked 1,000 things on this church, but we had to prioritise our time and effort on making the whole place water tight and fixing the most at risk things.

“It will look really good once it is all done, but it’s a long process.

“We don’t want beautiful buildings like this falling to rack and ruin. It’s much better to maintain than to replace, and by doing these works now we hopefully will not have to do as much in the future.”

The most visible aspect of the project can be seen outside, with the exterior of the building encased in scaffolding.

This has been done to allow specialist stone masons — who are also working on other nationally significant buildings such as Lincoln Cathedral — to safely carry out repairs and replacements where necessary.

Some of the building’s more precious medieval features, such as finely detailed gargoyles and grotesques — carved stone figures and faces — have been boxed off to prevent further damage until they can each be addressed in turn.

The higher up on the church, the more wear and tear is visible, with the stonework bearing clear scars from centuries of exposure to the elements.

Heavy carbon build up from chimney smoke can also be seen, and due to the age of the building care must be taken when cleaning.

High heat and low pressure is used to ensure that grime can be removed without damaging the fabric of the building.

Later in the year, specialists from Ark Stained Glass will come in to clean, restore, and fix broken panels in the many dozens of ornate stained glass windows which adorn the church.

But it is the roof which will see the most changes, with the old lead roof — which is prone to cracking as it expands and contracts depending on the weather — replaced with a harder-wearing stainless steel alternative.

The steel will have the same practical stepped design as the existing lead, both to maintain the character and look of the original roof, and aids with drainage and preventions of leaks.

To meet environmental goals, 40 new solar panels will be installed on the south facing roof, which will be hidden from ground level, and a battery storage system will allow to church to produce its own electricity, further reducing costs and improving its green credentials — an air source heat pump is also to be installed.

Inside the church, building work is under way to enhance the visitor experience of the building as a tourist attraction.

The font in the south west corner of the church has been moved toward the south entrance, while a café and accessible toilets will be installed in its place, with underfloor heating.

In the north west corner of the church an acoustically separated room will be built, which is intended to be used as a space to hold community events, educational classes, and meetings.

As ground works take place and the floors are slowly lifted to allow construction, an archaeologist must be present for every part of the dig.

Victorian tiles have be carefully removed and stored, ready to be re-laid once ground works have been completed, and old pumping and heating tracks will be reused after pipework has been replaced.

The church also requires memorial stones which have been lifted in the centre aisle to be re-laid facing east to west.

Anna Herbert became involved with the project after gathering extensive experience working with the National Trust in Scotland on heritage and visitor projects.

She added: “It’s all part of setting up a really positive visitor experience and raising the profile of the church.

“Objects that are 400, 500, 600-years-old are still being handled and used, which is something you don’t get in museums.

“It’s fortunate that this has timed so well with the work that is taking place at Newark Castle as well.

“People don’t realise but the two building date back to within about 50 years of each other, and share a lot of links.

“So combined, this will start to make Newark a really exciting and interesting place for tourists to come and visit

“There is so much world-class heritage here at St.Mary’s, and preserving it will be great economically for Newark too.

“At the same time we want the church to continue serving the community and remove some of those barriers to entry.

“We want this to be a space that is open and welcoming to everyone, as often people can feel reluctant to enter religious spaces, but by doing so they are missing out on so much history.”

Regular tours will be held once the church has reopened and information boards will be installed along a trail for visitors to follow and learn about the history of the church and Newark.

Over £3m of project funding has come from grants from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and supported by Historic England, the Church of England, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and other donors.

Once the building has been made water tight and removed from the heritage at risk register, future focus can then turn to address smaller issues around the church.

The church is planned to reopen in early 2026, but hoped to be available for Christmas services at the end of this year — in the meantime services and regular events have to be moved to other venues in Newark.

Visitors are also able to look inside and follow the project’s progress by signing up for one of the monthly hard hat tours.