St Philip’s Church on Orrell Road in Litherland has received a timely donation from housebuilder Bellway in its campaign to restore its iconic clockfaces.
With its St Wilfrid’s Place development located on Hawthorn Road not far away, Bellway was keen to support the church with the refurbishment of its two clockfaces.
A much loved landmark in the local community for 160 years, St Philip’s church sits on the main route between the motorways and the docks. Positioned high up on the clock tower above the church, the clock faces can be seen in both directions and the clock chimes on the hour throughout the parish.
Due to the ongoing effects of adverse weather and pollution, the clock tower had gradually been eroding making it quite dangerous to the general public. An initiative was immediately put in place to remove both clock faces and repair and restore the stonework.
With its mission statement ‘open doors, open hearts, open minds’ the church is integral to the vibrant community spirit in Litherland and received generous donations from its congregation and local residents to help fund the restoration. The church team was also successful in obtaining grant funding from various corporate organisations that included a large sum from National Highways.
The donation from Bellway went some way towards covering the cost of the specialist team instructed with the intricate job of removing, redecorating and reinstalling the two famous clock faces which are now proudly back in place at the top of the clock tower.
Reverend Andrew Stott at St Philip’s commented: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped with the project to restore the stonework and redecorate the clock faces including our congregation, local volunteers and local businesses. We know that the clock chimes are very much missed by the community when they are not working so it was great to see the community come together to restore them.”
Sales director at Bellway, Jenny Bell, added: “With its beautiful grounds and distinctive clock tower we know that St Philip’s is a much loved local landmark and something that the community of Litherland considers ‘theirs’. Where possible, we aim to offer our support to community projects in the areas in which we are developing and this was a wonderful good cause that we were pleased to support.”
Located just five miles from Liverpool city centre, St Wilfrid’s Place is a desirable development of high quality two, three and four bedroom homes that is also close to country parks and picturesque beaches. Well connected, the development boasts excellent transport links connecting residents with major towns across the North West.
