We are grateful for the generosity of donors and the grants made available to our church!
We are happy to share the background to these works and how they have progressed in recent months.
QUINQUENNIAL INSPECTION – ESSENTIAL MAINTENANCE AND WEATHERPROOFING PROJECT
Our last Quinquennial Inspection recommended a number of detailed inspections take place to discover whether damp evidenced inside the church was causing damage to the structure of the building. The bulk of inspections have been to the nave roof, valleys and guttering, from both inside the church (above the ceiling) and outside. The QI report also recommended refurbishing and weatherproofing all windows and guttering.
Extensive Damp in 2024 inside Nave
Work Completed So Far, with Costs
We completed our work on the windows in Spring 2025. The project was funded with grants generously given by Daughters of the American Revolution (recognising our church’s unique links with George Washington), and funds raised by our community. The total cost of this element of the project was £8060.00. The funds to cover the Window Restoration Project – Completed March 2025 were:
o Daughters of the American Revolution £4597.56
o Steeple Church Funds raised in 2025/26 £3462.44
We have completed the investigative work required to open up the ceiling, gain access to the abutment of the nave roof to the tower from the outside, and access a roof valley on the North Transept. We have also gained access to inspect and assess the timbers supporting the Belfry floor, and get that work done.
The cost of contractors works so far, as authorised by our architects are:
– Opening up, scaffold and initial investigations £6000.00
• Leadwork and Bird Detritus £5225.00
• Redecorate £5937.00
• Scaffold and redecorate, Belfry Beams £12,240.18
• Architects, to date £4133.10
• Structural Engineer. £1080.00
The total cost so far is £34,615.28
This has been spent from three grant funding streams and some of our own funds:
– the Dorset Historic Churches Trust credit line £15,000.00
– Erskine-Muton: £4000.00 deposited in November 2024 and a further £15,000.00 deposited in March 2026, and
– Benefact Trust £4100.00 deposited in October 2026.
Project Achievements in Brief
a. Bird Detritus We have created access to the roof space above the Nave ceiling and remove a vast amount of bird nesting material (some 30 wheel-barrow loads) that has built up there since 1954. We inspected the Nave roof timbers and found to our relief that they were all replaced in 1954 and are in remarkably good condition.
b. Nave Roof Lead We have replaced the lead providing weather proofing to the abutment of the Nave roof and tower to meet modern codes and standards. That fitted in 1954 has proven to be too short and prone to allow seepages of water around the chase into the tower.
Architects Inspection of Nave Roof Leadwork
c. Nave Ceiling The access to the Nave roof made through the ceiling has been replaced with new supporting mesh and plastered, and fully redecorated.
Inspecting the replastered Nave Ceiling
d. Redecoration We took advantage of having some scaffolding up in our Nave and added enough additional scaffolding to fully redecorate the whole ceiling and Nave walls. Our church now looks bright and welcoming inside. This included oiling exposed timbers.
A repainted Nave, drying out
e. Belfry Floor We have commissioned three bespoke stainless steel supports to sit under the South end of the three timbers that support the Belfry floor. We need to move one of the bells to get at a single joist and couple of floor boards that need to be replaced.
One of three new supports to Belfry Floor Beams
f. North Transept Valley We have now completed a detailed inspection of a small leak where the North Transept roof meets the Nave Roof. Inspection has revealed that the lead is badly split and requires an unexpected amount of work. Much more water has got into the building than is evident on the inside! AT the same time we have found that the on East facing side of the North Transept Roof almost all our Purbeck tiles have slipped and are only in place because they are self supporting. We need to strip them off, inspect the timbers beneath and fix new battens onto which to re fit all tiles. We will tie this work in with a complete replacement of the leadwork, and some additional work to replace cement flaunching with proper leadwork to the same standards as that on the tower.
g. Guttering We need to replace all of our guttering which is over 100 years old and has suffered significantly from rust. We will replace this like with like.
h. Bells Proper access to the Belfry will allow us to consider a project to restore our three bells.
Our three bells
There are two hung bells one of which is supported on a pair of timber beams the other on a pair of steel beams (The third bell is currently on the belfry floor). Our bells are quite special:
- Tenor 36 ½” 8-0-24 A cast in 1634 by Anthony Bond
- Second 33 1/8” 6-0-0 Bb cast in 1634 by Anthony Bond
- Treble 30 5/8” 4-3-18 B cast c1520 by William Culverden, London.
It is not known where Anthony Bond, the founder of the tenor and second, was based, though the distribution of his bells suggests Hampshire or possibly the Isle of Wight as likely candidates. The treble is the only example in Dorset by its founder is is notable because it is a rare pre-reformation bell.
i. Stained Glass East Facing Window This window installed by the Bond family in the 1890s needs the cast iron saddle bars (that support the leaded window) replaced before their expansion damages the stonework beyond repair. We have no estimate for the costs of this work yet.
Future Plans for this Project
Below are the estimated costs to complete our essential maintenance project
- N Transept Valley – £30,000.00
- Belfry Floor repairs – £4116.00
- Architects Fees – £3600.00
- Guttering – £14,400.00
- Bell Restoration – £12,088.80
Total still to be funded £64,204.80
Against these future costs we are blessed with the following support;
- NCT and Wolfson Foundation – £20,000.00 (March 2026)
- Parish fundraising – £9,000.00
- Promised future donations – £10,000.00
- Current Church Funds Approx £4796.00
Total Raised so to cover these costs £43,796.00
Funding yet to be raised £20,408.80
And we are bound to suffer mild overruns, the pressures of inflation and the joy of discovering small jobs that are revealed as a result of getting the work above completed.
Our current plan is to hold back on the Guttering and the Bell Restoration until we have secured full funding for those costs.
We are still fundraising. Our next event is the Manor House Open Gardens – see Events.