Pecking for victory

Woodpecker damage to St Mary’s Church, Chute Forest

The spire of St Mary’s Church is covered with cedar shingles. As the location suggests, the church is sits in a well tread part of the country with a high population of woodpeckers.

For some years previously, St Mary’s had been subjected to woodpecker attack as they were attracted to the flies hibernating under the shingles – or perhaps they were more interested in attracting fellow woodpeckers.

Unfortunately, water penetrated through the holes causing decay in the timberwork of the spire. Therefore in 1999 we decided to conserve and repair the spire.

What we did:

• Reshingled the spire
• Placed interleaves of stainless steel beneath the shingles
• Repaired and repointed the masonry
• Renewed the cast-iron rainwater goods

Project team

CCT Conservation Manager: Tim Beetson (no longer at the CCT)
Architect: Seymour and Bainbridge

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