The St. Peter Chesil Appeal - Trust Annual Report 1966
The Chesil Little Theatre occupying the restored Church of St. Peter Chesil has been in use by the Dramatic Society for some months for rehearsals and scene painting. On October 29th the first play was presented—"The House by the Lake", and the restored building officially declared open by the Mayor.
The Preservation Trust is very grateful for the support which has been given to this project by members and well wishers. It is extremely satisfying to see that this project has been brought to a successful conclusion.
So far the sum of £9,737 4s. 6d. has been paid for the restoration. This has been made possible by the generous interest of the Winchester Corporation to whom there is an interest free debt outstanding of £2,363.
To complete the work, including the cleaning of the outside of the building, a further £660 will be required, almost half of this is available in funds already collected for the appeal during the past few months. In addition a further Ministry of Works Grant of £1,000 has been awarded which can be used to reduce the debt. At the end of 1966 we shall be in the happy position of having paid for all the work but with an interest free debt outstanding to the Corporation of £1,720. Interest will be payable at the end of five years.
Apart from the loan from the Corporation and the two grants of £1,000 from the Ministry of Works £6,680 has been raised by donations and from money raising events. The two auction sales produced the largest sums. That of March 9th 1966 brought in £1,181 after all expenses had been paid. but the smaller events between them have brought in over £4,000. Our grateful thanks to all those who organised and supported all these.