Heritage Lottery Fund Project

November/ December 2018

The Management group met at the end of October to finalise plans for a Remembrance Event in the Church Hall and Launch events towards the end of November in the Church. A leaflet was approved which explained the project, both the restoration work and the Heritage Activities.

Although not in our final submission to the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Remembrance event was always within our plans and within the scope of our theme of ‘bringing people together’. Both local primary schools provided us with the basis for our cascade of poppies and even came to the church in the cold and rain to help us attach the ‘poppies‘ to a tree. Other poppies were contributed and attached on Saturday, 10^th November, when the Church Hall was open for anyone to visit and reminisce about the Great War. There were displays, stories of some of the individuals from Measham who had served in the war and the Measham Community Choir entertained us with some well-chosen songs and readings. Of course, tea, coffee and other refreshments were freely available and everyone enjoyed a chat about their own family stories.

Launch events included a formal presentation to invited guests on 22^nd November with an Open Day on the 24^th. These attracted around 50 visitors who all expressed enthusiasm for our plans. These events featured a Powerpoint Presentation with 4 speakers explaining different areas of our plans. There was also an opportunity for questions and individual chats. Although we had originally planned to offer guided tours on the Open Day, these had to be replaced by repeats of the Presentation owing to the scaffolding inside the church. Almost all those who attended were interested in hard hat tours and wished to be kept informed of our progress.  

Meanwhile the building work proceeded at a steady pace. Old, crumbling stone was cut out or removed, the glass removed from 4 windows and taken away for re-leading and repair. New stone was cut according to the templates taken and gradually installed. A stone conservator has been on site completing the fine repairs needed. Scaffolding was erected to the south side of the church, including internally to 3 windows. Old stone and metalwork was put on display in church to show visitors the extent of the problem and the required work. A temporary platform was erected in the porch to enable measurements and templates to be taken for new stone in that area. Joints were cleaned prior to major works in 2019.

Although planned workshops needed a re-think due to the nature of the scaffolding preventing easy access to the work and the fact that stone was being cut offsite and glasswork in the glazing studio, a group did enjoy a hard hat tour around the work. This proved a fascinating and educational experience and it is hoped that there will be further opportunities for others to don their hard hats. A visit to the stonemasons’ yard is also planned to enable participants to see the process of cutting the stone and building the shape of the window.   

A December meeting of the Management Group together with our Mentor focussed on the next steps to be taken regarding the Activities Programme. Priority would be given to the Visbox and its content. A meeting was then held on site with our chosen Video-photographer, where we considered where to position the box, which features of the church might be suitable for recording and how we might include hidden aspects of the building and its place as a living place of worship. Initial consideration was given to the upgrade to the Church’s website. An upgrade package has been purchased and a consultation will begin in January about restructuring the website.