Cosgrove Church Roof Replacement 2018
When the builders, CEL, took the outer covering of the roof off, they found that some of the beams were supported by rocks and pieces of scrap masonry.
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Another piece of rubble removed when the roof was restored is this stoup. This would have been at the door filled with holy water in the days of Cosgrove Church’s Catholic times, for people to dip their fingers in or fill a tiny bottle to take home for a cure. It must therefore come from before 1534, but may be much earlier.
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This little capital is more finely carved than other masonry in the Church, so it seems likely that it was made in the 14th century, before the Reformation. |
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This plaque was made the last time the outer roof was fully replaced in 1932. At the same time the interior plaster ceiling collapsed and that was when the fantastic King Post beams were discovered.
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In Spring 2017 the Church, as a Grade 1 Listed Building, underwent a Quinquennial inspection. It was decided that the lead on the roof needed replacing, but when the work began in December 2017 the Structural Engineer went up on the ridge beam and to his horror his screwdriver went almost through the timber. The PDF shows the whole project from the perspective of the building team at CEL.
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The pdf file may automatically download.
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2018 Roof Presentation Pdf
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The whole of the inside of the Church was covered in scaffolding - holding up the roof and protecting the builders while they worked.
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The two photographs above show the main ridge beam in desperately poor condition.
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The Roof Project has had to raise around £250,000.
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This was partly achieved through grants, from Churchcare and the Listed Places of Worship Roof Fund.
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These applications were helped by our having received large bequests from members of the congregation.
Rose Elliot loved to sing in choirs in our benefice, and when she died Cosgrove Church set up a fund with money she left to us – which we have saved in case it was needed to do major repairs to the Church.
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John Webster (left) and his brother Sydney (right), lived in Old Stratford and loved to work in the Churchyard at Cosgrove. Each in his turn left bequests to the Church, and when Sidney died in 2017 his gift came in time to enable us to make the restorations which we celebrate today.
The residents of Cosgrove raised a further large amount to help us complete the first stage of repairs.
We record our immense gratitude to everyone.
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In September 2018 the new roof was revealed to the village. The paler wood in the photograph shows the enormous amount of timber that was replaced at this time, including the central supporting ridge beam.
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