Theft at St Walburge's, Preston has had a 'massive impact on the community' & restoration says rector

A theft at a Preston church has set back its much needed restoration and devastated the community.

St. Walburge's Church on Weston Street is Preston’s most iconic church, having opened in 1854, it is famously home to the tallest parish church spire in the UK.

The church’s roof is currently undergoing some much needed restoration, with the Canons and parishioners working hard to return it to its former glory and save it for future generations.

The south roof elevation was reroofed a few years ago and now they are on to the next phase of roof repairs: from the tower, where repairs stopped last time, around the apse to the sacristy.

However an act of thievery last week has set the restoration back and caused great upset within the church.

Overnight on both Wednesday, April 15 and Thursday, April 16, thieves climbed the scaffolding and stole the lead from the roof, including new lead supplies, old lead, and lead that had just been installed for the roof’s flashing. In the process they also damaged existing work to the roof.

Canon Gwenaël Cristofoli, the Rector of St Walburge’s told the Post: “We were very shocked. For us, as you know, it's not just a building. We have involved ourselves in this church 100% and we are always trying to go the extra mile, because St Walburge’s is in need of a lot of attention, and yes, we are working hard. So it was a big shock. Some parishioners were so upset that they decided to form a watch group and stay overnight to be sure nobody will be back. Some other parishioners reacted by offering their help and going through the neighborhood trying to see the CCTV around the church. So this has created a massive impact on the community, I would say.”

Thankfully the Canon confirmed that the loss of lead and damage to the roof has not yet caused any leakages inside the church.

The setback does however put them under extra pressure, the restoration work having a very tight calendar due to the ground’s demands - including the need to take care of their peregrine falcons, ensuring no disturbance to their chicks which hatch this time of year.

Parishioner Thomas Blunt also told us: “I find it scandalous that whoever carried out this theft felt no scruples about targeting a church—especially given that the Canons and the parish are already facing the difficult task of renovating a building that required a substantial lottery grant simply to repair sections of the roof. Fortunately, this is a strong and growing parish, and I am confident that, with the support of the community, we will move forward.”

The church wanted to raise awareness of the incident in case any members of the public had further information or wished to assist in supporting the restoration.

Lancashire Police too have now also launched an appeal for information.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: “At 8:37am on Friday 17th April we were called to reports of theft at St Walburge’s Church, Weston Street, Preston. It was reported that around £1,000 worth of lead had been stolen from the roof, this was reported to have happened overnight on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th April. If you witnessed this, or have any information that could help us, please call 101 quoting log 263 of 17th April.”

Addressing the public, Canon Cristofoli, who has been at St Walburge’s for 16 years now, added: “We still need help for the restoration of the shrine… both monetary but also through any involvement in our projects, we always need volunteers- everyone is always welcome in St Walburge’s.

“Also any help is welcome from the police or the city council to have more patrols around the church, because we are very regularly victims of vandalism. We, in general, have decided to keep our church open constantly from 7:30 to 19:30. It's one of the few churches constantly open in Preston but as a consequence, we have a lot of indelicate visitors, and so we need to take care of our Preston heritage, and it's a place of faith, so that's very important.”

Having taken four years to build, St Walburge’s was officially opened in August 1854.

In 2007 the Grade I listed church was threatened with closure as part of cutbacks, but was then given a seven-year stay.

In 2014 the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest took over the running of the church and now attracts a large congregation to its traditional Latin Masses.

In 2025, it was announced that almost £250,000 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund would go towards urgent repairs and restoration work at St Walburge’s.