Urget Repair and Restoration of the Tower

A vital restoration plan is in place and we need to raise around £1.8 million to ensure this work is completed to the highest standard and makes the building safe for visitors to the town as well as local people. In practical terms the restoration work includes repointing, pointing, repairing and replacing the eroded stonework. It will make the tower secure and protect the original masonry as much as possible for the future. It is vital to preserve all the original stonework now before it is too late.

The works will take approximately one year including the setting up and taking down of scaffolding. Our immediate aim over the next three months is to seek funding for the tower so that works can begin as early as possible in the new year. 

The Tower: The scope of the works covers the full tower elevations of all four external walls including the reveals and internal roof parapet and stair turret and the underside/inside of the base of the tower. Much of the exterior stonework is eroded and historic carved detail is being lost.

In practical terms the restoration work includes re-pointing, pointing, repairing and, in some instances, replacing the eroded stonework. It will make the tower secure and protect the original masonry for the future. It is vital to preserve all the original stonework now whilst it can still be conserved.

The church is generally constructed of Triassic Bromstone sandstone, a local stone that is no longer quarried. This porous stone will be conserved, or replaced where appropriate, with cream Hollington from Staffordshire Stone (UK) Ltd with exposed details in Darney from Hutton Stone Co Ltd.

Clock Faces  The stone cherub above the east tower clockface will be repaired and refixed and all four clock faces will be cleaned and repainted.

Heraldic Shields  All 12 painted stone heraldic shields at the top of the tower will be taken down, repaired, cleaned, redecorated to match the original colour schemes and refixed. It is anticipated that four heraldic shields will be replaced entirely with new shields carved in stone to match the original.

Other repair and restoration works will be carried out to the shutters and windows, weathervanes, tower roof door, railings and the entrance ceiling at the church entrance at the base of the tower.

The works will take just over one year including setting up and taking down of scaffolding. It is vital that we start works as soon as possible so that they are completed early in 2023, when we celebrate the 900th anniversary of St Mary’s Warwick becoming the first collegiate church and a programme of activity is being developed.

Governance

The PCC of St Mary’s Warwick is responsible for the governance of all aspects of the project but has delegated detailed oversight of both fundraising and the works to a newly created Project Team meeting at least monthly.

St Mary’s has built a strong and experienced team to ensure we can deliver this project effectively and efficiently has already engaged an expert professional team to guide us through the project. This team comprises Mark Stewart Architects, RIBA-certified Specialist Conservation Architects, a CDM Principal Designer, a specialist Telecoms Consultant and a Scaffold Designer. After a tendering process, Ackroyd Construction has been appointed to carry out this work. The team will be coordinated by St Mary’s own Operations Manager who, in turn, will report into the PCC and Standing Committee.