‘We Burst Into Tears’: Mystery Gold Coins Found Beneath Altar Rescue 700-Year-Old Church from Closure
In what church leaders are calling a “miracle,” a struggling 700-year-old parish church in Lancashire has been given a new lease on life after nine gold Britannia coins worth nearly £30,000 were discovered tucked in a box beneath the altar just as the church faced imminent closure. St Wilfrid’s in Melling near Lancaster had been unable to raise the £750,000 needed for essential repairs, including a full roof replacement, and closure seemed all but certain. Then, on Good Friday, everything changed. Rev. Jane Lee and a lay minister were setting up for morning prayers when they stumbled across a small box hidden inside a plastic bag. “We just burst into tears when we saw it,” Lee told BBC North West Tonight. “We couldn’t believe it. It was like a miracle, because it’s so desperately needed.”
Rather than treating the windfall as a quick fix, Lee sees the discovery as a “seed” to strengthen grant applications and other fundraising efforts. She suspects the coins were left by an anonymous donor roughly four years ago, with several other churches in the area receiving similar mystery gifts in 2022. “For me, it’s significant because we’ve got more community backing now to the church, whereas four years ago we would have probably just spent it on day-to-day running,” Lee said. “Now it’s there for a seed to get all the repairs done.” With the funding boost, the historic church now has a fresh chance to secure its long-term future. The find is a rare bright spot for Britain’s historic churches, with the National Churches Trust estimating that about 5% of congregations are unsure of their survival and believe they may close by 2030—with the numbers rising in rural areas.
