Necessary Repairs and Improvements to St. Cross
February 2019: Further updates from Fr. Chris:
St Cross Clayton Repairs Project: masonry restoration work to the external walls.
St Cross PCC have made the decision to apply for grants, primarily from Heritage Lottery Fund, towards the costs of the Masonry Repointing & Repairs Works highlighted by the Quinquennial Inspection. The PCC have also made the decision to install permanent disabled access into the church. Ian Lucas, our Architect, has completed a schedule of works and drawings illustrating the repair and new works which will be carried out in two distinct phases.
Phase 1: Repointing to the south and west elevations including the Tower. [Repointing work carried out in many areas during the last century used an over-hard cement mortar which has led to accelerated decay and erosion to the brickwork. For this reason, the current mortar must be raked out and re-pointed and damaged bricks replaced].
Phase 1: Level Access works (permanent disabled ramp) proposed to the SW porch/ entrance.
Phase 2: Repointing to the North & East faces.
We are confident of securing most of the funding we need from Heritage Lottery Funding. This is because St Cross is listed grade 2*. As such it is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural and historic interest. Built in 1866 and designed by William Butterfield, the external masonry of St Cross bears the distinct hallmarks of Butterfield’s design: Red brick with multiple bands of sandstone and blue brick (polychromatic) diapering, and sandstone dressings; steeply-pitched slate roofs. The project will focus on the Masonry Repointing & Repairs Works highlighted by the Quinquennial Inspection.
We expect the Phase 1 project to be starting as soon as possible and the whole project to be finished by the summer of 2021.
Below you can download a document detailing the anticipated project costs for the Phase 1 project only. We aim to raise just under £30k for match funding from other grant sources and activities.
St Cross Clayton Repairs Project: masonry restoration work to the external walls.
St Cross PCC have made the decision to apply for grants, primarily from Heritage Lottery Fund, towards the costs of the Masonry Repointing & Repairs Works highlighted by the Quinquennial Inspection. The PCC have also made the decision to install permanent disabled access into the church. Ian Lucas, our Architect, has completed a schedule of works and drawings illustrating the repair and new works which will be carried out in two distinct phases.
Phase 1: Repointing to the south and west elevations including the Tower. [Repointing work carried out in many areas during the last century used an over-hard cement mortar which has led to accelerated decay and erosion to the brickwork. For this reason, the current mortar must be raked out and re-pointed and damaged bricks replaced].
Phase 1: Level Access works (permanent disabled ramp) proposed to the SW porch/ entrance.
Phase 2: Repointing to the North & East faces.
We are confident of securing most of the funding we need from Heritage Lottery Funding. This is because St Cross is listed grade 2*. As such it is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural and historic interest. Built in 1866 and designed by William Butterfield, the external masonry of St Cross bears the distinct hallmarks of Butterfield’s design: Red brick with multiple bands of sandstone and blue brick (polychromatic) diapering, and sandstone dressings; steeply-pitched slate roofs. The project will focus on the Masonry Repointing & Repairs Works highlighted by the Quinquennial Inspection.
We expect the Phase 1 project to be starting as soon as possible and the whole project to be finished by the summer of 2021.
Below you can download a document detailing the anticipated project costs for the Phase 1 project only. We aim to raise just under £30k for match funding from other grant sources and activities.
October 2018: Fr. Chris explains the progress of work needed to repair and improve our building:
In light of the St Cross with St Paul Clayton Quinquennial Inspection Report of March 2016 it is now incumbent upon the PCC of St Cross Church to begin work on re-pointing whole sections of the church’s exterior (replacing the cement mortar with lime mortar). We also aim to carry out repairs to the valley guttering as well as installing disabled access via one fixed ramp and two mobile ramps.
We have appointed an architect who is using elevational drawings of the church to draw up a scheme of work of the external repairs with costings. Once we have these we will seek Archdeacon Approval to begin.
We are hopeful that the re-pointing work will be largely funded by Heritage Lottery Funding. This will require us to demonstrate a number of outcomes depending on the amount we receive. For amounts between £10K and £100K we are required to demonstrate a heritage outcome (that he building will be in better condition) and a people outcome (that people will have learnt something about the building). This could be done through seminars run by the architect, school projects, display boards, leaflets, booklets, website. For amounts between £100K and £500K we are required to demonstrate a further community outcome. It is unlikely that Heritage Lottery Funding will fund the entire project making it necessary to approach other grant-making bodies such as The National Churches Trust; Church Building Grant; Garfield Western; All Churches Trust; Duchy of Lancaster.
We are very grateful to John Gilchrest and Frank Knights who have already carried out a number of minor repairs and improvements to the church fabric, namely the preparation and redecoration of the north door adjacent to the ramp, the west elevation door to the vestry wing, the metal gates to the south-west porch and door, the former west doors and the step into church.
We have appointed an architect who is using elevational drawings of the church to draw up a scheme of work of the external repairs with costings. Once we have these we will seek Archdeacon Approval to begin.
We are hopeful that the re-pointing work will be largely funded by Heritage Lottery Funding. This will require us to demonstrate a number of outcomes depending on the amount we receive. For amounts between £10K and £100K we are required to demonstrate a heritage outcome (that he building will be in better condition) and a people outcome (that people will have learnt something about the building). This could be done through seminars run by the architect, school projects, display boards, leaflets, booklets, website. For amounts between £100K and £500K we are required to demonstrate a further community outcome. It is unlikely that Heritage Lottery Funding will fund the entire project making it necessary to approach other grant-making bodies such as The National Churches Trust; Church Building Grant; Garfield Western; All Churches Trust; Duchy of Lancaster.
We are very grateful to John Gilchrest and Frank Knights who have already carried out a number of minor repairs and improvements to the church fabric, namely the preparation and redecoration of the north door adjacent to the ramp, the west elevation door to the vestry wing, the metal gates to the south-west porch and door, the former west doors and the step into church.