Cosgrove Church Weather Vane

Weathervane and gilded weathercock
On May 25th 1822 the Churchwardens "Paid Mr Boille [Boyle] New Weathe Cock" at a cost of £3 0s 0d.

1954 Northamptonshire Past and Present

THE COSGROVE WEATHCOCK

The cock is of copper and measures about 3 foot from beak to tip of tail. When taken down last summer to be re-gilded it was found to be well peppered with dents caused by shot. Weather-vanes in the form of a cock have been used for many centuries, and the date of the Cosgrove Cock is difficult to estimate – it may well be medieval [since recorded as having been bought in 1822]. It is good to see it gleaming and glistening on high in the sun in renewed splendour on the top of the church tower.

Old Mail September 1992

Passers by will have noted already that already, behind the scaffolding, the restored Tower is taking shape as Darren and Mark work upon it day by day and stone by stone. Last month the weathervane was dismantled and is now awaiting attention.

BUT – Who shot the weathercock? There are three bullet holes in his tail, probably 303s. Is there a story and will anyone tell us in the next issue of the Old Mail?

[Nobody did]

When the restored weathercock arrived back in Cosgrove in 1992, Mabel Houghton put it on the floor and made all the Sunday School children jump over it, so that they could tell their grandchildren in years to come, “See that Weathercock on the Tower? I’ve jumped over that!”

Old Mail October 1992

The first layer of scaffolding has been removed and the turret is ready to receive the re-gilded weathervane in due course. The clock, which continues to strike the hour, will soon have a clean face to shine from the hole in the west face of the Tower.

Donations and promises have now reached the £50000 mark. Unfortunately the stonemasons have discovered that some of the stone is in worse condition than they anticipated and the total cost is now likely to be £60,000. And so we toil on for the other £10,000!

Old Mail December 1992

It’s down! Not the Tower, just the scaffolding. The Clock has been painted, repaired and replace, and the Weathervane glitters in the sunshine. The windows on the south side and the replaced stone in the buttresses do look very “new” but no doubt they will weather and blend in with the older stone.

Thanks to the concentrated effort of everyone and the wonderful support received from within and without the village the work on the Tower will be completed and our share of the original target (£34,000) reached by the end of this month – just one year since the parish meeting was called to launch the appeal – on 2nd December 1991. In addition, English Heritage are gradually making their promised 40% contribution to the total cost of £54,000 [not including the additional £6,000 now needed].