Lottery cash to share church’s secrets
The support will help the 13th century church share stories of the people involved with the building through history with locals and visitors, school children and the wider world.
The funding is part of the National Heritage Lottery Fund’s response to the pandemic, encouraging people to engage with history locally and explore their own area in more detail.
Lydia Bassett, a church committee member who worked on the application, told us: “We have some incredible stories to tell about our church - from Wales’ warrior princess in peril to literary ladies like Magdalene Herbert and the heartrending tale of The Robber’s Grave.
“However, at the moment those stories are not easily accessible to visitors, and many are not even known and understood by local people and schoolchildren.
“We want to tell the stories of this richly connected building, including of the metaphysical poet George Herbert; Magdalene Herbert, John Donne; Shakespeare’s Mortimer, his connection to Welsh warrior Owain Glyndwr and marriage to Glyndwr’s daughter Catrin.”
Lydia added: “Montgomery has been at the heart of the history of the borders for centuries and we’re looking forward to sharing some of those stories through the church.”
The money will be used for:
- Creation and installation of bilingual interpretation panels
- The installation of a projector, and the creation and display of short films on the memories of local people in the church
- Providing training to local volunteers to support Tower days and give guided tours
- Working with the local school to develop events telling the story of the individuals linked to the building.
A small working group has been set up to support the project, and they will be working with specialists in the field as well as the local Civic Society and Old Bell Museum.
PICTURE (Adam Cusack at G17): The Herbert tomb in St Nicholas’ Church Montgomery
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