Church seen in a new light

Award winning conservation at St Mary's Church, Thornton-le-Moors

Dismantled tower parapet at Church of St Michael and All Angels, Thornton-le-MoorsSt Mary's Church was vested with us in 2009. Three months later a conservation programme started.

One year on, the work is complete and has the 14th-century church sparkling and open to visitors.

 

 


So what have we done?

Old hammerbeam roof at Church of St Michael and All Angels, Thornton-le-MoorsExternally we have:

  • Repaired and re-slated the badly leaking nave and chancel roofs, which protects the rare Medieval ‘hammer-beam’ roof structure
  • Renewed and painted the gutters and downpipes
  • Repaired the drainage, which was crucial to keep the church dry
  • Carefully rebuilt the tower parapet using much of the original stone - this means that the bells can ring out once again
  • Repointed masonry with lime mortar

Painted text at Church of St Michael and All Angels, Thornton-le-MoorsInternally we have:

  • Re-layed the chapel floor, which included specialist work on the floor slabs around the altar
  • Rebuilt rotten pew platforms
  • Re-fixed loose floor tiles (more to do as the church slowly dries out)
  • Conserved the hatchments, text boards and brasses
  • Re-instated the octagonal font, which was, until recently, used as a vase in a local garden
  • Re-wired and added new lighting, which shows off the interior beautifully

Rotten pews at Church of St Michael and All Angels, Thornton-le-MoorsIn September, St Mary’s church held an Open Day which attracted around 80 fans of the church from as far as America.

The bells were rung for the first time in years and the architect led impromptu tours describing what had been done.


Conservation Awards

Civic Awards logoWe are proud to announce that we have received an award for our conservation and community work from Chester Civic Trust in the category of Community Building Conservation.

View certificate

The project has cost around £370,000. However, there is still more to do - find out more.

Project Team

CCT Conservation manager: Dawn Whitton
Architect: Tim Ratcliffe
Contractors: Treasure & Son Ltd and Harry Morgan (Chester) Ltd
Hatchment conservator: Dianne Britton of Britton & Storey
Brass conservator: William Lack
Bell conservator: Peter Wilkinson

Find out how you can contribute to work like this in the future

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Last year, we welcomed over two million visitors to our churches. If each person donated just £2, this would enable us to keep our churches open, safe and watertight for you and future generations to enjoy.

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