It seems like a long time since the roof of the church was last visible from the floor of the nave. Our extensive repairs have required comprehensive scaffolding, and that scaffolding has given us a precious period of close access to the angel roof. Since just after Christmas 2018, a full deck of boards has created a false floor at the level of the hammer beams. Today, though, the boards have come up. Our resident bats need to spread their wings again, so the scaffolding has to come out; starting with the top level of boards. There’s still work to do on the windows, but that can be done from the scaffolding that remains. And so this was the view this evening, as the roof was revealed to us once more.

How appropriate it is that just in time for Easter, our rebuilt windows have started to return to the clerestory.

The windows are attached to bronze saddle bars to give them strength.

Having seen the windows on the bench last week, it’s so exciting to see them back where they belong.

Traditional methods; no UPVC or silicone sealant here!

Before long, we’ll begin the big clean-up, and will be able to get back to church for our Sunday worship. Obviously, we won’t be back in church for Easter, but it won’t be many more weeks before we’re back home.

A view of the Northern clerestory as the first two windows return.

A small delegation from the PCC went to the workshops of Devlin Plummer, today, to see the progress with the major renovation of our clerestory windows. The windows are all in the workshop right now. Half have been rebuilt, and the other half are in progress. The picture below shows the state of the old windows (this is one of the better examples).

Terry Devlin gave us a tour and told us about the painstaking process to record the dimensions and shapes of the many windows as they come into the workshop.

We then saw how the glass is cleaned and salvaged where possible, before the lead is completely renewed.

We saw the soldering process…

and the finishing process where the glass is all fixed in place (before being vacuumed).

Many thanks to Terry and his colleagues for showing us round. We can’t wait to see the windows coming back in from next week!

A host of Angels – Photo by Michael Rimmer

Well what a busy month we’ve had! March saw over 100 lucky visitors attending our four hard hat days in church. The sessions included a chance to ascend the scaffolding using some daunting ladders. The EDP’s Donna Louise Bishop posted this video of her ascent and wrote an article on the experience (however the article is no longer online).

Over the 4 sessions, we had visits from BBC Look East, BBC Radio Norfolk’s Anthony Isaacs (Listen here from 1:20:30). We also welcomed a number of experts who came to speak to our visitors about the importance of what they would see.

Michael Rimmer, author of the Angel Roofs of East Anglia visited along with Sarah Cassell (PhD Candidate on the subject of Angel Roofs), and they provided a wealth of information on the history of our roof. Art conservators Dr Andrea Kirkham and Dr Lucy Wrapson also gave insights into their work in the church as well as a fascinating perspective on the importance of the building and its treasures.

abgel
One of the green angels – photo by Michael Rimmer

We’re incredibly grateful to all who made these days possible, including members of the PCC, Gethin Harvey of Nicholas Warns Architects, and Keith and Jeff from GF Atthowe, our main building contractor.

Whilst the hard hat days are now complete, we hope to be able to offer similar opportunities in the future. The investigation work done as part of this repair project has identified need for a large amount of stabilisation work on the medieval paint, and so if we can find funds, we may well be back up with the angels again in a few years time.

Visitors were encouraged to post their pictures online, and many are available through the parish Facebook Page. Twitter users have also been adding pictures there using the hashtag #CawstonAngels.

Attention now turns to progressing the project and getting the important repair work done. We hope to see the clerestory windows returning to the church very soon, and the work in the churchyard is progressing well.

We’re also still seeking financial support for the project, so if you’d like to donate you can do so here. Don’t forget, if you’re a UK taxpayer, please tick the Gift Aid box.

Whilst we’ve had amazing support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the All Churches Trust, the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Lady Hind Trust, the project still requires further funds. If you would like to donate, please visit our donations page. Don’t forget to tick the gift aid box if you’re a UK taxpayer. Thank you for your help!

In an amazingly busy 2 days, all of the hard hat day places have been booked. For health and safety reasons our numbers are strictly limited and at this stage we don’t have plans to arrange further days, as to do so would risk delaying the completion of the project.

The hard hat days are now over and the waiting list is closed. Thank you for your interest – please do check back to see further progress with the project.

Hear more about our repairs project and climb the scaffold to meet the angels!

loking up at the roof with scaffolding

Registration in advance through our website is essential as numbers are strictly limited. All we ask is that you take lots of pictures and leave a donation toward the project.

Saturday 9th March – 10:30 or 1pm
Friday 15th March – 10:30 or 1pm
Saturday 16th March – 10:30 or 1pm
Saturday 23rd March – 10:30 or 1pm

Those wishing to tour the scaffold will have to declare their fitness to do so; the ascent involves a number of long ladders, so please don’t sign up if you know you’re not fit for the climb. The contractor and the Churchwardens reserve the right to refuse access on the basis of their judgement and visitors will be required to sign a disclaimer after taking part in a Health & Safety induction provided by our contractor.

To sign up for a hard hat day, click here and follow the instructions.

So much has happened in the last few weeks that it’s hard to know exactly where to begin! our contractors (GF Atthowe) took control of the building just after Christmas, and have been working at an impressive pace. Here is what has already been done.

Scaffolding high in the roof

An internal scaffold has been erected in the nave of the church. This includes a complete deck at the level of the roof angels. Using the scaffold, the clerestory windows have all been removed for repair and boarded up. Also making use of the scaffold have been our art conservators, who have been using the opportunity to do some analysis of the angels, wall paintings and roof timbers. They’ve been overwhelmed by the quality of what they’ve found, though urgent work has been identified to stabilise the medieval paintwork.

closeup angel

Outside the building, our new rainwater drainage system is coming along quickly. New soakaways and underground drainage is already in place on the north side of the building, with work underway to do the same on the south side. Next will come the new drainpipes. Drainage work is dirty and not very exciting, but for the first time in the life of the building, we will start to see the walls dry out!

drains

Inside the building, work has begun on reordering the chancel space. The Victorian choir stalls have been removed and we await the next phase of work, which will see this space transformed for greater use by the congregation, especially in the winter months.

So it’s been a busy time, with much more to come. Check back for further updates.