News
There was a magical start to Christmas when the annual Carols by Candlelight event was held at St Mary's on Saturday 6 December when over 80 folk came together to sing a joyous mix of carols and Christmas songs, eased along with mince pies and mulled wine. This is around the eighteenth year of this event and it is as popular as ever. (see picture below)
Good news . . . . .In January 2026 scaffolding will be going up around the tower as the CCT's stonemason contractors move in to replace the worst worn stonework around the windows of the west wall of the tower. The work is expected to take abut two months and probably cost in the region of £15,000. This is only to repair the worst areas of stonework, Thers till remains about £80,000 of work needed to conserve the rest of the stonework so the Friends continue in discussion with the CCT about an appeal for the funds for this essential work. Watch this space!
Falling Masonry . . . .
Unfortunately, the old church is getting poorly......whilst below is news of possible conservation of the stonework of the west side of the tower it looks like this is becoming urgent. The tower has had to be cordoned off with safety fencing by the Churches Conservation Trust because of the falls of stonework over the past few months (see photo below) . We don't want anyone getting injured by these falls. Let's hope repairs can be undertaken soonest for the old lady to last another 900 years!
Discussions about Projects
The Committee has entered into discussions with the CCT management about two possible projects for the Church:
A path from the gate Anyone visiting the church knows there is no path from the roadside gate up to the church south porch door. The Committee's idea is to lay path for easier accessibility, particularly for wheelchair users and the infirm.
Stonework restoration The CCT's professional surveyor has highlighted the severely decayed stonework on the western side of the tower, some of which seems to be falling away. The string courses highlighted in the photo below are especially important for diverting rain water from running own the stonework and have deteriorated virtually to nothing, threatening long term damage to the stonework below. An estimate is repairing these may cost up to £100,000 so would be a big project. This would need local fund-raising plus applications for specialist heritage grants by the CCT.
Join the Friends if you'd like to be involved with these projects for the long-term conservation of this wonderful building.
