Work begins!
After nearly 3 years of fundraising, we were delighted that the church roof repair project got underway in March with the assembly of scaffolding around the church. However, just as the work was due to start, COVID-19 working restrictions came into force and the country went into lockdown, meaning the project was delayed. In addition, active bats nesting in the church meant that the re-start of the project would have to be delayed until September 2020. This is because, in Britain, all bat species and their roosts are legally protected. So after a 6 month delay, work finally commenced on the 7th September, with a revised completion date of end of January 2021.
Thanks to our amazing construction team
On closer inspection, the timbers and rafters were found to be in much worse condition than originally expected, resulting in more replacements and repairs than envisaged. Also, the windows and surrounding stonework are in a critical condition, caused by decades of weather damage and erosion. The good news is that we will be replacing/repairing these whilst the scaffolding is up. Despite these setbacks, the good autumnal weather this year has meant that our fabulous construction team at JG Restorations are making great progress. You may have noticed there are now new roof tiles across much of repaired roof, including those purchased by everyone as part of our fundraising campaign!
More updates coming soon…
We are hoping to have some sort of celebration once the work is completed, subject to COVID restrictions, but we will need to be mindful of the current situation. In the meantime, keep an eye on our website and we will provide further updates on progress over the next couple of months. Finally, thanks to everyone for your patience when driving past the church as we know it has been tricky with all the building contractor vehicles – but it will be worth it in the end and we can’t wait to see our church with a new roof….protecting it for another century.
SAFEGUARDING
This parish is committed to the safeguarding, care and nurture of the children and people of all ages in our church community. The parish safeguarding policy can be downloaded here.
Thank you to all the Trusts that have generously given their support!
- Royal County of Berkshire Church Trust
- Sabine Sutherland Charitable Trust
- Friends of St James
