South Yorkshire church warden to raise the roof with charity run - wearing a model of the building

Jonathan Bell, aged 52, will set off from All Saint's Church in Cawthorne on Sunday and run 9.2 miles, then put on a church 'costume' and run back, a total of 18.4 miles.

He decided to take on the exhausting challenge after learning the bill to repair the roof would come to a staggering £92,000.

Mr Bell, a former Royal Navy diver, had been helping to clear the guttering, believing the damp in the church was coming from the overflowing gutter.

However, they soon realised that the stone guttering had collapsed, leaving water to leak inside the walls, leading to dry rot.

Because of coronvirus restrictions, activities that would usually help raise money for the church, such as Cawthorne open gardens and the summer fete could not take place.

Aware that the beautiful historic church was facing a race against time to begin the work before winter set in, Mr Bell decided to take action.

"Three weeks ago, when I found out about it, it set off alarm bells, because we've got a hole in the church roof. If that isn't sealed for the winter, and water gets in, the organ inside is a grade one listed organ, and I think there's only a few of them in the country," said Mr Bell.

"It would devastate that part of the church and do irreparable damage.

"Because of Covid we can't have village fairs, we can't have fundraisers."

The historic church, which was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, is the third to stand on the site.

Work started on the current church in the early 17th century, although it retains features from earlier buildings.

The north aisle arcade dates back to the 13th century, and the tower dates back to the 15th century.

When Mr Bell's mum's partner suggested he did a run to raise money, he thought it would be a good way to raise some funds, and so he began training.

"I thought about running a marathon, but I've never done that, and in five weeks it would be impossible to do."

He will be accompanied by his brother, Stephen Bell, 55, who will cycle alongside him.

Vicar, rev Maureen Browell, said the repairs would lift the spirits of the congregation, who have been through a difficult time, as with the rest of the country, during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rev Browell, who has been the vicar at All Saints for five years, said: "We can't do the usual fundraising, which makes it really difficult.

"The repairs would mean everything [to the congregation], it's something that would lift their spirits at time when it's been difficult.

"The church is a massive focal point of the village. It's where people grew up, got married, got confirmed and it's part of the community.

"Jonathan has been an absolute star, he's an inspiration."

Rev Browell welcomes any other ideas to fundraise for the roof, and urges anyone who wishes to fundraise to send a message to her here:

To donate, please see: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jonathan-bell-raising-for-the-roof

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