Tiny Church Needs Your Help!

Our medieval roof and wall painting desperately need restoration

The diminutive church of St Mary’s, Syde, sits tucked into the Cotswold landscape; its parish holds only 13 houses, the second smallest in England. Its Saxon origins date from over a thousand years ago. St Mary’s is a grade I listed Norman church and its tower has a ‘saddle-back’ roof characteristic of the region. The nave has a rare tie-beam roof built in the 1400s, and an ancient wall painting depicting the Royal Arms of Charles II, with more than one earlier medieval painting underneath…. but all is not well.

The north side of the roof needed complete restoration to keep it watertight, and to prevent rot setting in to the tie-beam roof. Since 2015, our small number of parishioners have managed to raise nearly two thirds of the £150,000 needed to restore the roof. But recently, experts have estimated we need another £16,500 to clean and stabilise the fragile wall painting before it is lost forever.

We need to raise a total of £166,500 to restore our church for future generations.

They are extremely grateful for a substantial grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and also significant contributions from Garfield Weston Foundation, Gloucestershire Historic Churches Trust, Enovert Community Trust (via Entrust), Benefact Trust, Lasletts Hinton Charity, Warneford Ecclesiastical Charity.

The great news is that, as of January 2026, we have now repaired our roof and it is watertight. We are now concentrating on the conservation of our wall painting.

Please help us reach our target!

All contributions are welcome, no matter how small.

St Mary’s Church is a charity within the Church of England.

You may prefer to post a cheque made out to Syde Parish Church, to Mr R. Schofield, Church Treasurer, Meadow Cottage, Syde, Glos GL53 9PN.

Thank you,

Roger Schofield, Church Treasurer.

North side of St Mary's, Syde

Interior of St Mary's showing the wall painting and tie-beam roof. Also, the stain on the LHS caused by the leaking roof!

General view of the church interior.