A 199-year-old trowel that was used to lay the foundation stone at St Andrew’s Church in Netherton, has been returned to the church as a £1.7m restoration campaign gets under way.
St Andrew’s Church was planted from Top Church Dudley, with building work commencing on 30 November 1827. A descendant of the then vicar, Luke Booker, discovered the silver trowelbused to lay St Andrew’s foundation stone while clearing out a family home and has passed it back to the current Priest-in-Charge, the Revd Richard Hackett.
Richard said:
“Next year marks the 200th anniversary of the laying of the church’s foundation stone, so it was perfect timing for the trowel to be found. It’s such an important piece of our history and reminds us that our church has been there for the local community over many years and will continue to be so.”
St Andrew’s Church has recently been added to Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, as £1.7m of repairs are needed to the building. “This trowel reminds us that we are custodians of the church’s past and its future - the story of the people who built this church, the people who need it today, and the people who will need it tomorrow."
As a result, the church is launching a number of new weekly activities for the people of Netherton and the surrounding area, as well as applying for grants to enable the repairs to be made.
Richard continued: “Although the foundation stone was laid in 1827, the church didn't actually open until 1830. We’ll therefore be looking to complete all the repairs by 2030 when we will celebrate 200 years of being here for the people of Netherton.”
The church is encouraging the community to get involved by attending the new Wellbeing Café, bringing little ones to a Mainly Music stay and play session, or simply through sharing personal histories, photographs, and family memories of the building.
Richard said: “The true foundation of St Andrew’s has always been its people, and we’d be delighted for more of our local community to become part of our daily life and to help us write its next chapter."
