We have that phrase, ‘every day’s school day’ and that’s certainly been true for me this week. I have learnt more about roofs, joists, head laps, bonnet hips, tilt fillets and lots of other things about roofing.
The re-roofing work at St Swithun’s is in full swing. The roofers have done a good job so far – all the scaffolding is up and we have made excellent progress on the chancel roof. I managed to sneak inside and took a selection of amazing pictures (see opposite) looking into the chancel roof with the ridge tiles removed showing the gaps and open sky. It was quite moving and I offered up a prayer asking the Lord to help us restore St Swithun’s through our collective endeavours.
So lots of good news, but some less good news.
We always knew the state of the roof was an issue; it seems as if we are taking action in the nick of time. With the scaffolding up a more comprehensive survey of the north and south nave roofs and the tower has been possible.
The preliminary report from Jeremy Bell (our architect) and the conservation roofing contractor, JG Renovations, is that we should completely re-roof everything. The best roof we have is the south nave (above the church door) but that has at best a 15-20-year lifespan. With the scaffolding in place and resources available it would be a dereliction of our stewardship if we failed to do a thorough job at this time.
As such, another first this week was a Car Park PCC Meeting at which Revd Stephen and I shared much of this news with the PCC. They appreciated the magnitude of the challenge but agreed that we should respond positively and press ahead with the work. That is now in hand and through the generous gift of the 18th Century benefactor who gave the parish land, called Chisslands, we are in a strong and secure position to do that. There’s lots of details to be worked out, but I and the PCC will keep you in the picture as the project progresses. Please pray for this work, for the safety of the roofers and for no more unexpected discoveries!
