Holy Trinity Church in the East End of Sunderland will be undergoing extensive restoration work over the next 12 months.
An event to promote the conservation efforts of local community groups and trusts will be held on Saturday 6th July and aims to raise awareness of Sunderland’s rich history.
The Canny Space venture is part of a 15-year strategy to ensure the sustainability of local heritage sites. In 2015 they were awarded a stage 1 grant from Heritage Lottery Fund and as of 2018 they’ve raised over £1.3million.
Holy Trinity Church was opened in 1719 as the church for the newly created Parish of Sunderland, carved from the bigger parish of Bishopwearmouth. It has served the local community until dwindling numbers forced its closure in 1988. It is now in the custody of the Churches Conservation Trust.
The Holy Trinity Church has unique appeal–it is a rare Georgian treasure, with few examples surviving in the North East area. The project will work with other Sunderland heritage sites–Hylton Castle, National Glass Centre and St Peter’s–to develop ‘days out’ for families, tourists and other visitors to Sunderland, and work with local heritage assets–The Donnison School, Queen Street Masonic Lodge–to build Old Sunderland’s heritage offer e.g. through interactive heritage walks and joint celebrations of Georgian history.
The Conserve and Craft Day which will be from 11 am to 4 pm will include lots of hands-on activities from craft skills facilitators, demonstrations and guided walks around Holy Trinity Church and Old Sunderland.
The Hands-On activities will include blacksmithing, stone masonry and joinery. The event is a family-friendly affair with refreshments available from the Donnison School. Discover more about the fantastic work that has gone into conserving Holy Trinity Church and the future plans for the restoration and conservation of other local heritage sites.
Visitors are encouraged to bring their own photos of Old Sunderland to share with the cause.
The event takes place at Sunderland MIND, (opposite Holy Trinity Church), Church Street East, Sunderland SR1 2BB.
If it’s raining they have a marque and some inside space, so we hope to see everyone there!
