The story so far
Like any old building, the church needs regular maintenance and repairs. When FOTC was formed our first priority was to make the building watertight through minor repairs and maintenance of the rainwater disposal goods before moving on to major works and improving the internal space. So in 2017
Unfortunately the roof continued to deteriorate and the continuing heavy rains in the second half of 2019 caused further damage so the roof leaked in a several places. The worst leaks are in the vestry. The original plan was to turn our attention to installing heating and levelling the nave floor but the roof had to take priority. Fortunately we are delighted to announce that the PCC in partnership with FOTC has been awarded a grant by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This funding, together with the money already raised through events, donations and other grants, means that we had enough funding to complete both the roof repair and the internal works outlined below during 2020.
Work completed in 2020
The Nave Flooring (main part of the church)
Originally the pews sat on raised wooden pew platforms. There was no solid floor under these platforms, just rubble. The rest of the floor is Victorian, stone with ceramic inlay and dates back to when the nave was rebuilt in 1879. The problems were that the two-level floor limited the use of the building and the wooden pew platforms had rotted and needed replacing. Rather than renew the pew platforms, this presented an opportunity to remove them and make the floor one level. This was achieved removing the pew platform areas and laying stone to the exposed areas at the same level as the Victorian paved areas.
Pews
The church has been independently described as “overpewed”. Now the floor has been levelled we have flexibility tomove pews around and reduced the number of pews slightly. Many churches have replaced their pews with modern seating but we wanted to maintain the overall look of the church while making the space usable for a wider range of purposes.
Heating
Without central heating the church building was cold and uncomfortable to use in Winter and there was no way to combat the damp which has a detrimental effect on the fabric of the building (fabric means all the materials that the church is built from, the stone, the wood etc).
The DAC (Diocesan Advisory Group) heating advisor visited the church then reported on the advantages and disadvantages of different types of heating and provided data on the installation costs and running costs. Taking his report into consideration, we installed energy efficient electrical central heating specially designed for use in churches. Wall mounted radiators warm (and therefore protect) the building as well as the occupants.
Roof
The Collyweston slate roof over the whole nave, the vestry and part of the chancel were completely reslated at a cost of over £60,000.
Future development of the building
In the longer term we would like to install a toilet and servery so that the building can be used for even more activities. The DAC architect suggested a small toilet extension on the north side of the church and installation of a servery at the back of the nave. The process of seeking permission has started.
Like any old building, the church needs regular maintenance and repairs. When FOTC was formed our first priority was to make the building watertight through minor repairs and maintenance of the rainwater disposal goods before moving on to major works and improving the internal space. So in 2017
- The south side gutters (facing the road) have been cleaned, repaired, resealed and painted.
- The guttering on the north side has been replaced with a deep flow profile (the original was inadequate to cope with the amount of water and quickly became blocked) and the downpipe re-sited so that water goes into the drainage gulley instead of into the surrounding grass. This should help to reduce dampness in the building.
- The stone work has been repointed where necessary. There were some noticeable gaps.
- The roof has had some temporary repairs to keep out the water. The worst area was on the south side of the nave, just above the gutters but when the builders got up their ladders they found several holes on the back of the nave and on the chancel roof.
Unfortunately the roof continued to deteriorate and the continuing heavy rains in the second half of 2019 caused further damage so the roof leaked in a several places. The worst leaks are in the vestry. The original plan was to turn our attention to installing heating and levelling the nave floor but the roof had to take priority. Fortunately we are delighted to announce that the PCC in partnership with FOTC has been awarded a grant by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This funding, together with the money already raised through events, donations and other grants, means that we had enough funding to complete both the roof repair and the internal works outlined below during 2020.
Work completed in 2020
The Nave Flooring (main part of the church)
Originally the pews sat on raised wooden pew platforms. There was no solid floor under these platforms, just rubble. The rest of the floor is Victorian, stone with ceramic inlay and dates back to when the nave was rebuilt in 1879. The problems were that the two-level floor limited the use of the building and the wooden pew platforms had rotted and needed replacing. Rather than renew the pew platforms, this presented an opportunity to remove them and make the floor one level. This was achieved removing the pew platform areas and laying stone to the exposed areas at the same level as the Victorian paved areas.
Pews
The church has been independently described as “overpewed”. Now the floor has been levelled we have flexibility tomove pews around and reduced the number of pews slightly. Many churches have replaced their pews with modern seating but we wanted to maintain the overall look of the church while making the space usable for a wider range of purposes.
Heating
Without central heating the church building was cold and uncomfortable to use in Winter and there was no way to combat the damp which has a detrimental effect on the fabric of the building (fabric means all the materials that the church is built from, the stone, the wood etc).
The DAC (Diocesan Advisory Group) heating advisor visited the church then reported on the advantages and disadvantages of different types of heating and provided data on the installation costs and running costs. Taking his report into consideration, we installed energy efficient electrical central heating specially designed for use in churches. Wall mounted radiators warm (and therefore protect) the building as well as the occupants.
Roof
The Collyweston slate roof over the whole nave, the vestry and part of the chancel were completely reslated at a cost of over £60,000.
Future development of the building
In the longer term we would like to install a toilet and servery so that the building can be used for even more activities. The DAC architect suggested a small toilet extension on the north side of the church and installation of a servery at the back of the nave. The process of seeking permission has started.