Friends will remember that in 2016 when the tower crypt was being cleared for the summer Open Day, decay was discovered in the timbers supporting the chapel/vestry floor. A floor joist which supports one end of the chapel hearth was found to be rotten and the timber wall plate embedded in the wall on which this and the adjacent floor joists rest was found to be in worse condition. If this problem had not been repaired, the corner of the chapel floor could have collapsed and the chapel would have become unusable. As a temporary measure props were installed in the crypt to support the joists and floor but a permanent repair was essential. Planning the repairs was done during the following months and the funds necessary to complete the repairs were raised by early 2018. It took some months to schedule the work and secure a contractor but the repairs were completed in October 2018 and the temporary props finally removed. During the repairs it was discovered that the north wall of the tower is approximately 1.8 metres (5ft 11inches) thick, possibly to accommodate the Tudor fireplace and flue in the crypt. As the wall also showed evidence of internal damp, ‘air bricks’ were installed to hopefully mitigate the damp problem. In addition a redundant iron pipe was removed from the wall – possibly a gas pipe for the lighting in the old church. This repair work is part of a much more extensive upgrade required to keep the tower in use for the long-term. The pictures below show the situation before and after the repairs.
Before repair: After repair: