A church in Barnsbury is raising funds to help restore its £1m spire.
St Andrew’s Church in Thornhill Square applied for funding from Cloudesley, a local charity, and Historic England in September 2025 and have been waiting to see if they have been granted it.
Even if both applications are “thoroughly successful”, Rev Caroline Titley said the money “will only cover half” of the restoration work.
New rules mean that St Andrews would have to pay £200,000 of VAT on the cost of the spire restoration as the government have introduced a £25,000 cap on the amount if VAT that can be claimed back on repairs.
Rev. Titley said the change was a “big blow” and she met with a government minister to oppose the policy.
If St Andrew’s is unable to raise the money for the restorations, Rev. Titley said they would either have to demolish or reduce the spire, both of which cost money.
The church turned to the local community for help: in July they set up a building fund on JustGiving for those who want to donate to the restorations rather than the church generally.
So far, £42,000 has been raised but Rev. Titley aims to raise £300,000.
The reverend hopes their previous success shows they are capable of tackling the “much bigger” challenge of the spire.
She said: “My attitude is we have to find a way to do it” no matter the response from the funding bodies.
Isabella Steinmeyer is a Newspaper Journalism MA student at City St George's University. She was previously Deputy Editor of Varsity, Cambridge's student newspaper.